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The Gemara describes the chilazon used for Techeiles as:
חלזון זה גופו דומה לים וברייתו דומה לדג
“This chilazon: its body resembles the yam, and its form resembles a fish.”
(Menachos 44a)
One well-established understanding of גופו דומה לים is that the appearance or color of the chilazon resembles the sea. Rabbeinu Gershom explains “גופו דומה לים – מראה גופו,” and the Rambam describes the chilazon as “דג שדומה עינו לעין הים.”
There is, however, another question: Does the Hebrew word ים (yam) necessarily refer only to the water itself, or can it also refer to the ground, basin, or receptacle containing the water?
On this point, numerous classical sources are explicit.
Bereishis 1:10 — What Exactly Did Hashem Call “Yam”?
The Torah states:
וַיִּקְרָא אֱלֹהִים לַיַּבָּשָׁה אֶרֶץ וּלְמִקְוֵה הַמַּיִם קָרָא יַמִּים
“And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering of the waters He called yamim.”
(Bereishis 1:10)
At first glance, this might seem to establish that yam simply means a body of water. Several major Rishonim, however, understand the wording differently.
Ramban
The Ramban writes:
וַיִּקְרָא אֱלֹהִים לַיַּבָּשָׁה אֶרֶץ יֹאמַר כִּי שְׁמָהּ הָרָאוּי לָהּ “יַבָּשָׁה”, כִּי בְּהִפָּרֵד הַמַּיִם מִן הֶעָפָר הִיא יְבֵשָׁה, אֲבָל יִקְרָא אוֹתָהּ “אֶרֶץ” כְּשֵׁם כְּלַל הַיְּסוֹדוֹת הַנִּבְרָא בָּרִאשׁוֹן, וְהַטַּעַם כִּי בַּעֲבוּרָהּ נִבְרְאוּ, שֶׁתִּהְיֶה יִשּׁוּב לָאָדָם, שֶׁאֵין בַּתַּחְתּוֹנִים מַכִּיר בּוֹרְאוֹ זוּלָתוֹ. וְקָרָא לְמִקְוֵה הַמַּיִם “יַמִּים”, כְּאִלּוּ הוּא “יָם מַיִם”, לְפִי שֶׁקַּרְקַע הַמִּקְוֶה נִקְרָא “יָם”, כְּדִכְתִיב (ישעיהו יא ט) “כַּמַּיִם לַיָּם מְכַסִּים”, וְכֵן “וְאֶת הַיָּם הוֹרִד מֵעַל הַבָּקָר” (מלכים ב טז יז), כִּי מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהוּא מִקְוֵה מַיִם גָּדוֹל יִקָּרֵא כֵּן:
AND G-D CALLED THE DRY LAND EARTH. The verse states that the proper name for it would be yabashah (dry land) for as the waters are separated from the sand it becomes dry. However, He called it eretz (earth) as the name which included the four elements created on the first day. The reason for this is that they were all created for the sake of the earth in order that there be a habitation for man, since among the lower creatures no one but man recognizes his Creator.
And the gathering together of the waters He called ‘yamim’ (seas). It is as if [the word yamim, (seas) combines the two words] yam and mayim (a sea of waters), for the bottom of the ocean is called yam, as it is written, As the waters cover the sea [Isaiah 11:9] , and likewise, And he took down the sea from off the brazen oxen [II Kings 16:17]. It is called “sea” because there was a large gathering of water in it.
לפי שקרקע המקוה נקרא ים
“Because the floor of the body of water is called yam.”
He brings as proof Yeshayahu’s expression כמים לים מכסים — “as the waters cover the yam.” In other words, the water is covering something called yam.
Radak
The Radak is even more explicit:
ויקרא, up until now this mass of dry land had not qualified for a name, seeing that it had not been visible to the naked eye. The same applies to the waters, which, though they had existed since the first day, had only now been called ימים, oceans. They had previously only been known as תהום, a murky mass of liquid containing some opaque solid particles. The second verse in which we read of these definitions had been written by Moses, had not been said by G’d. What Moses had meant is that at that time there existed something, which in his time was referred to as תהום.
Alternately, we could say that the word תהם is derived from the word תהו. This would be an appropriate description, seeing that in the deep waters there is so much confusion and so little light that everything appears as utter confusion, and none of the creatures in that environment can derive pleasure or satisfaction from their existence. There are such locations in the middle of the ocean where the waters are exceedingly deep and far removed from any of the continents of the earth known as dry land by the Torah. Certain of the scientists have already offered proof that earth, i.e. our lower universe, is a sphere seeing that earth itself exists as part of a much greater sphere, the universe. [remember that in Kimchi’s time before Copernicus, the earth was considered the center of the universe or the galaxy, not the sun, as proven by Copernicus in 1543. Ed.] According to the theory proposed by Kimchi or the scientists of his time, one configuration cannot maintain its individuality if it is within another configuration which is different. [If I understand him correctly, he reasons that the earth being spherical is determined by its position within the larger universe surrounded by orbiting planets, which would collide if earth were not dead center, and equidistant on all sides from all the planets orbiting around it. Ed.]
