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Hebrew noun (masculine) · H4578

מֵעֶה

meehmay-aw'

belly

32 uses in the Hebrew text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key

Concordance spelling: mêʻeh

Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's H4578is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.

  • 13 of 39
    Old Testament books
  • 29
    spellings

The definition in full

Strong's key (1890) · H4578

used only in plural the intestines, or (collectively) the abdomen, figuratively, sympathy; by implication, a vest; by extension the stomach, the uterus (or of men, the seat of generation), the heart (figuratively)

The King James renders it: belly, bowels, [idiom] heart, womb.

James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), public domain. Strong indexed the King James text, and this site quotes his entry as that index.

Summary

meeh is rendered "belly". It stands 32 times in the Hebrew text, across thirteen books.

  • Five of the uses stand in 2 Chronicles, more than in any other book.
  • Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Genesis 15:4Then the word of the LORD came to Abram, saying, “This one will not be your heir, but one who comes from your own body will be your heir.”
  • The Greek text spells it twenty-nine different ways.

The first use

Then the word of the LORD came to Abram, saying, “This one will not be your heir, but one who comes from your own body will be your heir.”

Genesis 15:4מִמֵּעֶ֔יךָ

The first use, in the order of the Old Testament's books.

Where the word stands

The word stands in thirteen of the 39 Old Testament books.

The other 26 Old Testament books never use the word.

What the word means

Each meaning, and the words it is translated by

How the Greek text is glossed, word by word

  • inward parts my9
  • from inward parts of3
  • from inward parts your3
  • bowels his2
  • bowels your2
  • inward parts your2
  • lower parts his2
  • and inward parts my1
  • and inward parts their1
  • and inward parts your1
  • from inward parts my1
  • in bowels his1

and 4 more, 32 uses in all

The words built on the same word-part

Each word below begins with the same letters this one begins with. A shared word-part shows a family. It does not settle what any one of them means, so each word carries its own uses on its own page. Scholars call that shared part the stem.

All 32, in canonical order

Every use, in order

Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.

29 spellings and their grammar

STEP Bible tags every word of the Hebrew and Greek text with its spelling and its grammar. Both lists below count the rows printed underneath, written out in English, with the code beside each one as it was tagged.

How it is spelled

  • מֵעַ֣י2
  • מֵעָֽי׃2
  • מֵעָיו֙2
  • בְּֽמֵעַ֔י1
  • בִּמְעֵ֣י1
  • בְּמֵעָ֛יו1
  • בְּמֵעָ֣יו1
  • בְּֽמֵעַ֔יִךְ1
  • וּמֵעַ֖י1
  • וּמֵעֵיהֶ֖ם1
  • וּמֵעֶ֣יךָ1
  • מִמְּעֵ֣י1

and 17 more spellings in the ledger below.

The grammar of each form

  • noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singular9HNcmpc/Sp1bs
  • noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singular4HNcmpc/Sp2ms
  • noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singular4HNcmpc/Sp3ms
  • preposition + noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”)4HR/Ncmpc
  • preposition + noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singular2HR/Ncmpc/Sp1bs
  • preposition + noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person feminine singular2HR/Ncmpc/Sp2fs
  • preposition + noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singular2HR/Ncmpc/Sp2ms
  • preposition + noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singular2HR/Ncmpc/Sp3ms
  • conjunction (“and”) + noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singular1HC/Ncmpc/Sp1bs
  • conjunction (“and”) + noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singular1HC/Ncmpc/Sp2ms
  • conjunction (“and”) + noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine plural1HC/Ncmpc/Sp3mp

Genesis

two uses
  • Then the word of the LORD came to Abram, saying, “This one will not be your heir, but one who comes from your own body will be your heir.”

    Genesis 15:4

    • מִמֵּעֶ֔יךָmimeeikhapreposition + noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: from inward parts your
  • and He declared to her: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”

    Genesis 25:23

    • מִמֵּעַ֖יִךְmimeayikhpreposition + noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person feminine singulartagged: from inward parts your

Numbers

one use
  • May this water that brings a curse enter your stomach and cause your belly to swell and your thigh to shrivel.’ Then the woman is to say, ‘Amen, Amen.’

    Numbers 5:22

    • בְּֽמֵעַ֔יִךְbemeayikhpreposition + noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person feminine singulartagged: in inward parts your

Ruth

one use
  • But Naomi replied, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb to become your husbands?

    Ruth 1:11

    • בְּֽמֵעַ֔יbemeaipreposition + noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singulartagged: in inward parts my

2 Samuel

three uses
  • And when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.

    2 Samuel 7:12

    • מִמֵּעֶ֑יךָmimeeikhapreposition + noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: from inward parts your
  • Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, my own son, my own flesh and blood, seeks my life. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone and let him curse me, for the LORD has told him so.

    2 Samuel 16:11

    • מִמֵּעַ֖יmimeaipreposition + noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singulartagged: from inward parts my
  • Amasa was not on guard against the dagger in Joab’s hand, and Joab stabbed him in the stomach and spilled out his intestines on the ground. And Joab did not need to strike him again, for Amasa was dead. Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba son of Bichri.

    2 Samuel 20:10

    • מֵעָ֥יוmeavnoun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: bowels his

2 Chronicles

five uses
  • And day after day you yourself will suffer from a severe illness, a disease of your bowels, until it causes your bowels to come out.’”

    2 Chronicles 21:15

    • מֵעֶ֑יךָmeeikhanoun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: bowels your
    • מֵעֶ֙יךָ֙meeikhanoun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: bowels your
  • After all this, the LORD afflicted Jehoram with an incurable disease of the bowels.

