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Hebrew noun (feminine) · H4284

מַחֲשָׁבָה

machashabahmakh-ash-aw-baw'

plot

56 uses in the Hebrew text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key

Concordance spelling: machăshâbâh

Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's H4284is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.

  • 15 of 39
    Old Testament books
  • 42
    spellings

The definition in full

Strong's key (1890) · H4284

a contrivance, i.e. (concretely) a texture, machine, or (abstractly) intention, plan (whether bad, a plot; or good, advice)

The King James renders it: cunning (work), curious work, device(-sed), imagination, invented, means, purpose, thought.

James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), public domain. Strong indexed the King James text, and this site quotes his entry as that index.

Summary

machashabah is rendered "plot". It stands 56 times in the Hebrew text, across fifteen books.

  • Twelve of the uses stand in Jeremiah, more than in any other book.
  • Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Genesis 6:5Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.
  • The Greek text spells it forty-two different ways.

The first use

Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.

Genesis 6:5מַחְשְׁבֹ֣ת

The first use, in the order of the Old Testament's books.

Where the word stands

The word stands in fifteen of the 39 Old Testament books.

The other 24 Old Testament books never use the word.

What the word means

Each meaning, and the words it is translated by

How the Greek text is glossed, word by word

  • plans of9
  • plans7
  • thoughts of6
  • designs3
  • plans their3
  • thoughts your3
  • a plan2
  • and purposes his2
  • design2
  • plan his2
  • a purpose1
  • and plans your1

and 15 more, 56 uses in all

The words built on the same word-part

Each word below begins with the same letters this one begins with. A shared word-part shows a family. It does not settle what any one of them means, so each word carries its own uses on its own page. Scholars call that shared part the stem.

מַחֲנֶהmachanehcampUses215
מַחֲלֹקֶתmachaloqethdivisionUses42
מַחֲסֶהmachasehrefugeUses20
מַחֲצִיתmachatsithhalfUses16
מַחֲלֶהmachalehsicknessUses6
מַחֲבַתmachabathgriddleUses5
מַחֲזֶהmachazehvisionUses4
מַחֲרֵשָׁהmachareshahplowshareUses3
מַחֲבֵאmachabehiding-placeUses2
מַחֲלָצָהmachalatsahrobeUses2
מַחֲלָףmachalaphknifeUses1
מַחֲנַקmachanaqstranglingUses1

and 6 more on the stem.

All 56, in canonical order

Every use, in order

Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.

42 spellings and their grammar

STEP Bible tags every word of the Hebrew and Greek text with its spelling and its grammar. Both lists below count the rows printed underneath, written out in English, with the code beside each one as it was tagged.

How it is spelled

  • מַחְשְׁב֣וֹת9
  • מַחְשְׁב֥וֹת3
  • וּמַ֨חְשְׁבוֹתָ֔יו2
  • מַ֭חֲשָׁבוֹת2
  • מַחְשְׁבֹתֶֽיךָ׃2
  • מַחְשְׁבֹתָ֖ם2
  • הַמַּחֲשָׁבֹ֗ת1
  • וּמַחְשְׁבֹתַ֖י1
  • וּמַחְשְׁבֹ֣תֵיהֶ֔ם1
  • וּמַחְשְׁבֹתֶ֗יךָ1
  • מַֽחֲשָׁבָ֑ה1
  • מַחֲשָׁבָֽה׃1

and 30 more spellings in the ledger below.

The grammar of each form

  • noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)15HNcfpc
  • noun · feminine plural11HNcfpa
  • noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine plural6HNcfpc/Sp3mp
  • noun · feminine singular4HNcfsa
  • noun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)3HNcfsc
  • conjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singular2HC/Ncfpc/Sp3ms
  • noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine plural2HNcfpc/Sp2mp
  • noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singular2HNcfpc/Sp2ms
  • noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singular2HNcfpc/Sp3ms
  • noun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singular2HNcfsc/Sp3ms
  • conjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singular1HC/Ncfpc/Sp1bs
  • conjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singular1HC/Ncfpc/Sp2ms

Genesis

one use
  • Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time.

