Hebrew word · H4702
מַצָּע
hamatza'
bed
A bed or couch, meaning something spread out to lie on. It comes from the root yṣʿ, 'to spread (a bed)', and is related to yāṣûaʿ, 'couch' (Genesis 49:4; Psalm 63:6).
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
couch, bed
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 Isaiah 28:20
- Range of meaning
A bed or couch, meaning something spread out to lie on. It comes from the root yṣʿ, 'to spread (a bed)', and is related to yāṣûaʿ, 'couch' (Genesis 49:4; Psalm 63:6).
- Against the English
Every major version says 'bed', which is fine. The modern picture of a raised frame with a mattress is a little off. Most Israelites slept on a mat or pallet spread on the floor or a raised bench.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The noun is found only here in the Hebrew Bible. The related verb appears in Isaiah 58:5 ('spread sackcloth and ashes as a bed') and Psalm 139:8 ('if I make my bed in Sheol'). Later Hebrew uses maṣṣāʿ for bedding (HALOT; BDB).
Where it appears
Isaiah · 1
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Isaiah 28:20 הַמַּצָּ֖ע the bed
Indeed, the bed is too short to stretch out on, and the blanket too small to wrap around you.
Here: 'The bed'. This noun occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible. It comes from a verb meaning 'to spread out a bed' (Isaiah 58:5; Psalm 139:8), so it means whatever is spread out to lie on: a mat or pallet more than a framed bed.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.