Multitude

"multitude; lively commotion; agitation; tumult; uproar; commotion; turmoil; noise; crowd; abundance." This noun appears 85 times in biblical Hebrew and in all periods. The word represents a "lively commotion or agitation": "Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me" (Isa 63:15).

Hamôn represents the stirring or agitation of a crowd of people: "When Joab sent the king's servant, and me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was" (2Sam 18:29). In Isa 17:12 the word is synonymously parallel to sha’ôn, "rumbling": "Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!"

Sometimes hamôn represents the noise raised by an agitated crowd of people (a "tumult"): "And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What meaneth the noise of this tumult [raised by the report that the battle was lost]" (1Sam 4:14). In Isa 31:4 the word represents the mighty sound of a gathering army rather than the confused outcry of a mourning city: "The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the Lord of hosts mustereth the host of the battle." A young lion eating his prey is not disturbed by the noise of a band of shepherds trying to scare him off (Isa 31:4). There are exceptions to the rule that the word represents the sound of a large number of people. in 1Ki 18:41 hamôn signifies the roar of a heavy downpour of rain (cf. Jer 10:13), and in Jer 47:3 it represents the tumult of chariots.

Hamôn sometimes means a "multitude or crowd" from which a tumult may arise. Frequently the word represents a large army: "And I will draw unto thee, to the river Kishon, Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude [nasb, "many troops"] …" (Judg 4:7; cf. 1Sam 14:16). Elsewhere hamôn represents a whole people: "And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel …" (2Sam 6:19). Finally, any great throng, or a great number of people (Gen 17:4, the first occurrence) may be represented by this word.

A great number of things can be indicated by hamôn: "O Lord our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee a house for thine holy name …" (1Chron 29:16). Abundance of possessions or wealth is indicated by hamôn, as in: "A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked" (Psa 37:16; cf. Eccl 5:10, parallel to "silver" [money]; Isa 60:5).

Finally, hamôn refers to a group of people organized around a king, specifically, his courtiers: "Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude [his train or royal retinue]; Whom art thou like in thy greatness" (Ezek 31:2). Thus in Psa 42:4 the word can represent a festival procession, a kind of train.

"to make a noise, be tumultuous, roar, groan, bark, sound, moan." This verb, which occurs 33 times in biblical Hebrew, has cognates in Aramaic and Arabic. Psalm 83:2 contains one appearance: "For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head."

is used frequently in the four Gospels and the Acts; elsewhere only in Rev 7:9, Rev 17:15, Rev 19:1, Rev 19:6; it denotes (a) "a crowd or multitude of persons, a throng," e.g., Mat 1:14-15, Mat 15:33; often in the plural, e.g., Mat 4:25, Mat 5:1; with polus, "much" or "great," it signifies "a great multitude," e.g., Mat 20:29, or "the common people," Mar 12:37, perhaps preferably "the mass of the people." Field supports the meaning in the text, but either rendering is suitable. The mass of the people was attracted to Him (for the statement "heard Him gladly" cp. what is said in Mar 6:20 of Herod Antipas concerning John the Baptist); in Joh 12:9, "the common people," RV, stands in contrast with their leaders (Joh 12:10); Act 24:12, RV, "crowd;" (b) "the populace, an unorganized multitude," in contrast to demos, "the people as a body politic," e.g., Mat 14:5, Mat 21:26, Joh 7:12 (2nd part); (c) in a more general sense, "a multitude or company," e.g., Luk 6:17, RV, "a (great) multitude (of His disciples)," AV, "the company;" Act 1:15, "a multitude (of persons)," RV, AV, "the number (of names);" Act 24:18, RV, "crowd" (AV, "multitude"). See COMPANY, No. 1, NUMBER.

lit., "a fullness," hence, "a large company, a multitude," is used (a) of things: of fish, Luk 5:6, Joh 21:6; of sticks ("bundle"), Act 28:3; of stars and of sand, Heb 11:12; of sins, Jam 5:20, 1Pe 4:8; (b) of persons, (1) a "multitude:" of people, e.g., Mar 1:3-8, Luk 6:17, Joh 5:3, Act 14:1; of angels, Luk 2:13; (2) with the article, the whole number, the "multitude," the populace, e.g., Luk 1:10, Luk 8:37, Act 5:16, Act 19:9, Act 23:7; a particular company, e.g., of disciples, Luk 19:37, Act 4:32, Act 6:2, Act 6:5, Act 15:30; of elders, priests, and scribes, Act 23:7; of the Apostles and the elders of the Church in Jerusalem, Act 15:12. See ASSEMBLY, No. 3. BUNDLE, No. 2, COMPANY, No. 5.

Note: In Luk 12:1, AV, the phrase, lit., "the myriads of the multitude" is translated "an innumerable multitude of people" (where "people" translates No. 1, above), RV, "the many thousands of the multitude" (where "multitude" translates No. 1).