H571 — אֶמֶת (ʾĕmĕt)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H571
Original: אֶמֶת
Transliteration: ʾĕmĕt (emeth)
Pronunciation: eh'-meth
Part of Speech: Adverb, feminine noun
Root: אָמַן (ʾāman, H539) — to be firm, believe, be faithful
Occurrences: 125 unique verses / 131 tokens in OT
Books: 23
First Occurrence: Gen 24:27 — "Blessed [be] the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Contracted from H539 (ʾāman); stability; (figuratively) certainty, truth, trustworthiness:—assured(-ly), establishment, faithful, right, sure, true (-ly, -th), verity.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
true	18	14.4%
and truth	17	13.6%
in truth	14	11.2%
truth	12	9.6%
of truth	11	8.8%
the truth	11	8.8%
thy truth	8	6.4%
in thy truth	4	3.2%
truly	4	3.2%
right	3	2.4%
faithfully	2	1.6%
(other phrases)	21	16.8%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Psalms	37	1.5
Isaiah	12	0.9
Proverbs	11	1.2
Jeremiah	11	0.8
Daniel	6	1.7
Genesis	6	0.4
2 Chronicles	5	0.6
1 Kings	5	0.6
Zechariah	5	1.8
Deuteronomy	3	0.3
Joshua	3	0.5
Judges	3	0.5
Nehemiah	3	0.7
2 Samuel	3	0.4
Exodus	2	0.2
2 Kings	2	0.3
Ezekiel	2	0.2
(remaining 6 books)	6	—

Pattern: Densest in poetic and prophetic literature. Psalms accounts for nearly 30% of all occurrences. Concentrated in covenantal, liturgical, and wisdom contexts.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Divine Faithfulness & Covenant Reliability¶

God's ʾĕmĕt is his enduring, stable commitment to his people and promises. - Gen 24:27 — "who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth" - Exo 34:6 — "The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth" - Psa 25:10 — "All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth" - Mic 7:20 — "Thou wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast sworn unto our fathers"

2. Human Integrity & Moral Character¶

People are called to embody ʾĕmĕt in conduct and inward disposition. - Exo 18:21 — "provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness" - Jos 24:14 — "fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth" - 1 Sam 12:24 — "fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart" - 2 Ki 20:3 — "I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart"

3. Truth vs. Falsehood / Veracity¶

ʾĕmĕt stands in direct opposition to lying, deceit, and unreliability. - Gen 42:16 — "that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you" - 1 Ki 17:24 — "the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth" - Prov 14:25 — "A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies" - Jer 9:5 — "they will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies" - Isa 59:14 — "truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter"

4. Instruction, Law, and Divine Word¶

ʾĕmĕt is tied to Torah, commandments, and prophetic revelation as trustworthy and certain. - Psa 119:142 — "Thy law is truth" - Psa 119:151 — "all thy commandments are truth" - Psa 119:160 — "the beginning of thy word is truth" - Mal 2:6 — "The law of truth was in his mouth" - Prov 22:21 — "the certainty of the words of truth"

ʾĕmĕt governs interpersonal and judicial conduct in the community. - Zech 7:9 — "Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother" - Zech 8:16 — "Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour" - Jer 4:2 — "swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness" - Isa 61:8 — "I will direct their work in truth"

6. Prophetic & Revelatory Certainty¶

Visions and oracles are validated as ʾĕmĕt — reliable and certain to come to pass. - Dan 10:1 — "the thing was true, but the time appointed was long" - Dan 10:21 — "that which is noted in the scripture of truth" - Dan 11:2 — "now will I shew thee the truth" - Dan 8:26 — "the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יְהֹוָה (YHWH)	H3068	44x	"thy truth," "his truth," "LORD God of truth"
חֶסֶד (chesed)	H2617	33x	"mercy and truth" (classic OT covenant pair)
דָּבָר (dābār)	H1697	26x	"word of truth," "words of truth"
אֱלֹהִים (ʾĕlōhîm)	H430	20x	"God of truth"
מִשְׁפָּט (mishpāṭ)	H4941	16x	"truth and judgment," "execute true judgment"
שָׁלוֹם (shālôm)	H7965	10x	"truth and peace"

Word Family / Cognates¶

H539 אָמַן (ʾāman) — root verb: to be firm, believe, be faithful
H530 אֱמוּנָה (ʾĕmûnâh) — feminine noun: firmness, fidelity, faithfulness
H543 אָמֵן (ʾâmēn) — adverb: truly, verily, so be it
H544 אֹמֶן (ʾômen) — masculine noun: verity (hapax, Isa 25:1)

Synonyms¶

H530 אֱמוּנָה (ʾĕmûnâh) — closest nominal cognate: faithfulness, steadiness, reliability.
H539 אָמַן (ʾāman) — verbal root behind firmness, trustworthiness, and truth.
H3477 יָשָׁר (yâshâr) — upright/right; moral straightness where truth overlaps with integrity.
H4941 מִשְׁפָּט (mishpâṭ) — judgment/justice; frequent ethical companion to truth in communal life.
H6664 צֶדֶק (tsedeq) and H6666 צְדָקָה (tsᵉdâqâh) — righteousness/right order, closely allied to truth in prophetic and wisdom contexts.
H7965 שָׁלוֹם (shâlôwm) — peace/wholeness; paired with truth in covenant-community ethics (Zech 8:16, 19).

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
אֱמוּנָה (ʾĕmûnâh)	H530	truth, faithfulness	Direct cognate from same ʾmn root; practically synonymous but more focused on active, enduring faithfulness/steadfastness
כֵּן (kēn)	H3651	true, right	Emphasizes correctness, appropriateness, or "so be it" rather than covenant reliability
יָשָׁר (yâshâr)	H3477	right, upright	Emphasizes moral straightness and integrity of path; distinct from ʾĕmĕt's stability/firmness
ἀλήθεια (alētheia)	G225	truth	Primary LXX equivalent, but narrower — more cognitive/propositional truth vs. Hebrew relational faithfulness

Antonyms¶

H7561 רָשָׁע (râshâʻ) — wickedness / wicked person; moral falsehood is the direct opposite pole to ʾĕmĕt's firmness and truth.

UBS Semantic Domains¶

Code	Domain Label	Notes
002001002008	Faithful	Core field for firmness, reliability, and covenant trustworthiness.
002001001029	Good	Secondary ethical field where truth aligns with goodness and beneficence.
002001003014	Right	Truth as moral rightness, straightness, and correctness.
002002003001	Endure	Reflects the durability/stability nuance built into the ʾmn root family.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Frequency	Notes
ἀλήθεια (alētheia) G225	83x	Dominant equivalent; captures "truth" sense
ἀληθινός (alēthinos) G228	13x	Adjective form — "genuine, true"
ἔλεος (éleos) G1656	25x	"Mercy" — from chesed weʾĕmĕt pair
δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosýnē) G1343	23x	"Righteousness" — conceptual overlap with divine reliability
ἀληθής (alēthḗs) G227	5x	Adjective — "true"
πίστις (pístis) G4102	5x	"Faith/faithfulness" — ʾĕmĕt's reliability sense

Key observation: The LXX splits ʾĕmĕt's dual Hebrew sense (truth + faithfulness). ἀλήθεια captures the "truth/reality" pole, while ἔλεος and πίστις carry the "faithfulness/reliability" pole, especially in covenant-pair contexts.