Hebrew word · H4662

מִפְקָד

mifkad-

appointment

A noun from the verb paqad, which covers 'attend to, inspect, call to account, appoint, muster'. Mipqad can mean (1) a muster or registration (2 Sam 24:9; 1 Chr 21:5), (2) an appointment or assignment of duty (2 Chr 31:13), and (3) an appointed place (Ezek 43:21).

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

What it means

1) muster, appointment, appointed place

1a) muster (of people)

1b) appointment

1c) appointed place

2) (TWOT) number

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 21:5

Range of meaning

A noun from the verb paqad, which covers 'attend to, inspect, call to account, appoint, muster'. Mipqad can mean (1) a muster or registration (2 Sam 24:9; 1 Chr 21:5), (2) an appointment or assignment of duty (2 Chr 31:13), and (3) an appointed place (Ezek 43:21). Jerusalem had a 'Muster Gate' (shaʿar ha-mipqad, Neh 3:31).

Against the English

KJV 'the number of the people', WEB 'census', YLT 'numbering', BSB 'the total number of the troops'. 'Census' is accurate as long as the reader understands a call-up register, not a modern head count of every household.

How it drifted

Today 'census' suggests a neutral statistical survey of the whole population. The Hebrew word comes from the vocabulary of military enrolment.

Used elsewhere in the period

The verb paqad is the standard word for the military musters in Numbers 1 and 26, where men 'from twenty years old and upward, all who go out to war' are 'mustered'. Exodus 30:12 requires a ransom payment 'when you take the sum of the Israelites according to their musterings (pequdim), so that no plague comes on them'. That background explains why a muster carried danger.

From the study of 2 Samuel 24:9

Range of meaning

Formed from the verb paqad: to visit, inspect, muster, appoint, or hold to account. The noun means a mustering or registration (here and 1 Chr 21:5), an appointed place (Ezek 43:21), or an appointment or charge (2 Chr 31:13).

Against the English

KJV and WEB fold it into 'sum of the number' or 'counting'. YLT keeps 'inspection'. BSB's 'total number' merges mispar and mifqad. Most English versions lose the sense that this was an official, military-style roll-call.

How it drifted

'Census' in modern English suggests a neutral count of residents for statistics. The Hebrew word belongs to the language of military mustering.

Used elsewhere in the period

The verb paqad is the standard word for registering fighting men in Numbers 1 and 26 ('all who go out to war'), and for mustering troops in 1 Sam 11:8, 13:15 and 15:4. Exodus 30:12 warns that when Israel is 'mustered' (paqad), each man must pay a ransom 'so that no plague comes on them'. That is exactly what follows in 2 Sam 24:15.

Where it appears

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 24:9 מִפְקַד־ [the] muster of

    And Joab reported to the king the total number of the troops. In Israel there were 800,000 men of valor who drew the sword, and in Judah there were 500,000.

    Here: An official enrolment, especially of men for military duty. It comes from paqad, 'to muster, inspect, assign'. Together the two words mean 'the figure from the muster'. YLT's 'inspection' captures the root.

1 Chronicles · 1

  1. 1 Chronicles 21:5 מִפְקַד־ [the] muster of

    And Joab reported to David the total number of the troops. In all Israel there were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword, including 470,000 in Judah.

    Here: From the verb paqad, 'to muster, call up for duty'. It names the formal registration of men for military service, not a general population count.

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 31:13 בְּמִפְקַד֙ by [the] appointment of

    Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismachiah, Mahath, and Benaiah were overseers under the authority of Conaniah and his brother Shimei, by appointment of King Hezekiah and of Azariah the chief official of the house of God.

Nehemiah · 1

  1. Nehemiah 3:31 הַמִּפְקָ֔ד the muster

    Next to him, Malchijah, one of the goldsmiths, made repairs as far as the house of the temple servants and the merchants, opposite the Inspection Gate, and as far as the upper room above the corner.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 43:21 בְּמִפְקַ֣ד in [the] appointed place of

    Then you are to take away the bull for the sin offering and burn it in the appointed part of the temple area outside the sanctuary.

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