    Genesis 6:5

    • מַחְשְׁבֹ֣תmachshevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: thoughts of

Exodus

four uses
  • to design artistic works in gold, silver, and bronze,

    Exodus 31:4

    • מַחֲשָׁבֹ֑תmachashavotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: designs
  • to design artistic works in gold, silver, and bronze,

    Exodus 35:32

    • מַֽחַשָׁבֹ֑תmachashavotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: designs
  • to cut gemstones for settings, and to carve wood, so that he may be a master of every artistic craft.

    Exodus 35:33

    • מַחֲשָֽׁבֶת׃machashavetnoun · feminine singulartagged: design
  • He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and as weavers—as artistic designers of every kind of craft.

    Exodus 35:35

    • מַחֲשָׁבֹֽת׃machashavotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: designs

2 Samuel

one use
  • For surely we will die and be like water poured out on the ground, which cannot be recovered. Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises ways that the banished one may not be cast out from Him.

    2 Samuel 14:14

    • מַֽחֲשָׁב֔וֹתmachashavotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: plans

1 Chronicles

two uses
  • As for you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve Him wholeheartedly and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands the intent of every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.

    1 Chronicles 28:9

    • מַחֲשָׁב֖וֹתmachashavotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: thoughts
  • O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep this desire forever in the intentions of the hearts of Your people, and direct their hearts toward You.

    1 Chronicles 29:18

    • מַחְשְׁב֖וֹתmachshevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: thoughts of

2 Chronicles

two uses
  • He is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, and his father is a man of Tyre. He is skilled in work with gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple, blue, and crimson yarn, and fine linen. He is experienced in every kind of engraving and can execute any design that is given him. He will work with your craftsmen and with those of my lord, your father David.

    2 Chronicles 2:14

    • מַחֲשָׁ֑בֶתmachashavetnoun · feminine singulartagged: design
  • And in Jerusalem he made skillfully designed devices to shoot arrows and catapult large stones from the towers and corners. So his fame spread far and wide, for he was helped tremendously so that he became powerful.

    2 Chronicles 26:15

    • מַחֲשֶׁ֣בֶתmachashevetnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: invention of

Esther

three uses
  • And once again, Esther addressed the king. She fell at his feet weeping and begged him to revoke the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews.

    Esther 8:3

    • מַֽחֲשַׁבְתּ֔וֹmachashavtonoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: plan his
  • “If it pleases the king,” she said, “and if I have found favor in his sight, and the matter seems proper to the king, and I am pleasing in his sight, may an order be written to revoke the letters that the scheming Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king’s provinces.

    Esther 8:5

    • מַחֲשֶׁ֜בֶתmachashevetnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: plan of
  • But when it came before the king, he commanded by letter that the wicked scheme which Haman had devised against the Jews should come back upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

    Esther 9:25

    • מַחֲשַׁבְתּ֧וֹmachashavtonoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: plan his

Job

two uses
  • He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.

    Job 5:12

    • מַחְשְׁב֣וֹתmachshevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: plans of
  • Behold, I know your thoughts full well, the schemes by which you would wrong me.

    Job 21:27

    • מַחְשְׁבֽוֹתֵיכֶ֑םmachshevoteikhemnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine pluraltagged: thoughts your

Psalms

six uses
  • The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations; He thwarts the devices of the peoples.

    Psalms 33:10

    • מַחְשְׁב֥וֹתmachshevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: plans of
  • The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the purposes of His heart to all generations.

    Psalms 33:11

    • מַחְשְׁב֥וֹתmachshevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: plans of
  • Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders You have done, and the plans You have for us— none can compare to You— if I proclaim and declare them, they are more than I can count.

    Psalms 40:5

    • וּמַחְשְׁבֹתֶ֗יךָumachshevoteikhaconjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: and plans your
  • All day long they twist my words; all their thoughts are on my demise.

    Psalms 56:5

    • מַחְשְׁבֹתָ֣םmachshevotamnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine pluraltagged: plans their
  • How great are Your works, O LORD, how deep are Your thoughts!

