(Heb yam), signifies (1) "the gathering together of the waters," the ocean (Ge 1:10); (2) a river, as the Nile (Isa 19:5), the Euphrates (Isa 21:1; Jer 51:36); (3) the Red Sea (Ex 14:16,27; 15:4, etc.); (4) the Mediterranean (Ex 23:31; Nu 34:6-7; Jos 15:47; Ps 80:11, etc.); (5) the "sea of Galilee," an inland fresh-water lake, and (6) the Dead Sea or "salt sea" (Ge 14:3; Nu 34:3,12, etc.). The word "sea" is used symbolically in Isa 60:5, where it probably means the nations around the Mediterranean. In Da 7:3; Re 13:1 it may mean the tumultuous changes among the nations of the earth.

This is used as a symbol of the mass of the people unorganised. Re 13:1. In Re 13:11 a beast arises out of the earth, pointing to organisation.