H8548 — תָּמִיד (tamid)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H8548
Original: תָּמִיד
Transliteration: tamid
Pronunciation: taw-meed'
Part of Speech: Masculine noun (used attributively as adjective and adverbially)
Root: Unused root meaning "to stretch" — properly, continuance as indefinite extension
Occurrences: 104 in OT
First Occurrence: Exo 25:30 — "thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway (tamid)"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From an unused root meaning to stretch; properly, continuance (as indefinite extension); but used only (attributively as adjective) constant (or adverbially, constantly); elliptically the regular (daily) sacrifice: alway(-s), continual (employment, -ly), daily, (n-)ever(-more), perpetual.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
continually	53	50.5%
the continual	17	16.2%
continual	9	8.6%
the daily	7	6.7%
always	6	5.7%
alway	4	3.8%
perpetual	2	1.9%
ever	2	1.9%
shall ever / evermore	2	1.9%
other	3	2.9%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Psalms	23	0.9
Numbers	20	1.5
Exodus	8	0.7
Isaiah	8	0.6
Leviticus	6	0.7
1 Chronicles	5	0.5
Daniel	5	1.4
Proverbs	4	0.4
Ezekiel	4	0.3
2 Samuel	3	0.4
2 Kings	3	0.4
2 Chronicles	3	0.4
Jeremiah	3	0.2
Habakkuk	2	3.6
Nehemiah	2	0.6
Deuteronomy	1	0.1
1 Kings	1	0.1
Hosea	1	0.5
Obadiah	1	4.8
Nahum	1	2.1
Ezra	1	0.4

Heaviest concentration in Numbers (cultic legislation for offerings) and Psalms (devotional/worship use). Two distinct usage domains: ritual law (Pentateuch) and spiritual devotion (Psalms, Prophets). Daniel uses tamid substantively ("the daily") in an apocalyptic context. Absent from all NT-era literature (no Greek direct equivalent — rendered as the phrase dia pantos).

Semantic Categories¶

1. The Continual Burnt Offering (Cultic Ritual)¶

The dominant use — tamid modifies the burnt offering (olat tamid), the twice-daily lamb sacrifice and associated offerings that formed the backbone of Israel's worship system. - Exo 29:42 — "[This shall be] a continual (tamid) burnt offering throughout your generations" - Num 28:3 — "two lambs of the first year without spot day by day, [for] a continual (tamid) burnt offering" - Num 28:6 — "[It is] a continual (tamid) burnt offering, which was ordained in mount Sinai" - Psa 50:8 — "thy burnt offerings, [to have been] continually (tamid) before me"

2. Other Continual Sanctuary Elements¶

Tamid also describes the perpetual showbread, the perpetual lamp, and the perpetual incense — items that were never to be interrupted in the tabernacle/temple. - Exo 25:30 — "thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway (tamid)" - Exo 27:20 — "pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always (tamid)" - Exo 30:8 — "a perpetual (tamid) incense before the LORD throughout your generations" - Lev 6:13 — "The fire shall ever (tamid) be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out"

3. Substantive "The Daily" (Daniel's Apocalyptic Usage)¶

In Daniel, tamid is used absolutely as a noun — "the tamid" (the continual [service]) — without any qualifying noun. KJV supplies [sacrifice] in italics. - Dan 8:11 — "by him the daily (tamid) [sacrifice] was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down" - Dan 8:13 — "How long [shall be] the vision [concerning] the daily (tamid) [sacrifice], and the transgression of desolation" - Dan 11:31 — "they shall take away the daily (tamid) [sacrifice], and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate" - Dan 12:11 — "from the time [that] the daily (tamid) [sacrifice] shall be taken away"

4. Continual Devotion and Praise¶

In the Psalms and Wisdom literature, tamid describes the uninterrupted orientation of the worshiper toward God — continual praise, prayer, and attention. - Psa 16:8 — "I have set the LORD always (tamid) before me" - Psa 34:1 — "his praise [shall] continually (tamid) [be] in my mouth" - Psa 73:23 — "Nevertheless I [am] continually (tamid) with thee" - Psa 119:44 — "So shall I keep thy law continually (tamid) for ever and ever" - Psa 71:6 — "my praise [shall be] continually (tamid) of thee"

5. Continual States and Conditions (Prophetic)¶

The prophets use tamid for uninterrupted states — both divine attention and persistent evil. - Isa 49:16 — "thy walls [are] continually (tamid) before me" - Isa 52:5 — "my name continually (tamid) every day [is] blasphemed" - Isa 60:11 — "thy gates shall be open continually (tamid)" - Nah 3:19 — "upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually (tamid)?" - Hab 1:17 — "not spare continually (tamid) to slay the nations"

6. Priestly Duty and Divine Care¶

Tamid describes the unbroken nature of priestly mediation and God's watchful care. - Exo 28:29 — "Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel... for a memorial before the LORD continually (tamid)" - Exo 28:38 — "it shall be always (tamid) upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD" - Deu 11:12 — "the eyes of the LORD thy God [are] always (tamid) upon it"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
עֹלָה (olah)	H5930	26x	"continual burnt offering" (olat tamid)
פָּנִים (panim)	H6440	26x	"before [the LORD] continually" (lipne YHWH tamid)
מִנְחָה (minchah)	H4503	16x	"continual meat/meal offering"
יוֹם (yom)	H3117	16x	"day by day continually"
נֶסֶךְ (nesek)	H5262	15x	"drink offering... beside the continual"
חַטָּאָה (chattaah)	H2403	12x	"sin offering... beside the continual burnt offering"
לֶחֶם (lechem)	H3899	8x	"continual bread" (lechem tamid = showbread)
בֹּקֶר (boqer)	H1242	7x	"morning... continual burnt offering"
קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh)	H6944	6x	"holy... continual" (sanctuary context)

The collocation pattern reveals tamid as fundamentally a temple/worship term: 5 of the top 9 collocations are sacrificial vocabulary (olah, minchah, nesek, chattaah, lechem).

Synonyms¶

No synonyms returned by search_relationships.py for H8548.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms returned by search_relationships.py for H8548.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
עוֹלָם (olam)	H5769	"perpetual" (22x)	olam = eternity, indefinite past/future; tamid = regularity, unbroken recurrence
נֶצַח (netsach)	H5331	"perpetual" (3x)	netsach = permanence, endurance to the end; tamid = ongoing continuity without interruption
יוֹם (yom)	H3117	"continually" (10x), "daily" (32x)	yom = literal day, used idiomatically; tamid = the quality of being unceasing
כֹּל (kol)	H3605	"continually" (11x)	kol = totality ("all the day"); tamid = the unbroken nature of the action
הָלַךְ (halak)	H1980	"continually" (6x)	halak = to walk/go, used in progressive idiom (halok + infinitive); tamid = adverbial constant
תְּדִירָא (tedira)	H8411	"continually" (2x)	Aramaic equivalent of tamid used in Dan 6:16, 20 (Aramaic section)

Key Semantic Distinction¶

Tamid emphasizes regular, uninterrupted recurrence — a pattern that continues without cessation. Unlike olam (which looks at duration from beginning to end) or netsach (which emphasizes permanence/victory), tamid focuses on the ongoing, repetitive nature of the action. This is why it becomes the technical term for the twice-daily sacrifice: it is not eternal (olam) but regular and uninterrupted (tamid).

Semantic Domains¶

UBS / Relationship Domains¶

[002002003001] Endure — search_relationships.py places tamid in the endurance/continuance field, which fits its core sense of unbroken persistence rather than absolute eternity.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Context	Notes
διὰ παντός (dia pantos)	G1223 + G3956	Primary rendering — a prepositional phrase ("through all [time]"), not a single word
θυσία (thysia) G2378	cultic contexts	"sacrifice" — co-occurs when LXX expands tamid into its referent
ὁλοκαύτωμα (holokautoma) G3646	cultic contexts	"whole burnt offering" — LXX makes explicit what Hebrew leaves elliptical
ἐνδελεχισμός (endelechismos)	Num 28-29	Technical LXX coinage for "the continual [offering]" — used in Numbers

The LXX handles tamid as a phrase (dia pantos) rather than a single lexeme. In cultic contexts it often translates the full expression (e.g., "the continual burnt offering" → "the whole burnt offering of continuance"), making the sacrificial referent explicit where Hebrew uses tamid elliptically.