Hebrew word · H4302

מַטָּע

mata'

plantation

A noun formed from nāṭaʿ ("to plant"). It means (1) the act of planting, (2) a place of planting or a planted bed, and (3) a plantation, meaning a cultivated stand of plants. It occurs six times: Isa 60:21; 61:3; Ezek 17:7; 31:4; 34:29; Mic 1:6.

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

What it means

1) place or act of planting, planting, plantation

1a) planting place

1b) act of planting

1c) plantation

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 Ezekiel 34:29

Range of meaning

A noun formed from nāṭaʿ ("to plant"). It means (1) the act of planting, (2) a place of planting or a planted bed, and (3) a plantation, meaning a cultivated stand of plants. It occurs six times: Isa 60:21; 61:3; Ezek 17:7; 31:4; 34:29; Mic 1:6. Although it is grammatically singular, it normally refers to a whole planted area, not one individual plant.

Against the English

KJV and YLT have "a plant", which suggests one plant or shoot. WEB has "a plantation", BSB "a garden", and other modern versions "planting place", "plantations" or "a land renowned for its crops". These are closer to the Hebrew, where the word is about cultivated ground.

How it drifted

In 1611 "plant" could still mean a planted area or a young growth, but today it means a single plant. The Latin Vulgate's germen ("shoot, sprout") was a word already tied to the messianic "Branch" (e.g. germen iustum in Jer 23:5), and that helped readers take this verse as a title for a person.

Used elsewhere in the period

Micah 1:6 uses it of "plantings of a vineyard". Ezekiel 17:7 has "the beds of its planting" for a vine, and 31:4 "its planting place" for the great cedar's ground. In Isaiah 60:21 and 61:3 the restored people themselves are "the planting of the LORD", a collective image for the whole community, not one figure. Ezekiel 36:29–30 restates this verse's promise in plain farming terms: God summons the grain, multiplies the fruit of the tree and the yield of the field.

From the study of Micah 1:6

Range of meaning

Mattaʿ: a planting, a place prepared for planting (from naṭaʿ, 'to plant'). Kerem: vineyard, usually on terraced hillsides with a wall and a watchtower (Isaiah 5:1–2).

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'as plantings / like places for planting' add 'as/like' and turn it into a comparison. The Hebrew says 'into': Samaria literally becomes vineyard ground. BSB/NIV 'a planting area / place for planting vineyards' keep the transformation.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Samaria ostraca are 8th-century BCE pottery receipts found in the royal quarter of Samaria. They record jars of wine and oil delivered from surrounding estates to the capital. Isaiah 5:2 describes preparing a vineyard: dig, clear the stones, plant.

Where it appears

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 60:21 מַטָּעַ֛י planting<s> my

    Then all your people will be righteous; they will possess the land forever; they are the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, so that I may be glorified.

    Here: A planted plot such as an orchard or vineyard. God is the gardener who set the people in the ground. This is the reading tradition's text; the written consonants say 'his planting'.

  2. Isaiah 61:3 מַטַּ֥ע [the] planting of

    to console the mourners in Zion—to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.

    Here: Something deliberately planted and tended. They did not spring up by chance. YHWH set them in the ground (compare 60:21, 'the shoot of my planting').

Ezekiel · 3

  1. Ezekiel 17:7 מַטָּעָֽהּ׃ planting its

    But there was another great eagle with great wings and many feathers. And behold, this vine bent its roots toward him. It stretched out its branches to him from its planting bed, so that he might water it.

  2. Ezekiel 31:4 מַטָּעָ֔הּ planting place its

    The waters made it grow; the deep springs made it tall, directing their streams all around its base and sending their channels to all the trees of the field.

  3. Ezekiel 34:29 מַטָּ֖ע a planting place

    And I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations.

    Here: A planted, cultivated area such as an orchard, vineyard or field of crops, from the verb nāṭaʿ, "to plant". It is a grammatical singular used for a whole collection. Here it means farmland that produces food, which is why the next clause is about famine.

Micah · 1

  1. Micah 1:6 לְמַטָּ֣עֵי into a planting place of

    Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble in the open field, a planting area for a vineyard. I will pour her stones into the valley and expose her foundations.

    Here: A place where something is planted. It is plural, so: plots or terraces laid out for planting. The hill where the palace stood will be dug and planted like any farm slope.

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