Biblica Analytica

כָּמַס

ka.mas (H3647)

to store up

1 verses 1 books OT 1 / NT 0
AI Word Study

# Kamas (H3647): A Rare Hebrew Word for Storage The Hebrew word *kamas* appears only once in the biblical text, making it one of the rarest verbs in the Hebrew scriptures. Its definition—"to store up"—indicates an action of accumulating and preserving something for future use. This single occurrence severely limits our ability to determine nuances in meaning or identify whether the term carried specialized connotations in ancient Hebrew speech. Because *kamas* survives in the biblical record with just one attestation, its practical significance remains largely unknown. We cannot determine whether it was common in everyday speech but happened to appear only once by chance, or whether it was already an archaic or specialized term when the biblical texts were composed. The lack of multiple contexts prevents us from understanding subtle distinctions it might have expressed compared to other Hebrew words for storage or accumulation that appear more frequently in scripture. For biblical scholars and translators, *kamas* represents the challenge posed by hapax legomena—words appearing only once. Without comparative usage or parallel passages to illuminate its meaning, understanding remains dependent on the word's etymological structure and the interpretive judgment of lexicographers. Its rarity makes it a marginal element in biblical vocabulary, though its fundamental sense of storing or preserving is clear from its definition.

AI synthesis uses only provided lexicon data -- never training knowledge.

Deuteronomy 32:34

“Isn’t this laid up in store with me, sealed up among my treasures?