H4191 — מוּת (muwth)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H4191
Original: מוּת
Transliteration: mûwth
Pronunciation: mooth
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Root: Primitive root — parent of H4194 מָוֶת (maveth, "death"), H8546 תְּמוּתָה (temuwthah, "execution/doom")
Occurrences: 694 unique verses (1,028 tokens) across 28 books
First Occurrence: Gen 2:17 — "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; to die (literally or figuratively); causatively, to kill:— at all, crying, (be) dead (body, man, one), (put to, worthy of) death, destroy(-er), (cause to, be like to, must) die, kill, necro(-mancer), must needs, slay, surely, very suddenly, in (no) wise.

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Qal	620	to die (intransitive) — natural death, judicial consequence, state of being dead
Hiphil	138	to cause to die, to kill, to put to death (causative)
Hophal	68	to be put to death (passive of Hiphil) — judicial execution formula
Piel	9	to kill, to slay (intensive)

Notes: The Qal stem overwhelmingly dominates (74%), covering narrative death reports, dying threats, and participial "dead" states. The Hiphil (16%) serves causative killing contexts, while the Hophal (8%) is the distinctive stem of the legal formula מוֹת יוּמָת ("he shall surely be put to death"). The Piel is rare, appearing in intensive killing contexts.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
died / die / dead	~450	~65%
surely [be put to death]	49	7%
shall die	36	5%
be put to death	30	4%
slay / slew / slain	~55	8%
kill / killed	~20	3%
Other (dieth, destroyer, necromancer, etc.)	~54	8%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
2 Samuel	61	8.8
1 Samuel	52	6.4
2 Kings	43	6.0
1 Kings	47	5.8
Judges	33	5.3
Genesis	72	4.7
Numbers	57	4.4
Deuteronomy	39	4.1
Exodus	46	3.8
Amos	5	3.4
Leviticus	28	3.3
Ecclesiastes	7	3.2
Jeremiah	42	3.1
Ezekiel	34	2.7
2 Chronicles	22	2.7
1 Chronicles	23	2.4
Job	16	1.5
Isaiah	20	1.5
Psalms	15	0.6
Proverbs	8	0.9
Other (Josh, Hos, Jonah, Hab, Zec, Lam, Est, Ruth)	12	<2.0

Pattern: Heaviest in narrative books (Samuel, Kings, Genesis) and legal codes (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy). Historical narratives use the Qal for death reports; legal material uses the Hophal for execution formulae. Prophetic books (Jeremiah, Ezekiel) use it for judgment oracles. Notably low in Psalms relative to their length.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Natural/Narrative Death¶

Death as a life event — patriarchal death notices, reports of dying from old age or illness. - Gen 5:5 — "And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died." - Gen 25:8 — "Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years." - Job 42:17 — "So Job died, being old and full of days." - 2 Ki 13:20 — "And Elisha died, and they buried him."

2. Judicial Death Formula (מוֹת יוּמָת — "surely be put to death")¶

The infinitive absolute + Hophal imperfect construction for capital sentencing in the Mosaic code. - Gen 2:17 — "for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (מוֹת תָּמוּת — Qal InfAbs + Qal Impf) - Exo 21:12 — "He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death." - Lev 20:10 — "the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death." - Lev 24:16 — "he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death."

3. Death as Divine Judgment / Consequence of Sin¶

God directly causing death, or death resulting from disobedience. - Gen 38:7 — "And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him." - Lev 10:2 — "And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD." - Num 16:49 — "Now they that died in the plague were fourteen thousand and seven hundred." - 2 Sam 6:7 — "the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there... and there he died."

4. Death as a State / the Dead (Participial)¶

The Qal participle (מֵת) used adjectivally for a corpse or dead person. - Gen 23:3 — "Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake unto the sons of Heth." - Num 19:13 — "Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead..." - Lev 21:11 — "Neither shall he go in to any dead body." - Ecc 9:5 — "the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing."

