מַצְלֵמָה (matzlemah) — camera

Etymology

The Semitic root צ.ל.מ has a long and layered history. Its most basic meaning appears to have been cutting or engraving — a sense preserved only in Arabic, where the root still means to cut or carve. In biblical Hebrew the root yielded צֶלֶם (tselem), meaning image, likeness, or idol — most famously in Genesis 1:26-27 ("God created the human being in His image, בְּצַלְמוֹ"). In Aramaic, צַלְמָא carries the same meanings. In the Talmudic and medieval periods, Hebrew and Yiddish speakers applied the word to crucifixes, and later to the German coins bearing cross emblems that circulated in Central Europe.

Some scholars argue that certain Psalms (e.g., Psalm 39:7, "Surely a human being walks as a mere image (בְּצֶלֶם)") suggest a second meaning connected with shadow or darkness, parallel to the obscure word צַלְמָוֶת. However, this interpretation is largely rejected: the "darkness" meaning appears only in these verses and in texts that explicitly reference them, while the "image" meaning is consistent and well-attested throughout Semitic.

In the mid-19th century, as early photography spread through Europe and the first reports reached the Hebrew-language press, Hebrew writers struggled with what to call the new technology. Yosef Herzburg in HaCarmel (1863) described it as the "dark room machine" (מְכוֹנַת הַלִּשְׁכָּה הַחֲשֵׁכָה, i.e., camera obscura). The following decades saw anarchic coinage attempts: "ציורי צלמון" (tsalmonic drawings, Ivri Anochi 1867), "צייר-צורות" (form-painter, Kevod HaLevanon 1872), "חרט האור" (stylus of light, Ivri Anochi 1877), "חרטומי-אור" (light-engravers, HaTzfira 1889), and Ben-Yehuda's own "ציור אור" (light-drawing, 1888).

The decisive move came from David Yellin, a teacher and linguist who was Ben-Yehuda's close friend. Yellin saw that the root צ.ל.מ — covering both "image" and, he believed, "darkness" (an interpretation now considered dubious) — perfectly fit the camera: it captured images, and it operated via the camera obscura ("dark room"). He chose the root and began inserting the new vocabulary into a news article he sent to HaMelitz, writing "the photographer (הַצֶּלֶם) photographs (מְצַלֵּם) them." The editor in St. Petersburg published the article but misread Yellin's handwriting and printed "the cross (הַצְּלַב) crucifies (מְצַלֵּב) them" instead — a spectacular editorial mishap.

Despite this setback, the root צ.ל.מ spread through Hebrew in the early 20th century with Yellin's meanings. The camera itself was initially called צַלְמָנִיָּה (also used for a photography studio). In 1930 the Va'ad HaLashon (Language Committee) convened to standardize photography vocabulary, and on the advice of the poet Chaim Nachman Bialik they decided the camera should be called מַצְלֵמָה — the standard mif'ala noun pattern applied to the root — while צַלְמָנִיָּה was freed up for the photography studio. Both usages have persisted to the present day.

Key Quotes

"בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים עָשָׂה אֶת הָאָדָם" — Genesis 9:6 (biblical foundation of the root's "image" meaning)

"המכונה הנקובה בשם לשכה חשוכה (קאמערע אובסקורע) לפניה ישב איש לאור יומם, ודמותו מצוירה על ידי קרני האור (פאטאגראפיע)" — Yosef Herzburg, HaCarmel, 1863 (first Hebrew account of photography)

"והצלב מצלב אותם" — HaMelitz (what was actually printed, instead of Yellin's "הצלם מצלם אותם")

Timeline

• Genesis 1:26-27 (biblical): צֶלֶם as "image/likeness of God"
• Talmudic period: צֶלֶם applied to crucifixes and forbidden images
• 19th century: צְלָמִים applied to cross-bearing German coins in Yiddish-influenced Hebrew
• 1839: Daguerreotype photography announced publicly in France
• 1863: Yosef Herzburg gives first Hebrew account of photography in HaCarmel
• 1867–1889: Competing Hebrew coinages proposed (none successful)
• Early 1900s: David Yellin uses לְצַלֵּם and הַצֶּלֶם in an article sent to HaMelitz; misprinted as "הַצְּלַב מְצַלֵּב"
• 1900s–1920s: Root צ.ל.מ spreads for photography; camera called צַלְמָנִיָּה
• 1930: Va'ad HaLashon standardizes מַצְלֵמָה for camera (per Bialik's suggestion); צַלְמָנִיָּה reserved for photography studio

Related Words

• צֶלֶם — image, likeness; the biblical noun from the same root
• לְצַלֵּם — to photograph; the pi'el verb coined by Yellin
• צַלְמָנִיָּה — photography studio; the earlier term for the camera, now used for the shop
• צַלְמָוֶת — the obscure biblical word linked to darkness (Psalm 23:4); phonetically similar but etymologically debated
• קָמֶרָה — camera (the loanword used before מַצְלֵמָה was standardized)