da.mah describes being like something or likening one thing to another, and in some clauses forming a purpose or thought.

The attested usage chiefly concerns resemblance and comparison: persons, creatures, trees, and God are set alongside another for likeness or difference. A smaller group of clauses uses the verb for a person's inward purpose, thought, or intended action.

1. Being like or setting things in comparison · dominant

   The verb marks resemblance or comparison in clauses that ask what someone is like or direct a comparison. In Ezekiel 31:2 the APB renders Pharaoh's question, "To whom have you been like in your greatness?"; in Isaiah 40:18 it asks, "to whom will you liken God"; and in Song of Songs 2:9 it renders the beloved as resembling "a gazelle or a stag."

   Ezekiel 31:2Ezekiel 31:8Ezekiel 32:2Isaiah 40:18Psalm 102:7Song of Songs 2:9
2. Thinking out or intending an action · common

   In several Piel clauses, the verb concerns a purpose or thought leading toward an action rather than an expressed comparison. Esther 4:13 warns Esther not to think of escape, Isaiah 10:7 says that the ruler's heart does not plan in that way, and Numbers 33:56 sets a previously planned action alongside what will be done.

   2 Samuel 21:5Esther 4:13Isaiah 10:7Isaiah 14:24Numbers 33:56Psalm 48:10

In the Anselm Project Bible: Across the comparison clauses, the APB uses forms such as "like," "resembled," and "liken"; in purpose clauses it uses "think," "plan," "resolved," or "planned." These renderings indicate the clauses' overall presentation rather than a fixed English equivalent for each form.