    Psalms 92:5

    • מַחְשְׁבֹתֶֽיךָ׃machshevoteikhanoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: thoughts your
  • The LORD knows the thoughts of man, that they are futile.

    Psalms 94:11

    • מַחְשְׁב֣וֹתmachshevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: thoughts of

Proverbs

eight uses
  • a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that run swiftly to evil,

    Proverbs 6:18

    • מַחְשְׁב֣וֹתmachshevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: plans of
  • The plans of the righteous are just, but the counsel of the wicked leads to deceit.

    Proverbs 12:5

    • מַחְשְׁב֣וֹתmachshevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: plans of
  • Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

    Proverbs 15:22

    • מַ֭חֲשָׁבוֹתmachashavotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: plans
  • The LORD detests the thoughts of the wicked, but the words of the pure are pleasant to Him.

    Proverbs 15:26

    • מַחְשְׁב֣וֹתmachshevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: plans of
  • Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be achieved.

    Proverbs 16:3

    • מַחְשְׁבֹתֶֽיךָ׃machshevoteikhanoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: plans your
  • Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail.

    Proverbs 19:21

    • מַחֲשָׁב֣וֹתmachashavotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: plans
  • Set plans by consultation, and wage war under sound guidance.

    Proverbs 20:18

    • מַ֭חֲשָׁבוֹתmachashavotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: plans
  • The plans of the diligent bring plenty, as surely as haste leads to poverty.

    Proverbs 21:5

    • מַחְשְׁב֣וֹתmachshevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: plans of

Isaiah

nine uses
  • Let the wicked man forsake his own way and the unrighteous man his own thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.

    Isaiah 55:7

    • מַחְשְׁבֹתָ֑יוmachshevotavnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: thoughts his
  • “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.

    Isaiah 55:8

    • מַחְשְׁבוֹתַי֙machshevotainoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singulartagged: thoughts my
    • מַחְשְׁב֣וֹתֵיכֶ֔םmachshevoteikhemnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine pluraltagged: thoughts your
  • “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.

    Isaiah 55:9

    • וּמַחְשְׁבֹתַ֖יumachshevotaiconjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine singulartagged: and thoughts my
    • מִמַּחְשְׁבֹתֵיכֶֽם׃mimachshevoteikhempreposition + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 2nd person masculine pluraltagged: more than thoughts your
  • Their feet run to evil; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and destruction lie in their wake.

    Isaiah 59:7

    • מַחְשְׁבֽוֹתֵיהֶם֙machshevoteihemnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine pluraltagged: thoughts their
    • מַחְשְׁב֣וֹתmachshevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: thoughts of
  • All day long I have held out My hands to an obstinate people who walk in the wrong path, who follow their own imaginations,

    Isaiah 65:2

    • מַחְשְׁבֹתֵיהֶֽם׃machshevoteihemnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine pluraltagged: own thoughts their
  • “And I, knowing their deeds and thoughts, am coming to gather all nations and tongues, and they will come and see My glory.

    Isaiah 66:18

    • וּמַחְשְׁבֹ֣תֵיהֶ֔םumachshevoteihemconjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine pluraltagged: and thoughts their

Jeremiah

twelve uses
  • Wash the evil from your heart, O Jerusalem, so that you may be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts within you?

    Jeremiah 4:14

    • מַחְשְׁב֥וֹתmachshevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: thoughts of
  • Hear, O earth! I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their own schemes, because they have paid no attention to My word and have rejected My instruction.

    Jeremiah 6:19

    • מַחְשְׁבוֹתָ֑םmachshevotamnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine pluraltagged: own schemes their
  • For I was like a gentle lamb led to slaughter; I did not know that they had plotted against me: “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit; let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be remembered no more.”

    Jeremiah 11:19

    • מַחֲשָׁב֗וֹתmachashavotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: plans
  • Now therefore, tell the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem that this is what the LORD says: ‘Behold, I am planning a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways, and correct your ways and deeds.’