    2 Chronicles 21:18

    • בְּמֵעָ֛יוbemeavpreposition + noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: in bowels his
  • This continued day after day until two full years had passed. Finally, his intestines came out because of his disease, and he died in severe pain. And his people did not make a fire in his honor as they had done for his fathers.

    2 Chronicles 21:19

    • מֵעָיו֙meavnoun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: bowels his
  • and the LORD sent an angel who annihilated every mighty man of valor and every leader and commander in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. And when he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons struck him down with the sword.

    2 Chronicles 32:21

    • מֵעָ֔יוmeavnoun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: lower parts his

Job

two uses
  • yet in his stomach his food sours into the venom of cobras within him.

    Job 20:14

    • בְּמֵעָ֣יוbemeavpreposition + noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: in inward parts his
  • I am churning within and cannot rest; days of affliction confront me.

    Job 30:27

    • מֵעַ֖יmeainoun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singulartagged: inward parts my

Psalms

three uses
  • I am poured out like water, and all my bones are disjointed. My heart is like wax; it melts away within me.

    Psalms 22:14

    • מֵעָֽי׃meainoun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singulartagged: inward parts my
  • I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart.”

    Psalms 40:8

    • מֵעָֽי׃meainoun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singulartagged: inward parts my
  • I have leaned on You since birth; You pulled me from my mother’s womb. My praise is always for You.

    Psalms 71:6

    • מִמְּעֵ֣יmimeeipreposition + noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: from inward parts of

Song of Solomon

two uses
  • My beloved put his hand to the latch; my heart pounded for him.

    Song of Solomon 5:4

    • וּמֵעַ֖יumeaiconjunction (“and”) + noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singulartagged: and inward parts my
  • His arms are rods of gold set with beryl. His body is an ivory panel bedecked with sapphires.

    Song of Solomon 5:14

    • מֵעָיו֙meavnoun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: lower parts his

Isaiah

four uses
  • Therefore my heart laments for Moab like a harp, my inmost being for Kir-heres.

    Isaiah 16:11

    • מֵעַ֣יmeainoun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singulartagged: inward parts my
  • Your descendants would have been as countless as the sand, and your offspring as numerous as its grains; their name would never be cut off or eliminated from My presence.”

    Isaiah 48:19

    • מֵעֶ֖יךָmeeikhanoun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: inward parts your
  • Listen to Me, O islands; pay attention, O distant peoples: The LORD called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me.

    Isaiah 49:1

    • מִמְּעֵ֥יmimeeipreposition + noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: from inward parts of
  • Look down from heaven and see, from Your holy and glorious habitation. Where are Your zeal and might? Your yearning and compassion for me are restrained.

    Isaiah 63:15

    • מֵעֶ֛יךָmeeikhanoun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: inward parts your

Jeremiah

three uses
  • My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the pain in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I cannot be silent. For I have heard the sound of the horn, the alarm of battle.

    Jeremiah 4:19

    • מֵעַ֣י׀meainoun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singulartagged: inward parts my
    • מֵעַ֨י׀meainoun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singulartagged: inward parts my
  • Is not Ephraim a precious son to Me, a delightful child? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore My heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares the LORD.

    Jeremiah 31:20

    • מֵעַי֙meainoun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singulartagged: inward parts my

Lamentations

two uses
  • See, O LORD, how distressed I am! I am churning within; my heart is pounding within me, for I have been most rebellious. Outside, the sword bereaves; inside, there is death.

    Lamentations 1:20

    • מֵעַ֣יmeainoun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singulartagged: inward parts my
  • My eyes fail from weeping; I am churning within. My heart is poured out in grief over the destruction of the daughter of my people, because children and infants faint in the streets of the city.

    Lamentations 2:11

    • מֵעַ֔יmeainoun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singulartagged: inward parts my

Ezekiel

two uses
  • “Son of man,” He said to me, “eat and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you.” So I ate, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.

    Ezekiel 3:3

    • וּמֵעֶ֣יךָumeeikhaconjunction (“and”) + noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: and inward parts your
  • They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will seem unclean. Their silver and gold cannot save them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They cannot satisfy their appetites or fill their stomachs with wealth, for it became the stumbling block that brought their iniquity.

    Ezekiel 7:19

    • וּמֵעֵיהֶ֖םumeeihemconjunction (“and”) + noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine pluraltagged: and inward parts their

Jonah

two uses
  • Now the LORD had appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the fish.

    Jonah 1:17

    • בִּמְעֵ֣יbimeipreposition + noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: in inward parts of
  • From inside the fish, Jonah prayed to the LORD his God,

    Jonah 2:1

    • מִמְּעֵ֖יmimeeipreposition + noun · masculine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: from inward parts of

The letters

Where it leads

How the numbers are counted

Every count on this page comes from STEP Bible's tagged Hebrew and Greek text, the same text the ledger prints. A use is counted once each time the tagging marks a word with this key.

Spellings are counted as the Greek text spells them, with the sentence's own punctuation taken off the word first, so a form that ends a clause is not counted as a second spelling.

The words it stands beside are the nouns, verbs and adjectives immediately before or after it, counted in every verse where the word stands. The article, the conjunctions and the prepositions are left out, because they stand beside every word.

Hebrew and Greek text, word tagging and grammar: STEP Bible (www.STEPBible.org), Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0. Their grammar codes are written out in English here and shown as tagged beside each one.

Meaning and senses: STEP Bible TBESH gloss (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary key: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890, public domain). English verse text: Berean Standard Bible (public domain, 2023).

Revised 2026-09-05. Every cited work, the sources registry →