5. Causative Killing (Hiphil)¶

The Hiphil stem used for intentional or commanded killing — humans causing death. - Gen 37:18 — "they conspired against him to slay him." - 1 Sam 2:6 — "The LORD killeth, and maketh alive." - Deu 32:39 — "I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal." - Jer 26:15 — "if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves."

6. Theological/Prophetic Death — Individual Accountability¶

Ezekiel's extended use of muwth for the principle of personal responsibility before God. - Eze 18:4 — "the soul that sinneth, it shall die." - Eze 18:20 — "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father." - Eze 33:8 — "When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die..." - Eze 33:15 — "If the wicked restore the pledge... he shall surely live; he shall not die."

7. Death as Universal Human Condition¶

Wisdom and existential reflections on mortality. - Ecc 3:2 — "A time to be born, and a time to die." - 2 Sam 14:14 — "For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground." - Job 14:10 — "But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?" - Hab 1:12 — "Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die."

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
אִישׁ (iysh)	H376	119x	"if a man [die / be put to death]" — legal formula subject
מֶלֶךְ (melek)	H4428	87x	"the king died" — royal death narratives
בּוֹא (bo)	H935	79x	"he came... and slew him" — narrative sequence
יוֹם (yowm)	H3117	72x	"in the day... thou shalt die" — temporal death warning
אֶרֶץ (erets)	H776	67x	"die in the land" — location of death
עָשָׂה (asah)	H6213	67x	"doeth... shall die" — offense-penalty construction
נָכָה (nakah)	H5221	60x	"smote him, and he died" — stock narrative formula
יָד (yad)	H3027	60x	"by the hand of... put to death" — agency

Synonyms (SDBH)¶

H1478 גָּוַע (gava) — to breathe out, expire; softer, euphemistic death (often paired with muwth in patriarchal narratives)
H2026 הָרַג (harag) — to slay, kill violently; agent-focused active killing verb
H5221 נָכָה (nakah) — to strike/smite; focuses on the blow, not the resulting death
H7523 רָצַח (ratsach) — to murder; specific to unlawful killing of persons
H7819 שָׁחַט (shachat) — to slaughter; primarily sacrificial or butchering contexts
H6 אָבַד (abad) — to perish, be lost; stresses the state of being gone, not the dying event

Antonyms¶

H2421 חָיָה (chayah) — to live, revive; direct antonym (Deu 32:39 "I kill, and I make alive")
H2416 חַי (chay) — living, alive; adjectival antonym

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
הָרַג (harag)	H2026	"slay," "kill"	harag = violent active killing (agent-focused); muwth = dying/death as state or result
נָכָה (nakah)	H5221	"slew," "smite"	nakah = deliver the blow; muwth = the resulting death
רָצַח (ratsach)	H7523	"slay," "kill"	ratsach = unlawful homicide specifically; muwth = any death
שָׁחַט (shachat)	H7819	"slay"	shachat = ritual slaughter/butchering; muwth = general dying
מָוֶת (maveth)	H4194	"death," "dead," "die"	maveth = the noun "death"; muwth = the verb "to die" (same root family)

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
ἀποθνήσκω (apothnesko) G599	366	28.53	Primary equivalent — standard "to die" verb
θανατόω (thanatoo) G2289	121	23.57	"to put to death" — maps to Hiphil/Hophal stems
τελευτάω (teleutao) G5053	62	20.34	"to finish life" — especially narrative death reports
θνήσκω (thnesko) G2348	52	19.11	"to die" — base form, less common than ἀποθνήσκω
θάνατος (thanatos) G2288	84	15.81	"death" noun — renders infinitive/participial forms
νεκρός (nekros) G3498	27	14.24	"dead" adjective — renders participial מֵת
ἀποκτείνω (apokteino) G615	48	12.94	"to kill outright" — maps to Hiphil causative
λιθοβολέω (lithoboleo) G3036	17	12.65	"to stone" — context-specific rendering for execution by stoning