Word

מָדַד

mâdad · H4058 · Hebrew · 52 occurrences

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Meanings

to measure

Action by which humans or deities ascertain the size or quantity of something by comparing it with a standard unit or with an object of known size

Examples
Exodus 16:18 When they measured it by the omer, the one who had gathered much did not have too much, and the one who had gathered little did not have too little; everyone gathered as much as he would eat.
Deuteronomy 21:2 then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance to the cities which are around the one who was killed.
Isaiah 40:12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And measured the heavens with a span, And calculated the dust of the earth with a measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales?
to measure off, to measure out

Causative action by which humans mark off part of a larger unit for a certain purpose

Examples
Numbers 35:5 “You shall also measure outside the city on the east side two thousand cubits, on the south side two thousand cubits, on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits, with the city in the center. This shall become theirs as pasture lands for the cities.
Ruth 3:15 Again he said, “Give me the shawl that is on you and hold it.” So she held it, and he measured six measures of barley and laid it on her. Then she went into the city.
2 Samuel 8:2 And he defeated Moab, and measured them with the line, making them lie down on the ground; and he measured two lines to put to death, and a full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute.
to pay back

Literally: to measure out on (someone's) lap; hence: causative process by which deities cause humans to receive the appropriate return for their evil actions, which are mostly evil

Examples
Isaiah 65:7 Both your own wrongdoings and the wrongdoings of your fathers together,” says the LORD. “Because they have burned incense on the mountains And scorned Me on the hills, Therefore I will measure their former work into their laps.”
to divide up, to parcel out

Literally: to measure off; hence: action by which deities divide an object into portions in order to share them out among different parties

Examples
Psalm 60:6 God has spoken in His holiness: “I will triumph, I will divide up Shechem, and measure out the Valley of Succoth.
Psalm 108:7 God has spoken in His holiness: “I will triumph, I will divide up Shechem, And measure out the Valley of Succoth.
to last, to drag on

Process by which a certain condition lasts longer than expected or hoped

Examples
Job 7:4 “When I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I arise?’ But the night continues, And I am continually tossing until dawn.
stretching oneself out

Action by which humans straighten their body to its full length

Examples
1 Kings 17:21 Then he stretched himself out over the boy three times, and called to the LORD and said, “LORD, my God, please, let this boy’s life return to him.”

How it’s used In 5 roles

Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.

the word studied the word it goes with

Who or what does itSubject

52 occurrences in 10 groups

Not stated: he, she or it 38
Not stated: I 3
Not stated: they 3
Other words · 7 groups that occur once or twice (8) 8

What it acts on, or what is saidObject

42 occurrences in 23 groups

רֹחַבbreadth 5
אֹרֶךְlength 5
אַיִלram 4
אֶלֶףthousand 4
אֵילָםporch 3
רוּחַspirit, wind 3
Other words · 16 groups that occur once or twice (19) 19

Second objectAs in “call him Lord”

9 occurrences in 2 groups

אַמָּהcubit 7
קָנֶהreed, branch 2

With prepositionsPrepositional phrases

19 occurrences in 14 groups

כlike/as+ מִדָּהmeasure, size 4
Other words · 13 groups that occur once or twice (15) 15

With adverbsAdverbs

3 occurrences in 2 groups

לֹאnot 2
סָבִיבround about, around, on every side 1

When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.

MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.

Near synonyms 1 word

תָּכַן tâkan · H8505 · to measure, to weigh out, to weigh: Both the target term ('measure, mete, stretch self') and תָּכַן (tâkan, H8505) ('bear up, direct, be [un]equal, mete, ponder, tell, weigh') genuinely denote measuring actions. These are true Hebrew near-synonyms for the act of measuring or meting, sharing an appropriately specific semantic field rather than a broad or generic one.

In the other Testament 1 word

μετρέω metréō · G3354 · to measure, to give, to apportion: Direct translation equivalent for the act of measuring or ascertaining dimensions, with both terms denoting the physical or metaphorical act of determining extent by a standard.

