Hebrew

Noun

תוהו \ תֹּהוּ • ‎(tóhu) m [pattern: קֹטֶל]

1. (Biblical Hebrew, poetic) desolation, nothingness, emptiness
   • Genesis 1:2, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

     וְהָאָרֶץ הָיְתָה תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ וְחֹשֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵי תְהוֹם וְרוּחַ אֱלֹהִים מְרַחֶפֶת עַל־פְּנֵי הַמָּיִם׃‎

     v'ha'árets hay'tá tóhu vavóhu v'khóshekh 'al-p'néi t'hóm v'rúakh 'elohím m'rakhéfet 'al-p'néi hamáyim.
     wəhāʾā́reṣ hāyəṯā ṯṓhū wāḇṓhū wəḥṓšeḵ ʿal-pənē ṯəhōm wərū́aḥ ʾĕlōhīm məraḥép̄eṯ ʿal-pənē hammā́yim.

     Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters.

Derived terms

• תוהו ובוהו \ תֹּהוּ וָבֹהוּ

References

• “H8414”, in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible, 1979