; In fact, the very place described by scientists as תהום is an area in which ships cannot navigate, nor fish survive. The word תהום is a figure of speech, borrowed from descriptions of places containing deep waters. The name ים, ocean, on the other hand, is a term describing the location of the water, a word which is not a derivative of any other root or noun. It is not an adjective describing the condition of the water. It is not comparable to the name יבשת, which is called thus because it reflects the fact that it consists of material which is dry. It is a noun in its own right. The noun ארץ, on the other hand, is also not derived from an adjective, but a definition in its own right. The word תהום, though a noun, merely describes a large quantity of water, as distinct from the word ים, which may apply even to a very shallow expanse of water, including areas very close to a sandy beach.
וים הוא שם למקום עצמו
“The name ים, ocean, on the other hand, is a term describing the location of the water”
He further explains that the word can apply even to parts of that place where there is not a great quantity of water. Thus, in his explanation of Bereishis 1:10, yam is fundamentally a name for the location or basin occupied by the sea.
Rabbeinu Bachya
Rabbeinu Bachya writes:
ולמקוה המים קרא ימים. אין שם הים נקרא על המים כי אם על החפירה, וזהו שתרגם אונקלוס ולבית כנישות מיא, כלומר החפירה שהוא בית המקוה שהמים נקוים שם, וכן אמר הכתוב (ישעיה י״א ט’) כמים לים מכסים כי המים מכסים את החפירה הנקרא ים, וכן בברכת הדגים או התנינים ביום חמישי אמר ומלאו את המים בימים, באר כי המים עומדים בימים, וראיה עוד הים שעשה שלמה הוא שכתוב (מ״ב י׳) ואת הים הוריד מעל הבקר, ואמר קרא ימים ולא ים לפי שהם רבים, ודרשו רז״ל שבעה ימים הם:
ולמקוה המים קרא ימים. “And the gathering of waters He called ‘oceans.’” The term הים does not apply to the actual waters but to the hollow of the globe within which they are situated. This is why Onkelos translates these words as ולבית כנשות מיא.,meaning the dug out part. which holds the waters in one place and prevents it from overflowing. Isaiah 11,9 which reads: “and the waters cover the sea,” proves that this is the true meaning of “oceans.” Genesis 1,22 describing the habitat of the fish also supports this view. The Trah writes: ומלא את המים בימים, “and they shall fill the waters in the oceans.” A further proof of the correctness of this interpretation is found in Kings II 16,17 ואת הים מעל הבקר הנחשת אשר תחתיה הוריד ,”and the tank he (King Achaz) lowered from the (bronze) oxen which were below it.” The fact that the word for ocean in our verse is inythe plural proves that it refers to the depressions in the globe that the waters are in, else the fact that the surface of the waters are contiguous would require that the Torah write the word ים, “ocean” in the singular. The Talmud in Baba Batra 74 states that there are seven oceans.
אין שם הים נקרא על המים כי אם על החפירה
The term הים does not apply to the actual waters but to the hollow of the globe within which they are situated.
He explains that the waters gather inside this basin, which is itself called yam. He then brings several proofs from Tanach.
These are not modern reinterpretations of the word. They are explicit definitions given by major Rishonim while explaining the very verse that first introduces the term ימים.
Bereishis 1:22 — The Waters Are “in the Yamim”
Later in the same chapter, the Torah states:
פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ וּמִלְאוּ אֶת הַמַּיִם בַּיַּמִּים
“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the yamim.”
(Bereishis 1:22)
Rabbeinu Bachya notes the unusual formulation and writes:
באר כי המים עומדים בימים
“It makes clear that the waters stand in the yamim.”
His point is straightforward: the verse distinguishes between המים, the waters, and הימים, the yamim in which those waters are found. This fits his definition of yam as the basin or receptacle containing the water.
Yeshayahu 11:9 — Water Covers the Yam
Yeshayahu describes the future state of the world:
לֹא־יָרֵ֥עוּ וְלֹֽא־יַשְׁחִ֖יתוּ בְּכׇל־הַ֣ר קׇדְשִׁ֑י כִּֽי־מָלְאָ֣ה הָאָ֗רֶץ דֵּעָה֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֔ה כַּמַּ֖יִם לַיָּ֥ם מְכַסִּֽים׃ {ס}
They shall neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mount, for the land shall be full of knowledge of the Lord as water covers the seabed.
כִּי מָלְאָה הָאָרֶץ דֵּעָה אֶת ה׳ כַּמַּיִם לַיָּם מְכַסִּים
“for the land shall be full of knowledge of the Lord as water covers the seabed.”
(Yeshayahu 11:9)
If yam in this phrase referred only to the water itself, the formulation “the waters cover the water” would be difficult. Classical commentators therefore explain yam here as the place beneath or containing the water.
