Hebrew word · H4864
מַשְׂאֵת
mas'at
uprising
From nāśāʾ, 'lift, carry'. It can mean a lifting up (of smoke, a signal), a portion carried to someone (Gen 43:34, portions from Joseph's table), a gift or tribute (2 Sam 11:8), or a levy or contribution (2 Chr 24:6, 9, the Mosaic levy for the sanctuary).
Appears 15 times in 13 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
1) uprising, utterance, burden, portion, uplifting
1a) that which rises, uprising, uplifting, signal, rising
1b) utterance, oracle
1c) burden
1d) portion, present, largesse, gift, contribution, offering, tribute
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
- Range of meaning
From nāśāʾ, 'lift, carry'. It can mean a lifting up (of smoke, a signal), a portion carried to someone (Gen 43:34, portions from Joseph's table), a gift or tribute (2 Sam 11:8), or a levy or contribution (2 Chr 24:6, 9, the Mosaic levy for the sanctuary).
- Against the English
KJV 'burdens of wheat' is literal (a load carried off) but hides the fiscal sense. YLT 'tribute', BSB 'tax' and WEB 'taxes' bring that sense out. The supplied lexical gloss 'uprising' belongs to a different use of the root and is misleading here.
- Used elsewhere in the period
In 2 Chr 24:6, 9 the word names an obligatory religious levy, so it can mean an imposed charge and not only a voluntary gift. Comparable produce levies appear in the Samaria Ostraca (8th century BCE), which record shipments of wine and oil to Samaria.
- Range of meaning
A noun from nasa' 'to lift, carry'. Lexicons (BDB, HALOT) list: lifting or raising; something that rises, such as a column of smoke or a signal fire (Judg 20:38, 40; Jer 6:1); a portion or gift carried to someone (Gen 43:34; 2 Sam 11:8); a levy or tribute (2 Chr 24:6, 9); and a sacred contribution (Ezek 20:40).
- Against the English
'Lifting up' (KJV, WEB) and 'uplifted hands' (BSB) correctly give the main sense here. No English word can also carry the word's links to rising smoke and to a carried gift.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The same word is used for the smoke column rising from a burning town in Judg 20:38, 40, and for offerings brought to God in Ezek 20:40.
From the study of Ezekiel 20:40
- Range of meaning
Something lifted up or carried. Depending on context: a smoke signal (Judg 20:38), a portion of food sent from a table (Gen 43:34), a gift or tribute (2 Sam 11:8), a tax or levy (2 Chr 24:6, 9), an offering.
- Against the English
English versions agree on 'gifts' or 'oblations.' The Strong's gloss 'uprising' is misleading and only reflects the root nasa', 'lift.'
- Used elsewhere in the period
Formed from nasa' ('lift, carry'). Its range in Genesis, Samuel and Chronicles shows a practical, everyday word for something carried to someone.
Where it appears
Genesis · 3
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Genesis 43:34 מַשְׂאֹ֜ת מַשְׂאַ֧ת מִמַּשְׂאֹ֥ת portions, [the] portion of, more than [the] portions of
When the portions were served to them from Joseph’s table, Benjamin’s portion was five times larger than any of the others. So they feasted and drank freely with Joseph.
Here: “Portions”: servings of food sent from the host to particular guests as a mark of favour. The word literally means “a thing lifted (and carried)”, a gift of honour rather than an ordinary helping.
Judges · 2
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Judges 20:38 מַשְׂאַ֥ת [the] rising of
The men of Israel had arranged a signal with the men in ambush: When they sent up a great cloud of smoke from the city,
Here: From the verb nasa, 'lift'. It means something lifted up, here a column of smoke raised as a signal (compare Jer 6:1). Linked to the next word, it means a 'smoke-signal'.
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Judges 20:40 וְהַמַּשְׂאֵ֗ת and the rising
But when the column of smoke began to go up from the city, the Benjamites looked behind them and saw the whole city going up in smoke.
2 Samuel · 1
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2 Samuel 11:8 מַשְׂאַ֥ת [the] gift of
Then he said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king followed him.
Here: Literally "something lifted/carried" — here a portion or present sent from the king's table, most likely food. It is a mark of royal favour and a supply for a homecoming meal.
2 Chronicles · 2
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2 Chronicles 24:6 מַשְׂאַת֙ [the] tax of
So the king called Jehoiada the high priest and said, “Why have you not required the Levites to bring from Judah and Jerusalem the tax imposed by Moses the servant of the LORD and by the assembly of Israel for the Tent of the Testimony?”
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2 Chronicles 24:9 מַשְׂאַ֞ת [the] tax of
And a proclamation was issued in Judah and Jerusalem that they were to bring to the LORD the tax imposed by Moses the servant of God on Israel in the wilderness.
Esther · 1
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Esther 2:18 מַשְׂאֵ֖ת tribute
Then the king held a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his officials and servants. He proclaimed a tax holiday in the provinces and gave gifts worthy of the king’s bounty.
Psalms · 1
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Psalm 141:2 מַֽשְׂאַ֥ת [the] raising of
May my prayer be set before You like incense; my uplifted hands, like the evening offering.
Here: 'The raising of'. The noun comes from the verb 'to lift'. Elsewhere it can mean a column of rising smoke (Judg 20:38, 40) and a portion or gift carried to someone (Gen 43:34; 2 Sam 11:8; Ezek 20:40). Here it means lifting, and its other uses fit well with incense smoke and an offering.
Jeremiah · 2
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Jeremiah 6:1 מַשְׂאֵ֑ת a signal
“Run for cover, O sons of Benjamin; flee from Jerusalem! Sound the ram’s horn in Tekoa; send up a signal over Beth-haccherem, for disaster looms from the north, even great destruction.
Here: Literally 'a raising.' In military use it means a beacon of fire or a column of smoke sent up to pass a warning from hill to hill. KJV's 'sign of fire' catches this well.
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Jeremiah 40:5 וּמַשְׂאֵ֖ת and a present
But before Jeremiah turned to go, Nebuzaradan added, “Return to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people, or go anywhere else that seems right.” Then the captain of the guard gave him a ration and a gift and released him.
Ezekiel · 1
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Ezekiel 20:40 מַשְׂאוֹתֵיכֶ֖ם gifts your
For on My holy mountain, the high mountain of Israel, declares the Lord GOD, there the whole house of Israel, all of them, will serve Me in the land. There I will accept them and will require your offerings and choice gifts, along with all your holy sacrifices.
Here: 'Your gifts': things 'lifted up' and carried to the sanctuary. The supplied gloss 'uprising' only reflects the root 'to lift.' In context the word means offered gifts or portions.
Amos · 1
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Amos 5:11 וּמַשְׂאַת־ and a portion of
Therefore, because you trample on the poor and exact from him a tax of grain, you will never live in the stone houses you have built; you will never drink the wine from the lush vineyards you have planted.
Here: From nāśāʾ, 'to lift, carry': something lifted off and carried away, i.e. a levy, a portion taken as tribute or rent in kind. The supplied lexical gloss 'uprising' does not fit here. The contextual 'portion' or 'levy' is right.
Zephaniah · 1
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Zephaniah 3:18 מַשְׂאֵ֥ת tribute
“I will gather those among you who grieve over the appointed feasts, so that you will no longer suffer reproach.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.