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 39Old Testament books
- 42spellings
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.
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.
| Word | Written | Meaning | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| מַחֲנֶה | machaneh | camp | Uses215 |
| מַחֲלֹקֶת | machaloqeth | division | Uses42 |
| מַחֲסֶה | machaseh | refuge | Uses20 |
| מַחֲצִית | machatsith | half | Uses16 |
| מַחֲלֶה | machaleh | sickness | Uses6 |
| מַחֲבַת | machabath | griddle | Uses5 |
| מַחֲזֶה | machazeh | vision | Uses4 |
| מַחֲרֵשָׁה | machareshah | plowshare | Uses3 |
| מַחֲבֵא | machabe | hiding-place | Uses2 |
| מַחֲלָצָה | machalatsah | robe | Uses2 |
| מַחֲלָף | machalaph | knife | Uses1 |
| מַחֲנַק | machanaq | strangling | Uses1 |
and 6 more on the stem.
The words it stands beside
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.
- מַחְשְׁבֹ֣תmachshevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: thoughts of
Exodus
four uses
to design artistic works in gold, silver, and bronze,
- מַחֲשָׁבֹ֑תmachashavotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: designs
to design artistic works in gold, silver, and bronze,
- מַֽחַשָׁבֹ֑תmachashavotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: designs
to cut gemstones for settings, and to carve wood, so that he may be a master of every artistic craft.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- מַחְשְׁב֣וֹתmachshevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: plans of
Behold, I know your thoughts full well, the schemes by which you would wrong me.
- 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.
- מַחְשְׁב֥וֹתmachshevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: plans of
The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the purposes of His heart to all generations.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
- 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.
- מַחְשְׁב֣וֹתmachshevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: thoughts of
Proverbs
eight uses
a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that run swiftly to evil,
- 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.
- מַחְשְׁב֣וֹתmachshevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: plans of
Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.
- מַ֭חֲשָׁבוֹתmachashavotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: plans
The LORD detests the thoughts of the wicked, but the words of the pure are pleasant to Him.
- מַחְשְׁב֣וֹתmachshevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: plans of
Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be achieved.
- 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.
- מַחֲשָׁב֣וֹתmachashavotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: plans
Set plans by consultation, and wage war under sound guidance.
- מַ֭חֲשָׁבוֹתmachashavotnoun · feminine pluraltagged: plans
The plans of the diligent bring plenty, as surely as haste leads to poverty.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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,
- 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.
- 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?
- 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.
- 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.”
- 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.’
- 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.’”
- 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.”
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- מַחְשְׁב֣וֹתmachshevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: plans of
Lamentations
two uses
You have seen all their malice, all their plots against me.
- 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—
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- מַחְשְׁב֣וֹתmachshevotnoun · feminine plural · in construct (“…of”)tagged: thoughts of
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.
