Abarim Publications' online Biblical Hebrew Dictionary
תחת
The noun, adverb and preposition תחת (tahat) occurs about 500 times in the Old Testament. It primarily means "beneath" or "under". It occurs in expressions such as "under the sun" or "under one's feet" or "under the authority of" but note that our word isn't necessarily negative as it may indicate a firm support (of everlasting arms, Deuteronomy 33:27). Our word may indicate an equal exchange (an eye "for" an eye; Exodus 21:24), a successional exchange (to rule "instead of" or "after" one's father; 1 Kings 11:43) or a substitutory exchange (a ram instead of Isaac; Genesis 22:13).
Its derivatives are:
- The adjective תחתון (tahton), meaning lower or lowest (Joshua 16:3, Isaiah 22:9, Ezekiel 40:18).
- The adjective and substantive תחתי (tahti) or תחתית (tahtit), meaning low, below or lowest (Genesis 6:16, Job 41:16, Isaiah 44:23). Note that this word is spelled the same as the construct of the primary noun: 'instead of' or 'to the lower end of'.