Original Word: תִּמוּתָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: tmuwthah
Pronunciation: tee-moo-THAH
Phonetic Spelling: (tem-oo-thaw')
KJV: death, die
NASB: death, die
Word Origin: [from H4191 (מוּת - die)]

1. execution (as a doom)

death, die

From muwth; execution (as a doom) -- death, die.

see HEBREW muwth

Word Origin
from muth
Definition
death
NASB Translation
death (1), die (1).

תְּמוּתָה noun feminine death; — ׳בְּנֵי ת children of death, those worthy of death and appointed to death, Psalm 79:11; Psalm 102:21 (see מָוֶת 2).

מוֺתָר see יתר. מִזְבֵּחַ see זבח.

מַזְבֻּל see I. זְבֻל below זבל.

מזג ( √ of following = mix, compare Syriac and derivatives; ᵑ7 מְזַג mix, prepare by mixing. — Arabic id. is denominative from see following, Frä¹⁷²).

Root and Concept

While the word derives from the common Hebrew root for “to die,” its distinctive form highlights an intensified state—those already consigned to death. It pictures not merely mortality in general but a judicial or military condemnation in which the sufferers are powerless to escape unless God intervenes.

Occurrences in the Psalter

1. Psalm 79:11 joins the “groaning of the prisoner” with “those condemned to die,” pleading for rescue “according to the greatness of Your power.”
2. Psalm 102:20 echoes the same petition, asking the Lord “to release those condemned to death.”

Both songs arise from national catastrophe—Psalm 79 after the destruction of Jerusalem, Psalm 102 from the bleakness of exile—and use the phrase to represent the remnant teetering on the edge of annihilation.

Historical Setting

Following the Babylonian invasion, many Judeans were literally prisoners of war, marched away in chains, facing execution or slow death in captivity. The psalmists voice the anguish of these captives, yet ground their cry in covenant hope: the God who once redeemed Israel from Egypt can shatter present fetters as well.

Theological Significance

1. Divine Compassion: The Lord is portrayed as One who hears groans others prefer to silence (compare Exodus 2:24).
2. Sovereign Power: Only God can reverse a verdict of death; thus rescue magnifies His glory.
3. Covenant Faithfulness: The appeal is made “for the glory of Your name” (Psalm 79:9), linking deliverance to His reputation among the nations.
4. Corporate Solidarity: “Those condemned to die” represent more than individuals; they stand for the covenant community itself, foreshadowing the Servant who bears the sentence for many.

Christological Connections

Isaiah foresaw a Servant “numbered with the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12). Jesus Christ entered the place of the condemned—Barabbas is released, the Son is crucified—so that all who trust Him might say, “He has delivered us from so great a death” (2 Corinthians 1:10). The petitions of Psalms 79 and 102 meet their ultimate fulfillment in the resurrection, where the Judge Himself bears the judgment.

New Testament Echoes

• 2 Corinthians 1:9–10—Paul speaks of “the sentence of death” yet celebrates God “who raises the dead.”
• Hebrews 2:15—Christ frees “those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”
• Revelation 2:10—Believers may face earthly death, but the risen Lord promises “the crown of life.”

Practical Ministry Applications

1. Prison and Persecution Ministry: The psalms authorize intercession for inmates and persecuted believers, grounding hope in divine intervention.
2. End-of-Life Care: Pastors can assure the dying that none are beyond the reach of the Shepherd who “leads us through the valley of the shadow of death.”
3. Corporate Worship: Congregations lamenting communal tragedy (war, famine, plague) may pray these verses, uniting historical Israel’s grief with present suffering and focusing on God’s redemptive power.

Related Scriptures

• Psalm 142:6—“Rescue me from my pursuers, for they are too strong for me.”
• Psalm 49:15—“But God will redeem my soul from Sheol’s power.”
• Jonah 2:6—“You brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God.”

Summary

תִּמוּתָה concentrates the biblical vision of humanity under a death sentence, yet it appears only within petitions that confidently expect divine reversal. The word therefore serves as a hinge between human helplessness and God’s saving might, anticipating the Gospel in which the condemned are released because the Son has passed through death and conquered it.

תְמוּתָֽה׃ תמותה׃ ṯə·mū·ṯāh temuTah ṯəmūṯāhInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts