Hebrew word · H4188

מוּשִׁי

hamushi

Mushite

Clan name from Mushi, son of Merari (Exod 6:19). The name's meaning is uncertain.

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

What it means

Someone descended from Mushi who was a man of the tribe of Levi living at the time of Egypt and Wilderness, first mentioned at Exo.6.19;

son of: Merari (H4847);

brother of: Mahli (H4249) and Jaaziah (H3269);

father of: Mahli (H4249H), Eder (H5740A) and Jerimoth (H3406K)

Group of mu.shi (מוּשִׁי "Mushi" H4187)

§ Mushites, of Mushi "yielding"

descendants of Mushi, the great grandson of Levi

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 Numbers 26:58

Range of meaning

Clan name from Mushi, son of Merari (Exod 6:19). The name's meaning is uncertain.

Against the English

All versions transliterate it 'Mushite(s)'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Listed with the Mahlites as the two Merarite clans in Num 3:20, 33 and 1 Chr 6:19 (Heb 6:4). Because the consonants of Mushi (mwšy) look like 'Moses' (mšh) with a gentilic ending, some scholars (notably F. M. Cross) have proposed that 'Mushite' originally meant 'Mosaic' and named a priestly group claiming descent from Moses.

Where it appears

Numbers · 2

  1. Numbers 3:33 הַמּוּשִׁ֑י the Mushite[s]

    From Merari came the clans of the Mahlites and Mushites; these were the Merarite clans.

    Here: A clan name from Mushi, Merari's second son (Exod 6:19; 1 Chr 6:19). It is singular with 'the' and stands for the whole group.

  2. Numbers 26:58 הַמּוּשִׁ֔י the Mushite[s]

    These were the families of the Levites: The Libnite clan, the Hebronite clan, the Mahlite clan, the Mushite clan, and the Korahite clan. Now Kohath was the father of Amram,

    Here: The clan descended from Mushi, the other son of Merari (Exod 6:19; Num 3:33).

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