Original Word: מָמוֹת
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: mamowth
Pronunciation: mah-MOTH
Phonetic Spelling: (maw-mothe')
KJV: death
NASB: deadly, death
Word Origin: [from H4191 (מוּת - die)]

1. a mortal disease
2. (concretely) a corpse

death

From muwth; a mortal disease; concretely, a corpse -- death.

see HEBREW muwth

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

[מָמוֺת] noun [masculine] only plural death (compare Arabic ); — construct מְמוֺתֵי תַחֲלֻאִים Jeremiah 16:4 of painful death by diseases; חָלָל ׳מ Ezekiel 28:3. — For הַמְּמוֺתִים (Kt) 2 Kings 11:2, the slain, Qr. הַמּוּמָתִים is certainly correct (see מוּת

Hoph`al above)

(לְ)מוֺתָם Psalm 73:4 see [חַרְצֻבָּה] and תָּם

1

Overview

The term מָמוֹת depicts more than the mere cessation of life; it evokes sudden, grievous, and often violent demise imposed by divine judgment. Each occurrence carries a prophetic warning that God’s justice reaches into the realm of how, where, and why people die.

Occurrences in Scripture

Jeremiah 16:4 and Ezekiel 28:8 are the only appearances of the word. In both texts the plural form intensifies the horror of the death described, underscoring that the fate awaiting the rebellious is neither natural nor honorable.

Jeremiah 16:4—A Death Without Mourning

“‘They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be lamented or buried; they will lie like dung on the surface of the ground. They will be finished off by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.’” (Berean Standard Bible)

Here מָמוֹת serves Jeremiah’s message that covenant infidelity invites compound calamities. The people of Judah would forfeit every cultural rite of passage associated with death—mourning, burial, even memory—demonstrating that unrepentant sin strips away human dignity.

Ezekiel 28:8—A Royal Death in the Depths

“‘They will bring you down to the Pit, and you will die the death of the slain in the depths of the seas.’” (Berean Standard Bible)

Directed at the prideful ruler of Tyre, מָמוֹת identifies a humiliating downfall. The sea, Tyre’s source of wealth and security, becomes the very setting of destruction, proving that no earthly fortress can shield one from God’s verdict.

Theological Significance

1. Divine Retribution: מָמוֹת underlines that judgment is not abstract; it manifests in concrete historical events. Both Judah and Tyre trusted in alliances, wealth, and ritual while neglecting covenant obedience, and God responded with tangible, catastrophic deaths.
2. Covenant Accountability: In Jeremiah, covenant people are warned; in Ezekiel, a pagan nation is judged. Together they affirm that Yahweh holds all nations to account (Psalm 24:1; Romans 3:29).
3. Eschatological Foreshadowing: The violent, public nature of these deaths anticipates the final judgment where hidden sins will be exposed (Revelation 20:12–13). מָמוֹת thus becomes a shadow of the “second death” from which only redemption in Christ offers rescue (Revelation 20:6).

Historical Setting

• Jeremiah 16 anticipates the Babylonian siege (586 BC). The absence of burial rites mirrors siege conditions where corpses accumulate unburied outside city walls.
• Ezekiel 28 addresses Tyre shortly after Jerusalem’s fall. The port city thought itself impregnable, yet history records Nebuchadnezzar’s thirteen-year siege (585–572 BC) and later Alexander’s conquest (332 BC), events that visibly fulfilled the prophetic imagery of being cast “into the depths of the seas.”

Intertextual Echoes

Though מָמוֹת itself appears only twice, the concept resonates with:
• Deuteronomy 32:24–25—“I will send wasting famine against them… outside the sword will bereave.”
• Psalm 55:15—“Let death seize them by surprise.”
• Revelation 6:8—The pale horse brings death “by sword, famine, plague, and wild beasts,” reflecting Jeremiah’s fourfold judgment.

Ministry Implications

1. Preaching: These texts confront complacency. Proclaim both the certainty of judgment and the gracious provision of salvation (John 3:16–18).
2. Pastoral Care: When tragedy strikes, remind believers that while God may permit grievous deaths as discipline (Hebrews 12:6), the cross ensures that no final condemnation awaits those in Christ (Romans 8:1).
3. Missions: The universal scope of מָמוֹת reinforces the urgency to take the gospel to every nation, for all stand under the same righteous standard (Matthew 28:19–20).
4. Ethics: Leaders must heed the lesson of Tyre’s king—pride precedes downfall. Christian leadership thrives on humility and dependence on God (1 Peter 5:5–6).

Summary

מָמוֹת embodies the dread reality of divine judgment enacted in history. Its rare appearances give it rhetorical weight, warning both covenant insiders and outsiders that violent, dishonorable death lies at the end of pride and rebellion. Yet implicit in the warning is an invitation: submit to God’s rule now, and discover in Christ a death conquered and a life secured.

וָמַ֛תָּה ומתה מְמוֹתֵ֨י ממותי mə·mō·w·ṯê memoTei məmōwṯê vaMattah wā·mat·tāh wāmattāhInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts