Biblical Hebrew Forum

["K Randolph" <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

James:

Right now I am away from my house with my concordance, but tohu is
used several times in Tanakh, including Isaiah 44:9 where it is used
to describe lifeless idols, statues with form but no life. Contrasted
with the living God of Israel.

Bohu is used only three times, each time in context with tohu,
Jeremiah 4:23 and Isaiah 34:11. I understand bohu to refer to the
stillness of the lifeless places, in contrast to the hubbub found with
crowds.

But there is still controversy as to their meanings.

Karl W. Randolph.

On 7/2/06, JAMES CHRISTIAN READ <JCR128 AT student.apu.ac.uk> wrote:
> Much more worthy of debate is the precise meaning of the
> words tohu and bohu. These words remain a linguistic
> mystery and to the best of my knowledge are only attested
> in this particular verse.