Hebrew word · H4749

מִקְשָׁה

mikshah

beating

Metal hammered or beaten into shape; probably from the root q-sh-h, 'to be hard', hence 'hard (worked) metal'. Used of the gold cherubim on the ark lid (Exod 25:18; 37:7), this lampstand (25:31, 36; 37:17, 22; Num 8:4), and the two silver trumpets (Num 10:2).

Appears 9 times in 8 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

hammered work, finely decorated cultic objects of gold or silver

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 Exodus 25:31

Range of meaning

Metal hammered or beaten into shape; probably from the root q-sh-h, 'to be hard', hence 'hard (worked) metal'. Used of the gold cherubim on the ark lid (Exod 25:18; 37:7), this lampstand (25:31, 36; 37:17, 22; Num 8:4), and the two silver trumpets (Num 10:2). A different word spelled the same means 'cucumber field' (Jer 10:5; Isa 1:8 has a related form).

Against the English

KJV/YLT 'beaten work'; BSB/WEB/ESV 'hammered (work)'. BSB adds 'of one piece', which is really the meaning of the closing words 'from it they shall be', but it rightly brings out the point of the technique.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Hebrew Bible only in tabernacle/priestly texts. LXX renders toreutos, 'worked in relief, chased', a Greek metalworker's term. Num 8:4 repeats the requirement: 'hammered work from its base to its blossoms'.

From the study of Exodus 25:18

Range of meaning

Hammered or beaten metalwork: a shape drawn out of a single block by hammering rather than cast or assembled. Used for the cherubim (Exod 25:18; 37:7), the lampstand, which must be 'one hammered piece' (25:31, 36; Num 8:4), and the silver trumpets (Num 10:2). A homonym appears for a 'well-set' or turned hairstyle (Isa 3:24) and possibly a cucumber field (Isa 1:8), but those belong to different roots or senses.

Against the English

'Hammered gold' (BSB, WEB) and 'beaten work' (KJV, YLT) are accurate. What English can miss is the implication of one piece: the cherubim are not soldered on but worked out of the same mass as the cover (v.19).

Used elsewhere in the period

Within the Pentateuch the technique is reserved for objects whose unity matters (the lampstand and its branches; the cherubim and the cover). Ancient metalworkers used repoussé (hammering from behind) and raising from sheet or ingot; the text does not say whether a wooden core was used, and interpreters differ.

Similar words

Where it appears

Exodus · 6

  1. Exodus 25:18 מִקְשָׁה֙ hammered work

    Make two cherubim of hammered gold at the ends of the mercy seat,

    Here: Metal beaten into shape rather than cast in a mold or built from separate parts. Placed first in its clause for emphasis, it signals (as v.19 confirms) that the cherubim are hammered out of the same mass of gold as the cover, one piece with it.

  2. Exodus 25:31 מִקְשָׁ֞ה hammered work

    Then you are to make a lampstand of pure, hammered gold. It shall be made of one piece, including its base and shaft, its cups, and its buds and petals.

    Here: Metal beaten or chased into shape rather than cast in a mould or assembled from soldered parts. Placed first in its clause for emphasis: hammered work is what it must be.

  3. Exodus 25:36 מִקְשָׁ֥ה [will be] hammered work

    The buds and branches are to be all of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.

  4. Exodus 37:7 מִקְשָׁה֙ hammered work

    He made two cherubim of hammered gold at the ends of the mercy seat,

  5. Exodus 37:17 מִקְשָׁ֞ה hammered work

    Then he made the lampstand out of pure hammered gold, all of one piece: its base and shaft, its cups, and its buds and petals.

  6. Exodus 37:22 מִקְשָׁ֥ה [was] hammered work

    The buds and branches were all of one piece with the lampstand, hammered out of pure gold.

Numbers · 3

  1. Numbers 8:4 מִקְשָׁ֣ה מִקְשָׁ֣ה hammered work, [was] hammered work

    This is how the lampstand was constructed: it was made of hammered gold from its base to its blossoms, fashioned according to the pattern the LORD had shown Moses.

  2. Numbers 10:2 מִקְשָׁ֖ה hammered work

    “Make two trumpets of hammered silver to be used for calling the congregation and for having the camps set out.

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