6192. aram
Lexical Summary
aram: To be crafty, shrewd, or cunning

Original Word: עָרַם
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: `aram
Pronunciation: ah-RAHM
Phonetic Spelling: (aw-ram')
KJV: gather together
NASB: piled
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to pile up

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
gather together

A primitive root; to pile up -- gather together.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to be heaped up
NASB Translation
piled (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
I. [עָרַם] verb Niph`al be heaped up (compare Sabean אערמחו plural of [ערם] dam, so Arabic compare DHMZMG xxx (1876), 676; VOJ i. 25 who compare Biblical Hebrew עֲרִמָה Arabic (which Frä135 thinks Aramaic loan-word), compare Pa`el heap up; > WetzstZeitschr. für Ethnol. 1873, 279 (Syriac Dreschtafel) who compare strip [whence עַרְמוֺן below], and thinks עֲרֵמָה = bare heap);- Perfect3plural נֶעֶרְמוּ מַיִם Exodus 15:8.

Topical Lexicon
Biblical Occurrence

ערם appears once in Scripture, in Exodus 15:8. The solitary usage links the term inseparably to Israel’s song of triumph after passing through the Red Sea.

Narrative Context in Exodus 15

Immediately after Israel walks safely through the divided sea and Pharaoh’s army is overwhelmed, Moses and the people break into praise (Exodus 15:1–18). In verse 8 they describe how, “At the blast of Your nostrils the waters piled up; the flowing waters stood upright like a heap; the depths congealed in the heart of the sea”. The verb captures the sudden, orderly heaping of the waters—an image that transforms chaos into a monument to divine sovereignty.

Manifestation of Divine Power

The piling up of the waters demonstrates that creation itself obeys the command of its Maker. What no human hand could arrange is achieved instantly by the breath of God. The parted sea forms walls (Exodus 14:22) and a safe corridor, illustrating how the Lord can repurpose hostile elements as instruments of salvation for His people and judgment for His enemies (Exodus 14:23–28).

Typological and Theological Themes

1. Creation Echoes: Just as Genesis 1 depicts God separating waters to create habitable space, Exodus 15:8 shows Him doing so again to create a path of deliverance.
2. Covenant Faithfulness: The action fulfills promises given to Abraham (Genesis 15:13–14) and reiterated to Moses (Exodus 6:6).
3. Judgment and Salvation Intertwined: The same water that stands firm for Israel collapses upon Egypt, prefiguring the cross where deliverance and judgment converge (Colossians 2:14–15).

Liturgical and Devotional Usage

The song of Moses became a template for later Israelite worship (Psalm 66:6; Psalm 106:9–12). Christian hymnody often echoes this imagery, reminding believers that the God who once piled up waters still shatters barriers to accomplish redemption.

Historical and Geographical Considerations

The event is situated near Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea (Exodus 14:2). Archaeological attempts to locate the exact crossing point remain inconclusive, yet the narrative’s emphasis lies not in topography but in divine intervention verified by Israel’s survival and Egypt’s downfall.

Connections with the Exodus Motif in Later Scripture

Prophets recall the event to bolster hope:
Isaiah 51:10 depicts the “waters of the great deep” dried up so the redeemed might pass over.
Psalm 77:16–20 revisits the trembling sea to affirm God’s ongoing guidance.

In the New Testament, the Exodus pattern shapes the understanding of baptism as passage from death to life (1 Corinthians 10:1–2).

Practical Ministry Applications

• Encouragement in Crisis: Believers facing seemingly impassable obstacles are invited to remember that the Lord can still “pile up” hindrances and provide unexpected deliverance.
• Worship Leadership: Exodus 15 underscores the importance of celebrating God’s acts immediately after experiencing them, turning testimony into communal praise.
• Discipleship: The verse models how recounting specifics of divine help strengthens faith; teaching new believers to identify and articulate God’s interventions follows the same pattern.

Christological and Eschatological Foreshadowing

The parted sea anticipates the greater rescue accomplished by Christ, who opens a new and living way through His flesh (Hebrews 10:20). Revelation 15:2–3 pictures the redeemed singing “the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb,” merging the first great deliverance with the final one. The once-in-history piling up of waters thus becomes a perpetual signpost pointing forward to the consummation of salvation.

Forms and Transliterations
נֶ֣עֶרְמוּ נערמו ne‘ermū ne·‘er·mū Neermu
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Englishman's Concordance
Exodus 15:8
HEB: וּבְר֤וּחַ אַפֶּ֙יךָ֙ נֶ֣עֶרְמוּ מַ֔יִם נִצְּב֥וּ
NAS: the waters were piled up, The flowing
KJV: the waters were gathered together, the floods
INT: the blast of your nostrils were piled the waters stood

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 6192
1 Occurrence


ne·‘er·mū — 1 Occ.

6191
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