Hebrew word · H4260
מַחֲמָאֹת
machma'ot
butter
This word occurs only here. It is usually connected with ḥemʾâ (H2529), 'curds, thick soured milk, ghee': the rich, creamy dairy product of the ancient Levant, not modern churned butter.
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament.
What it means
1) curd-like, smooth, unctuous, hypocritical
1a) words of flattery (fig.)
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
- Range of meaning
This word occurs only here. It is usually connected with ḥemʾâ (H2529), 'curds, thick soured milk, ghee': the rich, creamy dairy product of the ancient Levant, not modern churned butter.
- Against the English
'Butter' (KJV, BSB, WEB, ESV, NIV) conveys the point, which is smoothness and richness. YLT's 'sweeter than honey' has no basis in the Hebrew.
- Used elsewhere in the period
ḥemʾâ appears in hospitality scenes: Abraham serves curds to his guests (Gen 18:8); Jael gives Sisera curds 'in a lordly bowl' before killing him (Judg 5:25; Judg 4:19 has milk); it also stands for abundance (Deut 32:14; Job 29:6). The Septuagint did not read 'butter' at all and took the word as 'wrath'.
Similar words
Where it appears
Psalms · 1
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Psalm 55:21 מַחְמָאֹ֣ת [the] creamy things of
His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.
Here: This word occurs only here. It is linked to ḥemʾâ, 'curds/butter', and means either 'the creamy (words) of his mouth' or, read slightly differently, 'than curds'. Either way, his speech is as smooth and rich as cream.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.