Hebrew word · H4602

מַעֲכָתִי

hama'akhati

Maacathite

A clan label: 'a person of Maacah'. It can refer to people of the small Aramean kingdom of Maacah near the Golan (Deut 3:14; Josh 12:5; 2 Sam 10:6). It can also refer to people descended from someone named Maacah, a name several Israelite women and men carried.

Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

Group of ma.a.khah (מַעֲכָה "Maacah" H4601R)

§ Maachathite = "pressure (literally she has pressed)"

a people dwelling in Transjordan, probably descendants of Maachah

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 1 Chronicles 4:19

Range of meaning

A clan label: 'a person of Maacah'. It can refer to people of the small Aramean kingdom of Maacah near the Golan (Deut 3:14; Josh 12:5; 2 Sam 10:6). It can also refer to people descended from someone named Maacah, a name several Israelite women and men carried.

Against the English

All translations keep 'Maacathite' (or 'Maachathite'), which is accurate but leaves open which Maacah is meant.

Used elsewhere in the period

Maacah was a concubine of Caleb whose sons founded southern Judean groups (1 Chr 2:48–49). 'Eliphelet son of Ahasbai the Maacathite' was among David's elite warriors (2 Sam 23:34).

Similar words

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 3:14 וְהַמַּֽעֲכָתִ֑י and the Maacathite[s]

    Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, took the whole region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites. He renamed Bashan after himself, Havvoth-jair, by which it is called to this day.

Joshua · 3

  1. Joshua 12:5 וְהַמַּעֲכָתִ֑י and the Maacathite[s]

    He ruled over Mount Hermon, Salecah, all of Bashan up to the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and half of Gilead to the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.

    Here: Also a whole people named in the singular: the Aramean kingdom of Maacah, north of Geshur toward the slopes of Hermon. Israel likewise did not drive them out.

  2. Joshua 13:11 וְהַמַּעֲכָתִ֗י and the Maacathite[s]

    also Gilead and the territory of the Geshurites and Maacathites, all of Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salecah—

  3. Joshua 13:13 הַמַּעֲכָתִ֑י the Maacathite[s]

    but the Israelites did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites. So Geshur and Maacath dwell among the Israelites to this day.

    Here: Again singular for the whole people. It means the inhabitants of Maacah, a small Aramean state north of Geshur, toward Mount Hermon.

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 23:34 הַמַּֽעֲכָתִ֑י ס the Maacathite

    Eliphelet son of Ahasbai the Maacathite, Eliam son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 25:23 הַמַּ֣עֲכָתִ֔י the Maacathite

    When all the commanders of the armies and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah as governor, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah son of the Maacathite, as well as their men.

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 4:19 הַמַּעֲכָתִֽי׃ the Maacathite

    The sons of Hodiah’s wife, the sister of Naham, were the fathers of Keilah the Garmite and of Eshtemoa the Maacathite.

    Here: 'The one of Maacah'. In this southern Judean setting it most likely points to a clan descended from Maacah, the concubine of Caleb (1 Chronicles 2:48), rather than the Aramean kingdom of Maacah far to the north.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 40:8 הַמַּ֣עֲכָתִ֔י the Maacathite

    they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah son of the Maacathite—they and their men.

    Here: 'The one from Maacah.' This could mean the small Aramean state north-east of Galilee, or a Judahite clan of the same name (1 Chr 2:48; 4:19). Either way the label tells you where he came from.

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