to roar
ha.mah describes loud roaring or tumult and, in inward settings, moaning or agitation in the Bible.
The verb most often marks a loud, surging sound or tumult, especially of seas, crowds, cities, and voices. It also describes inward disturbance or lament in the heart, soul, or inward parts, and can characterize conspicuously loud human conduct or speech.
Senses in use
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Roaring or tumultuous noise · dominant
In Isaiah 17:12, the supplied infinitive-construct forms occur in the comparison of many peoples with roaring seas and mighty waters. The APB renders the clause with repeated “roaring” and says the waters “crash”; similarly, Isaiah 51:15 and Jeremiah 5:22 place imperfect or sequential-imperfect forms with the sea’s waves, while Jeremiah 50:42 applies the sound to an advancing force’s voice like the sea.
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Inward moaning or agitation · common
The imperfect forms in Isaiah 16:11 and Jeremiah 48:36 occur with inward parts and heart directed toward Moab; the APB renders these clauses “roar” and “moans.” In Jeremiah 4:19, an active participle is located within the speaker’s heart amid the trumpet and alarm of war, while Psalm 43:5 addresses the soul’s turmoil within the speaker.
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Loud or noisy human expression · occasional
Active participles describe noisy public settings and loud persons: Proverbs 1:21 places the feminine plural form at the head of noisy places, and Proverbs 7:11 and Proverbs 9:13 describe women as loud or crying aloud in the APB. Proverbs 20:1 uses a masculine singular participle of wine that “roars,” and Zechariah 9:15 places a perfect form in a scene of drinking and roaring like wine.
In the Anselm Project Bible: Across these verses, the APB variously uses “roar,” “moans,” “noisy,” “loud,” and “turmoil.” Because the APB is a whole-verse translation, those renderings confirm the clauses’ settings without fixing a separate English equivalent in every occurrence.