Hebrew word · H4690

מָצוּק

matzuk

pillar

Māṣûq is rare: here and possibly 1 Sam 14:5, where it describes a rock spur or crag 'pillar'. Its origin is debated. It may come from a root for casting or pouring, as in a cast pillar, or from one for pressing or constraining. Lexicons give 'pillar, support' (BDB, HALOT).

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

molten support, pillar, column

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 Samuel 2:8

Range of meaning

Māṣûq is rare: here and possibly 1 Sam 14:5, where it describes a rock spur or crag 'pillar'. Its origin is debated. It may come from a root for casting or pouring, as in a cast pillar, or from one for pressing or constraining. Lexicons give 'pillar, support' (BDB, HALOT).

Against the English

KJV/ESV/WEB 'pillars' fits the picture. BSB/NIV 'foundations' is safe but loses the image of columns. YLT 'fixtures' is close to literal but vague. The NLT paraphrase gives up the image altogether.

Used elsewhere in the period

Hebrew poetry pictures the earth as a structure on pillars or foundations that God set up and keeps steady (Ps 75:3; 104:5; Job 9:6; 38:4–6). This matches wider ancient Near Eastern ideas of a world founded above the waters. The Aramaic Targum already read the pillars as a figure for people (the righteous or leaders) holding up the world.

Where it appears

1 Samuel · 2

  1. 1 Samuel 2:8 מְצֻ֣קֵי [the] pillars of

    He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them among princes and bestows on them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s, and upon them He has set the world.

    Here: 'The pillars of…' This is a rare word, otherwise only at 1 Sam 14:5 for a rock pillar or crag. It refers to the columns that, in ancient thinking, held up the earth (compare Ps 75:3; Job 9:6).

  2. 1 Samuel 14:5 מָצ֥וּק a pillar

    One cliff stood to the north toward Michmash, and the other to the south toward Geba.

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