Semantic domains 5 entries

Measure002004002009: מָדַד means to measure, as in Numbers 35:5's instruction to "measure outside the city...two thousand cubits," placing it among terms of measurement.
Non-Whole002003001021: The verb is used to measure out a portion or share, as in Ruth 3:15's Boaz who "measured six measures of barley," tying the measuring action to dividing a whole into a specific portion.
Chastise002003002005: The verb is used of measuring off groups of captives for judgment, as in 2 Samuel 8:2's David who "measured them with the line, making them lie down on the ground...to put to death," tying measurement to a punitive verdict.
Endure002002003001: The word's gloss 'stretch self' reflects its use of a person stretching out over another, as in 2 Kings 4:34's Elisha who lay upon the child and "stretched himself out on him," an act sustained over the child's body.
Stance002001001061: מָדַד describes the bodily posture of stretching oneself out at full length, illustrated at 1 Kings 17:21 (Elijah "stretched himself out over the boy three times").

Word family 5 words

Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.

מָדַדmâdad · H4058מִדָּה middâh · H4060 · measure, size, man of stature · 56×מַד mad · H4055 · clothes, garment, tunic, armor · 11×מִדָּה middâh · H4061 · measure, size, man of stature · 4×מֵמַד mêmad · H4461 · measure, size · 1×

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H4058. madad מָדַד53 verb measure (Late Hebrew id.; Phoenician מדד; Arabic extend,…

H4058. madad
מָדַד53 verb measure (Late Hebrew id.; Phoenician מדד; Arabic extend, stretch, a corn-measure, etc.; Assyrian madâdu, measure; Jewish-Aramaic noun מִידָּה measure, proportion, rule); —
Qal Perfect ׳מ (מָדָ֑ד) Isa 40:12 Isa 40:9t. Ezekiel; suffix מְדָדוֺ Eze 42:15, Eze 42:20; Eze 42:1singular וּמַדֹּתִ֫י Isa 65:7; וּמָֽדְדוּ consecutive Deu 21:2; Eze 43:10; וּמַדֹּתֶם consecutive Num 35:5; Imperfect וַיָּ֫מָד Rth 3:15 22t. Ezekiel; 2masculine singular תָּמוֺד Eze 45:3; וַיָּמֹ֫דּוּ Exo 16:18; תָּמֹ֫דּוּ Eze 47:18; Infinitive לָמֹד Zec 2:6; — measure, chiefly literal (usually followed by accusative of thing; object omitted Exo 16:18; Deu 21:2; Eze 40:35, compare Eze 47:18 (but see Co); followed by accusative of measure Rth 3:15; Eze 42:19; Eze 47:3-4, (twice in verse); Eze 47:5); —
1 measure of length, distance Num 35:5 (P), Deu 21:2 (D), Eze 40:5-6, Eze 40:8, Eze 40:20 Eze 40:32t. Ezekiel 40-47 Zec 2:6.
2 of dry measure Exo 16:18 (P), Rth 3:15.
3 figurative of measuring waters Isa 40:12 (of ׳י); of requital Isa 65:7.
Niph`al Imperfect יִמַּד Hos 2:1; Jer 33:22; יִמַּדּוּ Jer 31:37; — be measured, of sand of sea Hos 2:1; Jer 33:22; of heavens Jer 31:37.
Pi`el Perfect וּמִדַּדֿ consecutive Job 7:4 (compare Ges§ 52. 2. R. l); Imperfect וַיְמַדֵּד 2Sa 8:2; וַיְמַדְּדֵם 2Sa 8:2; אֲמַדֵּד Psa 60:8; Psa 108:8; —
1 extend, continue (= make extent or continuation), subject עֶרֶב Job 7:4.
2 measure, measure off, בַחֶבֶל, of apportioning Moabites to death and life, followed by suffix 2Sa 8:2; also object חֲבָלִים 2Sa 8:2; metaphor of conquest, followed by accusative, Psa 60:8 = Psa 108:8 (|| חִלֵּק).
Po. Imperfect וַיְמֹ֫דֶד Hab 3:6 (subject God, object אֶרֶץ), measured (namely, with eye) ᵑ9 Hi AV RV, but dubious; ᵐ5 ἐσαλεύθη, אֲזִיעַ ᵑ7, hence shook Ew Ke Or and others (from √ [מוֺד =] מוֺט, but read then rather וַיְמֹטֵט, although מוט not elsewhere in this conjugation; We, plausibly, וַיְמֹגֵג √ מוג, compare Nah 1:5).
Hithpo`el וַיִּתְמֹדֵד followed by עַלהַֿיֶ֫לֶד; 1Ki 17:21 measured (= extended, stretched) himself upon the boy.

Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain

Topical studies with this word 5 entries

Stance1 occurrence Endure1 occurrence Non-Whole12 occurrences Chastise1 occurrence Measure37 occurrences

Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.

Sources

eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0