    Jeremiah 18:11

    • מַֽחֲשָׁבָ֑הmachashavahnoun · feminine singulartagged: a plan
  • But they will reply, ‘It is hopeless. We will follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’”

    Jeremiah 18:12

    • מַחְשְׁבוֹתֵ֙ינוּ֙machshevoteinunoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 1st person masculine or feminine pluraltagged: own plans our
  • Then some said, “Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah, for the law will never be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the wise, nor an oracle to the prophet. Come, let us denounce him and pay no heed to any of his words.”

    Jeremiah 18:18

    • מַחֲשָׁבוֹת֒machashavotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: plans
  • For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.

    Jeremiah 29:11

    • הַמַּחֲשָׁבֹ֗תhamachashavotthe definite article (“the”) + noun · feminine pluraltagged: the plans
    • מַחְשְׁב֤וֹתmachshevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: plans of
  • Therefore hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Edom and the strategies He has devised against the people of Teman: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged away; certainly their pasture will be made desolate because of them.

    Jeremiah 49:20

    • וּמַ֨חְשְׁבוֹתָ֔יוumachshevotavconjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: and purposes his
  • Run! Escape quickly! Lie low, O residents of Hazor,” declares the LORD, “for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has drawn up a plan against you; he has devised a strategy against you.

    Jeremiah 49:30

    • מַחֲשָׁבָֽה׃machashavahnoun · feminine singulartagged: a purpose
  • Therefore hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Babylon and the strategies He has devised against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged away; certainly their pasture will be made desolate because of them.

    Jeremiah 50:45

    • וּמַ֨חְשְׁבוֹתָ֔יוumachshevotavconjunction (“and”) + noun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: and purposes his
  • The earth quakes and writhes because the LORD’s intentions against Babylon stand: to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.

    Jeremiah 51:29

    • מַחְשְׁב֣וֹתmachshevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: plans of

Lamentations

two uses
  • You have seen all their malice, all their plots against me.

    Lamentations 3:60

    • מַחְשְׁבֹתָ֖םmachshevotamnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine pluraltagged: plans their
  • O LORD, You have heard their insults, all their plots against me—

    Lamentations 3:61

    • מַחְשְׁבֹתָ֖םmachshevotamnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine pluraltagged: plans their

Ezekiel

one use
  • This is what the Lord GOD says: On that day, thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will devise an evil plan.

    Ezekiel 38:10

    • מַחֲשֶׁ֥בֶתmachashevetnoun · feminine singular · in construct (“…of”)tagged: a plan

Daniel

two uses
  • In a time of peace, he will invade the richest provinces and do what his fathers and forefathers never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers, and he will plot against the strongholds—but only for a time.

    Daniel 11:24

    • מַחְשְׁבֹתָ֖יוmachshevotavnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”) + pronoun suffix · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: plans his
  • And with a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South, who will mobilize a very large and powerful army but will not withstand the plots devised against him.

    Daniel 11:25

    • מַחֲשָׁבֽוֹת׃machashavotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: plans

Micah

one use
  • But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD or understand His plan, for He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.

    Micah 4:12

    • מַחְשְׁב֣וֹתmachshevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: thoughts of

The letters

Where it leads

How the numbers are counted

Every count on this page comes from STEP Bible's tagged Hebrew and Greek text, the same text the ledger prints. A use is counted once each time the tagging marks a word with this key.

Spellings are counted as the Greek text spells them, with the sentence's own punctuation taken off the word first, so a form that ends a clause is not counted as a second spelling.

The words it stands beside are the nouns, verbs and adjectives immediately before or after it, counted in every verse where the word stands. The article, the conjunctions and the prepositions are left out, because they stand beside every word.

The family is read from the lexicon by the stem the two words share, with the accents off, and a person or a place named on the stem is left out.

Hebrew and Greek text, word tagging and grammar: STEP Bible (www.STEPBible.org), Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0. Their grammar codes are written out in English here and shown as tagged beside each one.

Meaning and senses: STEP Bible TBESH gloss (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary key: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890, public domain). English verse text: Berean Standard Bible (public domain, 2023).

Revised 2026-09-05. Every cited work, the sources registry →