Hebrew verb · H4911
מָשַׁל
mashalmaw-shal'
to liken; to use a proverb
16 uses in the Hebrew text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key
Concordance spelling: mâshal
Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's H4911is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.
- 5 of 39Old Testament books
- 14spellings
- 2meanings
The definition in full
Strong's key (1890) · H4911
to liken, i.e. (transitively) to use figurative language (an allegory, adage, song or the like); intransitively, to resemble
The King James renders it: be(-come) like, compare, use (as a) proverb, speak (in proverbs), utter.
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
mashal is rendered "to liken; to use a proverb". It stands 16 times in the Hebrew text, across five books.
- Eight of the uses stand in Ezekiel, more than in any other book.
- The lexicon lists two meanings for it, beginning with "to liken".
- Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Numbers 21:27That is why the poets say: “Come to Heshbon, let it be rebuilt; let the city of Sihon be restored.
- The Greek text spells it fourteen different ways.
The first use
That is why the poets say: “Come to Heshbon, let it be rebuilt; let the city of Sihon be restored.
Numbers 21:27הַמֹּשְׁלִ֖ים
The first use, in the order of the Old Testament's books.
Where the word stands
What the word means
The word carries two meanings: to liken, and to use a proverb.
Each meaning, and the words it is translated by
| Meaning | Tagged as | Where |
|---|---|---|
| to likenStrong's entry A | Tagged aslisted under the table | WhereNumbers 21:27That is why the poets say: “Come to Heshbon, let it be rebuilt… |
| to use a proverbStrong's entry B | Tagged aslisted under the table | Wherein the ledger below |
How the Greek text is glossed, word by word
- and I will be equal2
- and speak a parable2
- he is like2
- and I have become like1
- and will you compare? me1
- he will speak a proverb1
- making a parable1
- people will use as a proverb1
- speaking a proverb1
- the speaks a proverb1
- those speak proverbs1
- to speak a proverb1
and 1 more, 16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| מָשַׁל | mashal | to rule | Uses81 |
| מָשַׁח | mashach | to anoint | Uses70 |
| מָשַׁךְ | mashak | to draw | Uses36 |
| מָשַׁשׁ | mashash | to feel | Uses9 |
Other numbers on this spelling
Strong gave these words the same spelling and different numbers, so the site counts and defines them apart.
All 16, in canonical order
Every use, in order
Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.
14 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
- וְ֝נִמְשַׁ֗לְתִּי2
- נִמְשַׁ֖ל2
- הַמֹּשֵׁ֔ל1
- הַמֹּשְׁלִ֖ים1
- וָ֝אֶתְמַשֵּׁ֗ל1
- וּמְשֹׁ֣ל1
- וּמְשֹׁ֤ל1
- וְתַמְשִׁל֖וּנִי1
- יִמְשֹׁ֖ל1
- יִמְשְׁל֥וּ1
- מְמַשֵּׁ֥ל1
- מְשֹׁ֛ל1
and 2 more spellings in the ledger below.
The grammar of each form
- Hc/VNq1cs2Hc/VNq1cs
- conjunction (“and”) + verb · simple (qal), command · 2nd person masculine singular2HC/Vqv2ms
- verb · passive or reflexive (niphal), qatal (perfect) · 3rd person masculine singular2HVNp3ms
- HC/Vhu2mp/Sp1bs1HC/Vhu2mp/Sp1bs
- Hc/Vtw1cs1Hc/Vtw1cs
- the definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine plural1HTd/Vqrmpa
- the definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singular1HTd/Vqrmsa
- verb · passive or reflexive (niphal), qatal (perfect) · 2nd person masculine singular1HVNp2ms
- verb · intensive (piel), participle · masculine singular1HVprmsa
- verb · simple (qal), infinitive (“to…”)1HVqcc
- verb · simple (qal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 3rd person masculine plural1HVqi3mp
- verb · simple (qal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 3rd person masculine singular1HVqi3ms
Numbers
one use
That is why the poets say: “Come to Heshbon, let it be rebuilt; let the city of Sihon be restored.
- הַמֹּשְׁלִ֖יםhamoshelimthe definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine pluraltagged: those speak proverbs
Job
one use
He throws me into the mud, and I have become like dust and ashes.
- וָ֝אֶתְמַשֵּׁ֗לvaetmashelHc/Vtw1cstagged: and I have become like
Psalms
four uses
To You, O LORD, I call; be not deaf to me, O my Rock. For if You remain silent, I will be like those descending to the Pit.
- וְ֝נִמְשַׁ֗לְתִּיvenimshaltiHc/VNq1cstagged: and I will be equal
But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; he is like the beasts that perish.
- נִמְשַׁ֖לnimshalverb · passive or reflexive (niphal), qatal (perfect) · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: he is like
A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish.
- נִמְשַׁ֖לnimshalverb · passive or reflexive (niphal), qatal (perfect) · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: he is like
Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide Your face from me, or I will be like those who descend to the Pit.
- וְ֝נִמְשַׁ֗לְתִּיvenimshaltiHc/VNq1cstagged: and I will be equal
Isaiah
two uses
They will all respond to you, saying, “You too have become weak, as we are; you have become like us!”
- נִמְשָֽׁלְתָּ׃nimshaltaverb · passive or reflexive (niphal), qatal (perfect) · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: you have become like
To whom will you liken Me or count Me equal? To whom will you compare Me, that we should be alike?
- וְתַמְשִׁל֖וּנִיvetamshiluniHC/Vhu2mp/Sp1bstagged: and will you compare? me
Ezekiel
eight uses
Therefore tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will put an end to this proverb, and in Israel they will no longer recite it.’ But say to them: ‘The days are at hand when every vision will be fulfilled.
- יִמְשְׁל֥וּyimsheluverb · simple (qal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 3rd person masculine pluraltagged: people will use as a proverb
Behold, all who speak in proverbs will quote this proverb about you: ‘Like mother, like daughter.’
- הַמֹּשֵׁ֔לhamoshelthe definite article (“the”) + verb · simple (qal), participle · masculine singulartagged: the speaks a proverb
- יִמְשֹׁ֖לyimsholverb · simple (qal), yiqtol (imperfect) · 3rd person masculine singulartagged: he will speak a proverb
“Son of man, pose a riddle; speak a parable to the house of Israel
- וּמְשֹׁ֣לumesholconjunction (“and”) + verb · simple (qal), command · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: and speak a parable
“What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge’?
- מֹֽשְׁלִים֙moshelimverb · simple (qal), participle · masculine pluraltagged: speaking a proverb
As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel.
- מְשֹׁ֛לmesholverb · simple (qal), infinitive (“to…”)tagged: to speak a proverb
Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD, they are saying of me, ‘Is he not just telling parables?’”
- מְמַשֵּׁ֥לmemashelverb · intensive (piel), participle · masculine singulartagged: making a parable
Now speak a parable to this rebellious house and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Put the pot on the fire; put it on and pour in the water.
- וּמְשֹׁ֤לumesholconjunction (“and”) + verb · simple (qal), command · 2nd person masculine singulartagged: and speak a parable
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.