מַשָּׂא

From the study of Psalm 38:4

Range of meaning

A load or burden carried by a person or animal, from nasaʾ, "lift, carry." Also used for the duty of carrying (the Levites' carrying of the tabernacle, Num 4), and in the prophets for a heavy pronouncement or "oracle" (Isa 13:1). That sense is not in play here.

Against the English

All the major versions say "burden," which is accurate. The concrete image of a pack animal's load is close to the Hebrew.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exodus 23:5: a donkey "lying under its massaʾ." 2 Kings 5:17: "two mules' load" of earth. Nehemiah 13:15, 19: loads carried on the Sabbath. The verb nasaʾ with ʿavon, "to bear guilt," is common in Leviticus and Numbers.

From the study of Isaiah 13:1

Range of meaning

A noun built from the verb nāśāʾ, 'to lift, carry'. Its uses fall into two groups, which the standard Hebrew dictionaries (BDB, HALOT) list as separate entries. (1) A load or burden, something physically carried: the load on a donkey (Exod 23:5), the burden of the people on Moses (Num 11:11), the loads carried for the tabernacle (Num 4). (2) A pronouncement or oracle, used as the title of a prophecy. This probably comes from the idioms 'lift up the voice' or 'lift up a saying' (nāśāʾ qôl, nāśāʾ māšāl). This second sense is used mostly for oracles against nations or cities: Isa 13:1; 14:28; 15:1; 17:1; 19:1; 21:1, 11, 13; 22:1; 23:1; 30:6; Nah 1:1; Hab 1:1; Zech 9:1; 12:1; Mal 1:1.

Against the English

KJV, WEB, YLT and BSB say 'burden', which keeps the link to 'carry'. ESV and NASB say 'oracle', NIV 'prophecy', NLT 'message'. Those identify the genre but lose any sense of weight. No single English word carries both senses.

How it drifted

'Burden' was a fair rendering in 1611, following the Latin Vulgate's onus ('load'). In modern church speech, though, 'a burden' usually means a heavy-hearted concern a person feels ('I have a burden for that city'). That turns a heading about a message against Babylon into a statement about Isaiah's feelings, which the Hebrew does not say.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jeremiah 23:33–40 deliberately plays on both senses. People mockingly ask 'What is the massāʾ (oracle) of the LORD?', and God answers that they themselves are the massāʾ (load) he will throw off. This shows hearers could feel both meanings in the word. In 2 Kings 9:25–26, 'the LORD lifted up (nāśāʾ) this massāʾ against him', the noun stands next to its verb and refers to a spoken sentence of judgment. The Greek Septuagint treats the word in several ways: here it gives horasis ('vision'), and in the Minor Prophets it usually gives lēmma ('something received, taken up'). Some scholars, notably R. Weis, argue that massāʾ names a particular type of prophecy, one that explains how God's purpose is working out, or will work out, in actual events among the nations.

From the study of Isaiah 15:1

Range of meaning

Two senses share the root nasa' ("lift, carry"). (1) A load or burden: a donkey's load (Exod 23:5), the sacred objects the Levites carried (Num 4). (2) A solemn utterance or pronouncement. This is probably from the idiom "to lift up the voice" (nasa' qol), or from "lifting" a message against someone (2 Kgs 9:25: "the LORD lifted up this massa' against him"). In Isaiah 13–23 it is the standing heading for oracles about nations: Babylon (13:1), Philistia (14:28), Moab (15:1), Damascus (17:1), Egypt (19:1), and others.

Against the English

KJV, WEB and YLT have "burden", following the Latin Vulgate's onus. BSB keeps "burden". NIV says "prophecy", ESV and NASB say "oracle", and NLT says "message". "Burden" captures the lifting root and perhaps a sense of weight. "Oracle" or "pronouncement" captures the word's function as the title of a divine message.

How it drifted

The Latin onus and the English "burden" settled the reading as "heavy load". Later Christian usage then took "burden" in a new direction: an inner weight of concern a person carries, as in "a burden for souls". That inward, emotional sense is not what the heading means.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jeremiah 23:33–40 builds a pun on the double meaning. When people ask, "What is the massa' of the LORD?", the answer is "You are the burden, and I will cast you off." The pun only works because both senses were alive. Most of the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation) renders massa' in other prophets as lēmma, "something taken up or received" (Nah 1:1; Hab 1:1; Zech 9:1; Mal 1:1). Greek Isaiah uses words for "vision" or "word" instead. Proverbs 30:1 and 31:1 use massa' for collections of sayings, though some read it there as the place-name Massa. Some recent scholars (e.g. M. H. Floyd, JBL 2002) argue the massa' was a recognized type of prophecy that explains how an earlier word of God is now coming true in events.