Hebrew word · H4551
מַסָּע
masa'
missile
From נָסַע, "pull up, pull out, set out." In 1 Kings 5:17 (Hebrew 5:31) the causative verb is used for breaking stones out of rock. BDB and HALOT both list a sense "quarry/quarrying" for this verse.
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
quarry, quarrying, breaking out (of stones)
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
From נָסַע, "pull up, pull out, set out." In 1 Kings 5:17 (Hebrew 5:31) the causative verb is used for breaking stones out of rock. So the noun is best taken as "quarrying" or "quarry." The same spelling elsewhere means "setting out, journey" (Deuteronomy 10:11) and possibly "missile/dart" (Job 41:26 Eng.). BDB and HALOT both list a sense "quarry/quarrying" for this verse.
- Against the English
Modern versions (BSB, WEB, ESV, NASB, NIV) say "at the quarry." KJV, "made ready before it was brought thither," and YLT, "brought," connect it with transport ("setting out").
- Used elsewhere in the period
Rare word, appearing only here in this sense. The verbal parallel in 1 Kings 5:31 (Hebrew), וַיַּסִּעוּ אֲבָנִים, "they quarried stones," is the key evidence. Ancient versions guessed in different directions (see textual notes).
Where it appears
1 Kings · 1
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1 Kings 6:7 מַסָּ֖ע quarry
The temple was constructed using finished stones cut at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any other iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.
Here: From the verb for pulling or breaking out stone (compare 1 Kings 5:17, Hebrew 5:31). "Stone complete of the quarry" means stone finished at the place where it was extracted. Older interpreters took it as "the bringing", meaning stone made ready before transport.
Job · 1
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Job 41:26 מַסָּ֣ע a dart
The sword that reaches him has no effect, nor does the spear or dart or arrow.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.