Hebrew word · H4095

מַדְרֵגָה

hamadregah

steep

Steep place, cliff, or terraced rock face. It comes from the root d-r-g, "to step". It occurs only here and in Ezek 38:20, where "the madregot will fall" alongside mountains collapsing, which shows it is a natural rock formation.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

steep place, steep

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 Song of Songs 2:14

Range of meaning

Steep place, cliff, or terraced rock face. It comes from the root d-r-g, "to step". It occurs only here and in Ezek 38:20, where "the madregot will fall" alongside mountains collapsing, which shows it is a natural rock formation. In later Hebrew madregah means a step or stair, which is where the KJV's rendering comes from.

Against the English

KJV "stairs"; YLT "ascent"; BSB "cliff"; WEB "mountainside". Modern versions mostly use cliff or steep place. NASB's "steep pathway" is in between.

How it drifted

The KJV translators followed the later Hebrew and rabbinic sense "step". A modern reader hears a built staircase, which brings in a house or a temple stairway. The ancient versions read the word as some kind of wall instead (see textual notes).

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezek 38:20, in parallel with mountains and walls falling. Song Rabbah and the Targum read "stairs" or "steps". HALOT and BDB give "steep place" or "cliff".

Where it appears

Song of Songs · 1

  1. Song of Songs 2:14 הַמַּדְרֵגָ֔ה the steep place

    O my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the crevices of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your countenance is lovely.

    Here: "The steep cliff": a sheer rock face, probably one with step-like ledges. The word occurs only here and in Ezek 38:20. It does not mean a built staircase.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 38:20 הַמַּדְרֵג֔וֹת the steep places

    The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that crawls upon the ground, and all mankind on the face of the earth will tremble at My presence. The mountains will be thrown down, the cliffs will collapse, and every wall will fall to the ground.

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