Hebrew word · H4132

מוֹט

hamot

yoke

As a verb: totter, shake, slip, give way, be toppled. As a noun (as here): a tottering or slipping. The same consonants also make a separate noun meaning a carrying pole or bar (Numbers 4:10; 13:23), later a yoke-bar. That other noun explains why lexicons list 'yoke' under this Strong's number.

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) a shaking, wavering, pole, bar of yoke

1a) a shaking, tottering

1b) pole, bar (for carrying)

1c) bar of yoke

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 Psalm 121:3

Range of meaning

As a verb: totter, shake, slip, give way, be toppled. As a noun (as here): a tottering or slipping. The same consonants also make a separate noun meaning a carrying pole or bar (Numbers 4:10; 13:23), later a yoke-bar. That other noun explains why lexicons list 'yoke' under this Strong's number.

Against the English

KJV and WEB have 'to be moved'. BSB, NIV and NASB have 'slip'. JPS has 'give way', and NLT turns it into 'let you stumble'. In modern English 'moved' suggests moved emotionally or simply changing place, which hides the danger of losing your footing.

How it drifted

In 1611 'moved' could mean 'shaken, dislodged'. Modern ears hear 'relocated' or 'touched emotionally'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Psalm 66:9 uses almost the same phrase: 'he has not given our foot to the tottering' (lōʾ-nātan lammôṭ raglēnû). Psalm 55:22: 'he will never let the righteous be moved (môṭ).' Deuteronomy 32:35: 'in due time their foot will slip (tāmûṭ).' Psalm 16:8 and 62:2, 6: 'I shall not be moved', meaning 'not toppled'. The LXX has eis salon, 'to tossing, unsteadiness' (salos is also the word for the rolling of the sea).

From the study of Nahum 1:13

Range of meaning

From a root meaning 'to totter, slip'. As a noun: (1) a pole or bar for carrying a load between two people (Num 13:23; 4:10, 12); (2) the crossbar of a yoke (here; compare the feminine form môṭâ in Lev 26:13; Jer 27:2; 28:10–13; Ezek 34:27); (3) 'a slipping, tottering' (Ps 66:9; 121:3).

Against the English

KJV/WEB/ESV 'yoke', NASB 'yoke bar', YLT 'rod', and BSB/NIV 'their yoke … from your neck'. 'Yoke' is accurate. 'Yoke-bar' is the most exact, because it names the heavy wooden beam itself. YLT's 'rod' fits the 'pole' sense or the Greek reading 'staff'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jeremiah 27–28 is the fullest illustration. Jeremiah wears 'straps and yoke-bars' (môsērôt ûmōṭôt) as a sign of submission to Babylon, and the prophet Hananiah breaks the yoke-bar off his neck. In Assyrian royal inscriptions the yoke (Akkadian nīru) is the standard image for vassal status: kings speak of imposing 'the yoke of my lordship' on conquered lands. Sennacherib's annals describe Hezekiah of Judah as one 'who had not submitted to my yoke.' The Septuagint reads the same consonants as 'his rod' (τὴν ῥάβδον αὐτοῦ).

From the study of Psalm 66:9

Range of meaning

(1) Tottering, shaking, slipping (noun from the verb מוּט, 'to totter, give way'); (2) a pole or bar for carrying (Num 4:10, 12; 13:23), and by extension a yoke-bar (Nah 1:13). HALOT and BDB treat the 'tottering' sense as the one used here.

Against the English

KJV/WEB/YLT: 'to be moved'; BSB/NIV/ESV/NASB: 'slipping' or 'slip'; NLT: 'stumbling.' The modern versions catch the picture; the KJV's 'moved' no longer does.

How it drifted

In 1611, 'moved' meant 'shaken, dislodged, toppled.' Today it suggests either changing location or being emotionally touched, neither of which is meant.

Used elsewhere in the period

Almost the same phrase appears in Ps 121:3, 'He will not let your foot slip' (ʾal-yittēn lammôṭ raglekha), and Ps 55:22 (Heb. 23), 'he will never let the righteous be shaken' (lōʾ-yittēn ... môṭ). The verb is used of the earth and mountains tottering (Ps 46:2, 6) and of the righteous who 'will not be moved' (Ps 15:5; 16:8).

Where it appears

Numbers · 3

  1. Numbers 4:10 הַמּֽוֹט׃ the carrying frame

    Then they shall wrap it and all its utensils inside a covering of fine leather and put it on the carrying frame.

  2. Numbers 4:12 הַמּֽוֹט׃ the carrying frame

    They are to take all the utensils for serving in the sanctuary, place them in a blue cloth, cover them with fine leather, and put them on the carrying frame.

  3. Numbers 13:23 בַמּ֖וֹט on the pole

    When they came to the Valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which they carried on a pole between two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs.

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 66:9 לַמּ֣וֹט to <the> slip

    He preserves our lives and keeps our feet from slipping.

    Here: 'To the tottering / to slipping.' From the verb 'to totter, shake, give way.' The image is a foot losing its grip on uneven ground, the first moment of a fall. The supplied lemma gloss 'yoke' belongs to a different use of the same spelling (a pole or bar) and does not fit here.

  2. Psalm 121:3 לַמּ֣וֹט to <the> slip

    He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber.

    Here: 'To the tottering': the moment footing gives way, a foot rolling or sliding out from under you. The same root is behind the Psalms' line 'I shall not be moved', meaning 'I will not be toppled' (Psalm 16:8; 62:2).

Nahum · 1

  1. Nahum 1:13 מֹטֵ֖הוּ yoke-bar his

    For I will now break their yoke from your neck and tear away your shackles.”

    Here: 'His yoke-bar': the heavy wooden crossbar laid on a draft animal's neck. 'His' refers to the oppressor of vv. 11–12, in practice the Assyrian king and empire. BSB's 'their' follows the plural 'they' of v. 12, but the Hebrew is singular.

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