H3034 — יָדָה (yadah)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H3034
Original: יָדָה
Transliteration: yadah
Pronunciation: yaw-daw
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Root: Denominative from יָד (yad, H3027) — the hand; literally "to use/extend the hand"
Occurrences: 111 unique verses (136 tokens)
First Occurrence: Gen 29:35 — "Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; used only as denominative from yad (H3027); literally, to use (i.e. hold out) the hand; physically, to throw (a stone, an arrow) at or away; especially to revere or worship (with extended hands); intensively, to bemoan (by wringing the hands): — cast (out), (make) confess(-ion), praise, shoot, (give) thank(-ful, -s, -sgiving).

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Hiphil	~113	praise, give thanks, acknowledge (dominant stem)
Hithpael	~10	confess (sins), make confession (reflexive)
Qal	1	shoot, cast (Jer 50:14)
Piel	1	cast, shoot (Lam 3:53)

The Hiphil is overwhelmingly dominant (~90% of all occurrences), carrying the praise/thanksgiving meaning. The Hithpael is restricted to confession contexts. The Qal and Piel are rare physical senses ("throw/shoot").

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
praise (various forms)	~55	50%
give thanks / thanksgiving	~30	27%
confess / confession	~15	14%
shoot / cast	3	3%
Other	~8	7%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Psalms	64	2.6
1 Chronicles	9	1.0
2 Chronicles	8	1.0
Nehemiah	6	1.5
Isaiah	5	0.4
Leviticus	3	0.3
Genesis	2	0.1
Daniel	2	0.6
Ezra	2	0.7
Jeremiah	2	0.1
1 Kings	2	0.2
2 Samuel	1	0.1
Numbers	1	0.1
Job	1	0.1
Proverbs	1	0.1
Lamentations	1	0.6
Zechariah	1	0.5

Heavily concentrated in Psalms (58% of all occurrences). Chronicles and Nehemiah reflect Levitical worship. The confession sense clusters in Torah (Lev, Num), Daniel, Nehemiah, and Ezra — all penitential-liturgical contexts.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Praise and Thanksgiving to God (Hiphil — dominant usage)¶

Psalm 136:1 — "O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever."
Psalm 9:1 — "I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works."
Psalm 138:1 — "I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee."
1 Chr 16:8 — "Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people."

2. Confession of Sin (Hithpael — reflexive)¶

Lev 16:21 — "And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins."
Lev 5:5 — "He shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing."
Num 5:7 — "Then they shall confess their sin which they have done."
Dan 9:4 — "And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession."

3. Communal / National Confession (Hithpael)¶

Neh 9:2 — "And the seed of Israel separated themselves from all strangers, and stood and confessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers."
Neh 1:6 — "Confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee."
Lev 26:40 — "If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers."
Ezra 10:1 — "Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God."

4. Liturgical / Levitical Worship (Hiphil — organized praise)¶

1 Chr 16:4 — "He appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the LORD, and to record, and to thank and praise the LORD God of Israel."
1 Chr 23:30 — "And to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at even."
2 Chr 5:13 — "As the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD."
Neh 12:46 — "In the days of David and Asaph of old there were chief of the singers, and songs of praise and thanksgiving unto God."

5. Personal Acknowledgment / Vow (Hiphil)¶

Gen 29:35 — "Now will I praise the LORD: therefore she called his name Judah" (naming linked to yadah)
Psalm 32:5 — "I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin."
Pro 28:13 — "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy."
Job 40:14 — "Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee."

6. The Dead Cannot Praise (Hiphil — negative)¶

Psalm 6:5 — "For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?"
Psalm 88:10 — "Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee?"
Isa 38:18 — "For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee."

7. Physical Casting / Shooting (Qal/Piel — rare)¶

Jer 50:14 — "All ye that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows."
Lam 3:53 — "They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone upon me."
Zech 1:21 — "These are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles."

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יְהֹוָה (Yehovah)	H3068	53x	"Give thanks unto the LORD" / "praise the LORD"
שֵׁם (shem)	H8034	29x	"praise/give thanks unto thy name"
אֱלֹהִים (elohiym)	H430	26x	"praise thee, O God"
חֶסֶד (chesed)	H2617	22x	"for his mercy endureth for ever" (refrain formula)
עוֹלָם (owlam)	H5769	22x	"for ever" — paired with chesed in formulaic praise
הָלַל (halal)	H1984	16x	Paired praise verbs in liturgical texts
עַם (am)	H5971	16x	"let the people praise thee"
טוֹב (towb)	H2896	14x	"for he is good" — follows "give thanks"
זָמַר (zamar)	H2167	11x	"sing praises and give thanks"
חַטָּאָה (chattaah)	H2403	8x	"confess sin" — Hithpael confession contexts
פָּלַל (palal)	H6419	8x	"pray and confess" — penitential pairing

Synonyms¶

H1984 הָלַל (halal) — praise, celebrate (more exuberant, often with instruments)
H2167 זָמַר (zamar) — sing praise, make music (musical performance emphasis)
H7623 שָׁבַח (shabach) — praise, commend (address in a loud tone)
H2603 חָנַן (chanan) — be gracious, show favor
H6419 פָּלַל (palal) — pray, intercede
H2142 זָכַר (zakar) — remember, mention

Antonyms¶

H3451 נָשָׂא (nasa) — desolation, ruin

Word Family / Cognates¶

H3027 יָד (yad) — hand (denominative source: yadah = to extend the hand)
H8426 תּוֹדָה (towdah) — thanksgiving, confession, praise offering (derived noun)
H3063 יְהוּדָה (Yehudah) — Judah (the name derived from yadah — Gen 29:35)
H3034 → H3032 יָדַד (yadad) — adjacent in Strong's numbering

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
הָלַל (halal)	H1984	"praise"	halal = exuberant/boisterous praise, often communal with instruments; yadah = thankful acknowledgment, often personal and directed
שָׁבַח (shabach)	H7623	"praise"	shabach = to laud/commend loudly; yadah = to acknowledge/thank with extended hands

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrence	PMI Score	Notes
ἐξομολογέω (exomologeo) G1843	78x	33.14	Primary equivalent — "acknowledge, confess, give thanks"
αἰνέω (aineo) G134	18x	16.10	"praise God"
ψάλλω (psallo) G5567	11x	14.02	"sing psalms"

The LXX strongly maps yadah to exomologeo (G1843), which carries the same dual range: confession of sin and acknowledgment/praise of God.