Hebrew word · H4055

מַד

mido

garment

A garment, especially a fitted outer tunic or military dress, worn under or with armour. The pointed form here is plural ("his garments"), though it may refer to a single outfit.

Appears 11 times in 11 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) measure, cloth garment

1a) measure

1b) cloth, carpet

1c) garment (outer)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 1 Samuel 18:4

Range of meaning

A garment, especially a fitted outer tunic or military dress, worn under or with armour. The pointed form here is plural ("his garments"), though it may refer to a single outfit.

Against the English

BSB and NIV have "tunic." KJV has "garments," WEB "clothing," YLT "long robe," and ESV and NASB "armor." "Armor" overstates it. In 17:38 the Hebrew lists Saul's mad separately from his bronze helmet and coat of mail (shiryon), so mad is the soldier's cloth dress, not metal plate.

Used elsewhere in the period

Judg 3:16: Ehud straps his dagger "under his mad." 2 Sam 20:8: Joab is "girded with his mad as his clothing, and over it a belt with a sword." 2 Sam 10:4: Hanun cuts the envoys' madim in half to shame them. 1 Sam 17:38–39: Saul dresses David in his madav with helmet and armour, and David takes them off because he is "not used to them."

From the study of 1 Samuel 4:12

Range of meaning

A garment, especially a fitted or measured outer tunic, from madad, "to measure". Used for priestly linen (Lev 6:10), Saul's military tunic given to David (1 Sam 17:38–39), and Jonathan's tunic (1 Sam 18:4).

Against the English

"Clothes" and "garments" are fine. YLT's "long robes" is more specific than the evidence supports.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Samuel the word clusters around soldiers and their gear (17:38; 18:4).

From the study of Jeremiah 13:25

Range of meaning

The root מדד means 'to measure'. The related nouns mean measure, a measured amount, or size. A separate noun מַד also means a (measured or fitted) garment.

Against the English

KJV and YLT keep the plural, 'thy measures'. BSB, ESV and WEB turn it into a verb ('measured to you'), which is clearer and keeps the sense.

Used elsewhere in the period

Compare the idea in Isa 65:7, 'I will measure their former deeds into their lap'. The Vulgate reads 'pars mensurae tuae' (the share of your measure).

Where it appears

Leviticus · 1

  1. Leviticus 6:10 מִדּ֣וֹ garment his

    And the priest shall put on his linen robe and linen undergarments, and he shall remove from the altar the ashes of the burnt offering that the fire has consumed and place them beside it.

Judges · 2

  1. Judges 3:16 לְמַדָּ֔יו to garments his

    Now Ehud had made for himself a double-edged sword a cubit long. He strapped it to his right thigh under his cloak

  2. Judges 5:10 מִדִּ֛ין cloth garments

    You who ride white donkeys, who sit on saddle blankets, and you who travel the road, ponder

1 Samuel · 4

  1. 1 Samuel 4:12 וּמַדָּ֣יו and garments his

    That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line all the way to Shiloh, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.

    Here: A fitted outer garment, from a root meaning "to measure". In Samuel it is used for a soldier's tunic worn with armour (1 Sam 17:38; 18:4), so this may well be his military garment.

  2. 1 Samuel 17:38 מַדָּ֔יו garments his

    Then Saul clothed David in his own tunic, put a bronze helmet on his head, and dressed him in armor.

  3. 1 Samuel 17:39 לְמַדָּ֜יו <to> garments his

    David strapped his sword over the tunic and tried to walk, but he was not accustomed to them. “I cannot walk in these,” David said to Saul. “I am not accustomed to them.” So David took them off.

  4. 1 Samuel 18:4 וּמַדָּ֕יו and garments his

    And Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt.

    Here: "And his garments." This means a fitted tunic or military dress, the kind of garment a sword was strapped over (Judg 3:16; 2 Sam 20:8). It is the same word used when Saul tried to dress David in his own gear in 17:38–39, which David then took off.

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 20:8 מִדּ֣וֹ robe his

    And while they were at the great stone in Gibeon, Amasa joined them. Now Joab was dressed in military attire, with a dagger strapped to his belt. And as he stepped forward, he slipped the dagger from its sheath.

Job · 1

  1. Job 11:9 מִדָּ֑הּ measure its

    Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 109:18 כְּמַ֫דּ֥וֹ like garment his

    The cursing that he wore like a coat, may it soak into his body like water, and into his bones like oil.

    Here: A fitted outer garment (the word is linked to 'measure'); the same word is used for a priest's linen robe and Saul's war garment. Cursing was his tailored, everyday wear, the thing people saw him in.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 13:25 מִדַּ֛יִךְ measure<s> your

    This is your lot, the portion I have measured to you,” declares the LORD, “because you have forgotten Me and trusted in falsehood.

    Here: Most likely 'your measures', meaning the amount measured out to you. So 'portion of your measures' means 'your measured-out share'. The supplied gloss 'garment' belongs to a different use of the same root (see textual notes).

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.