Hebrew word · H4562

מָסֹ֫רֶת

bemasoret

pledge

A word found only here. BDB and HALOT treat it as a shortened form of maʾăsōret, "bond, fetter", from ʾāsar "to bind, tie, harness" (compare mōsērôt, "bonds"). Another root, māsar, "hand over, deliver", later gave Mishnaic Hebrew māsōret/māsōret "tradition" (m. Avot 3:13) and the name "Masoretes".

Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

bond (of the covenant)

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 20:37

Range of meaning

A word found only here. BDB and HALOT treat it as a shortened form of maʾăsōret, "bond, fetter", from ʾāsar "to bind, tie, harness" (compare mōsērôt, "bonds"). Another root, māsar, "hand over, deliver", later gave Mishnaic Hebrew māsōret/māsōret "tradition" (m. Avot 3:13) and the name "Masoretes". That is a different word from a later period and not what Ezekiel means.

Against the English

KJV, BSB, ESV, NASB, NRSV and WEB all say "bond of the covenant", following the "bind" derivation. NLT paraphrases it as "hold you to the terms of the covenant". The Septuagint has "by number", which is a different text.

Used elsewhere in the period

Not found anywhere else in biblical Hebrew. The Septuagint's en arithmō ("by number") suggests its Hebrew source read bəmispār ("by number"), which would fit the counting image. The Vulgate's in vinculis foederis ("in the bonds of the covenant") follows the received Hebrew. Some modern scholars suggest emending to bammûsār, "in discipline". BHS and the commentaries of Zimmerli and Allen discuss the problem.

Where it appears

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 20:37 בְּמָסֹ֥רֶת in [the] bond of

    I will make you pass under the rod and will bring you into the bond of the covenant.

    Here: Occurs only here in the Bible. It is usually explained as a shortened form of maʾăsōret, "fetter, binding", from ʾāsar "to bind". The picture is a binding obligation, like a band or tether, though the word and the text are uncertain (see textual notes).

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