Hebrew word · H4612

מַעֲמָד

uma'amad

office

A noun from 'amad, 'to stand'. It means (1) a standing place or position; (2) a post or station of duty; (3) the people who stand at that post, an attendance or retinue. It is rare in the Bible. Isaiah 22:19 uses it for an official's post, from which God will pull Shebna down.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) attendance, office, function, service

1a) station, office, post

1b) office, function

1c) service

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 23:28

Range of meaning

A noun from 'amad, 'to stand'. It means (1) a standing place or position; (2) a post or station of duty; (3) the people who stand at that post, an attendance or retinue. It is rare in the Bible. 1 Kings 10:5 (and 2 Chronicles 9:4) uses it for the 'attendance' of Solomon's servants, which so impressed the Queen of Sheba. Isaiah 22:19 uses it for an official's post, from which God will pull Shebna down.

Against the English

KJV 'office' and BSB/WEB 'duty' turn it into an abstract job title. YLT's 'station' keeps the picture of a fixed place where one stands. To a modern ear, 'office' can suggest a room or a desk job.

How it drifted

No real doctrinal drift. The difference is between a concrete picture (where you stand) and an abstract one (what your role is).

Used elsewhere in the period

The royal-court use in 1 Kings 10:5 shows the word belongs to the language of attendants at a great house. In later Jewish tradition (the Mishnah, tractate Ta'anit 4), ma'amad became the technical name for the groups of lay Israelites who 'stood by' when the daily sacrifices were offered. That is a later development and should not be read back into this verse, but it grew from the same idea of standing in attendance.

From the study of 2 Chronicles 9:4

Range of meaning

A place or act of standing: a station, post or office (Isa 22:19, "I will thrust you from your office"; 1 Chr 23:28 of Levites' duty).

Against the English

KJV "attendance" and BSB "service" give the function. YLT's "standing" keeps the physical picture.

Used elsewhere in the period

In 1 Kings 10:5 it is paired with môshav ("sitting"), and 1 Kings 10:8 praises the servants "who stand before you continually."

Where it appears

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 10:5 וּמַעֲמַ֨ד and [the] standing of

    the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the service and attire of his attendants, his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he presented at the house of the LORD, it took her breath away.

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 23:28 מַעֲמָדָ֞ם function their

    but their duty was to assist the descendants of Aaron with the service of the house of the LORD, being responsible for the courts and chambers, the purification of all the holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God,

    Here: From the verb 'to stand'. It means the place where someone stands on duty, and so their post or assignment. The Levites' 'station' is a set place in the temple staff, the way a servant has a fixed place beside his master.

2 Chronicles · 2

  1. 2 Chronicles 9:4 וּמַעֲמַ֨ד and [the] standing of

    the food at his table, the seating of his servants, the service and attire of his attendants, the attire of his cupbearers, and the burnt offerings he presented at the house of the LORD, it took her breath away.

    Here: "And the standing of." This is the attendants' station or post, the ordered way they stood ready before the king. To "stand before" a king was the posture of service (1 Kgs 10:8).

  2. 2 Chronicles 35:15 מַעֲמָדָ֗ם post their

    The singers, the descendants of Asaph, were at their stations according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. And the gatekeepers at each gate did not need to leave their posts, because their fellow Levites made preparations for them.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 22:19 וּמִמַּעֲמָֽדְךָ֖ and from post your

    I will remove you from office, and you will be ousted from your position.

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