Radak
The Radak explains:
כמים לים מכסים. מקום המים יקרא ים המים ממלאים אותו המקום עד שמכסים אותו שלא יראה קרקע הים:
מקום המים יקרא ים
“The place of the water is called yam.”
He continues that the waters fill that place until the sea floor can no longer be seen.
Metzudas David
Metzudas David similarly writes:
כמים לים מכסים. מקום המים קרוי ים והמים ממלאים אותו המקום עד שלא יראה הקרקע ואמר כמו שכל הים מכוסה במים כן יהיו כולם מכוסים וממולאים בדעה:
מקום המים קרוי ים
“The place of the water is called yam.”
The water fills this place until the underlying ground is hidden.
Malbim
The Malbim is particularly explicit in his Biur HaMilos:
ים – הוא החפירה העמוקה שבו המים מתקבצים
“Yam is the deep basin in which the waters gather.”
He adduces the Yam HaNechoshes, the great basin constructed by Shlomo HaMelech, as proof.
Chavakuk 2:14 — The Same Expression
Chavakuk uses almost identical language:
כִּי תִּמָּלֵא הָאָרֶץ לָדַעַת אֶת כְּבוֹד ה׳ כַּמַּיִם יְכַסּוּ עַל יָם
“For the earth will be filled with knowledge of the glory of Hashem, as the waters cover the yam.”
(Chavakuk 2:14)
Metzudas David explains:
מקום המים קרוי ים והמים הם הממלאים את המקום ומכסים אותו
“The place of the water is called yam, while the waters fill and cover that place.”
Once again, yam and the water covering it are treated as two distinguishable things.
The “Yam” Made by Shlomo HaMelech
There is another striking usage of the word yam in Tanach.
When describing the vessels of the Beis HaMikdash, Melachim states:
וַיַּעַשׂ אֶת הַיָּם מוּצָק
“He made the cast Yam.”
(Melachim I 7:23)
This “Yam” was a massive manufactured basin. Shlomo obviously did not manufacture water; he manufactured the receptacle that held it.
Later, regarding King Achaz, Tanach states:
וְאֶת הַיָּם הוֹרִד מֵעַל הַבָּקָר הַנְּחֹשֶׁת
“He lowered the Yam from upon the copper oxen.”
(Melachim II 16:17)
Again, the object called ים is the physical receptacle. Ramban and Rabbeinu Bachya themselves cite this Yam shel Shlomo as evidence for how the word can function.
Shaarei Orah
Rav Yosef Gikatilla gives an unusually direct lexical definition:
ולשון ים הוא הקרקע המחזיק את המים
“The term yam refers to the ground which holds the water.”
He concludes:
הרי בית קיבול המים נקרא ים
“Thus, the receptacle of the water is called yam.”
(Shaarei Orah, First Gate)
Tur HaAruch
The Tur HaAruch, commenting on Bereishis 1:10, writes:
שקרקע המים נקרא ים
“The ground of the waters is called yam.”
He too brings כמים לים מכסים as proof.
Alshich
The Alshich explains Bereishis 1:10:
ואל קרקע הארץ קרא ימים
“He called the ground of the earth [beneath the water] yamim.”
He likewise cites כמים לים מכסים as support.
What About Mishnah Mikvaos 5:4?
The Mishnah states:
כל הימים כמקוה, שנאמר ולמקוה המים קרא ימים
“All seas have the status of a mikveh, as it says, ‘And the gathering of the waters He called seas.’”
(Mikvaos 5:4; also Parah 8:8)
This certainly demonstrates that in Chazal, ים can be used in the ordinary sense of a sea or gathered body of water. But that is not in dispute. The question is not whether yam can mean a body of water. Of course it can. The question is whether that is its only possible meaning. The sources above demonstrate that it is not.
Indeed, Ramban, Radak and Rabbeinu Bachya all discuss Bereishis 1:10 itself — the same verse quoted by the Mishnah — and explicitly identify yam with the basin, floor, place, or receptacle containing the water.
Therefore, collecting examples in which Chazal use yam to refer to a sea does not negate the alternative meaning any more than demonstrating one meaning of any Hebrew word eliminates its other attested meanings.
What Does This Mean for “גופו דומה לים”?
None of this proves that גופו דומה לים in Menachos 44a must mean that the chilazon resembles the seabed.
There is certainly classical support for understanding the phrase as referring to appearance or color. Rabbeinu Gershom explains “מראה גופו,” and the Rambam describes the chilazon as resembling the appearance of the sea. The point is narrower.
ים is demonstrably capable of referring to the sea basin, seabed, or physical receptacle containing the water. Ramban, Radak, Rabbeinu Bachya, Shaarei Orah, Tur HaAruch, Alshich, Malbim, Metzudas David and others say so explicitly.
Therefore, interpreting גופו דומה לים as a possible reference to resemblance to the seabed cannot simply be dismissed on the grounds that “yam means water.” It sometimes does.
It also demonstrably means the place beneath and containing that water.