מָחָה
mâchâh · H4229 · Hebrew · 36 occurrences
Meanings
-
to wipe
Causative action by which humans clean or dry an object or body part by rubbing it with a cloth or with their hands; sometimes extended to refer to God; sometimes associated with destruction
Examples2 Kings 21:13 ‘I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria and the plummet of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem clean just as one wipes a bowl, wiping it and turning it upside down.
Proverbs 30:20 This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth, And says, “I have done no wrong.”
Isaiah 25:8 He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the disgrace of His people from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.
-
to erase, to blot out
Causative action by which humans erase words from parchment or leather, either by scratching away the ink with a sharp implement or by washing it away with water
ExamplesExodus 32:32 “But now, if You will forgive their sin, very well; but if not, please wipe me out from Your book which You have written!”
Exodus 32:33 However, the LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will wipe him out of My book.
Numbers 5:23 ‘The priest shall then write these curses on a scroll, and he shall wash them off into the water of bitterness.
-
to blot out, to wipe out
Causative action by which deities or humans ensure that (other) humans and/or their actions will no longer be remembered
ExamplesExodus 17:14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this in a book as a memorial and recite it to Joshua, that I will utterly wipe out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”
Deuteronomy 9:14 ‘Leave Me alone, that I may destroy them and wipe out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’
Deuteronomy 25:6 “It shall then be that the firstborn to whom she gives birth shall assume the name of his father’s deceased brother, so that his name will not be wiped out from Israel.
-
to wipe away, to forgive
Causative action by which deities decide to no longer hold a certain human's behavior against that person, as if by erasing that sin from one's record
ExamplesNehemiah 4:5 Do not forgive their guilt and do not let their sin be wiped out before You, for they have demoralized the builders.
Psalm 51:1 Be gracious to me, God, according to Your faithfulness; According to the greatness of Your compassion, wipe out my wrongdoings.
Psalm 51:9 Hide Your face from my sins And wipe out all my guilty deeds.
-
to blot out, to wipe out, to destroy
Causative action by which humans or deities totally remove (other) humans and objects from existence without leaving a trace
ExamplesGenesis 6:7 Then the LORD said, “I will wipe out mankind whom I have created from the face of the land; mankind, and animals as well, and crawling things, and the birds of the sky. For I am sorry that I have made them.”
Genesis 7:4 “For after seven more days, I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights; and I will wipe out from the face of the land every living thing that I have made.”
Genesis 7:23 So He wiped out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from mankind to animals, to crawling things, and the birds of the sky, and they were wiped out from the earth; and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark.
-
to reach
State in which a geographical boundary reaches a certain place before taking a turn
ExamplesNumbers 34:11 and the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain; and the border shall go down and reach to the slope on the east side of the Sea of Chinnereth.
-
full of marrow
State in which a dish contains a large quantity of marrow, which is considered to be a delicacy
ExamplesIsaiah 25:6 Now the LORD of armies will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged wine.
How it’s used In 6 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
34 occurrences in 13 groups
- Not stated: I 7
- Not stated: you (one person) 7
- Not stated: he, she or it 7
- Other words · 10 groups that occur once or twice (13) 13
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
23 occurrences in 15 groups
- שֵׁםname 4
- פֶּשַׁעtransgression, rebellion 3
- Other words · 13 groups that occur once or twice (16) 16
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
14 occurrences in 12 groups
- מִןfrom+ סֵפֶרbook, scroll, letter 3
- Other words · 11 groups that occur once or twice (12) 12
With adverbsAdverbs
7 occurrences in 2 groups
- אַלnot, do not 4
- לֹאnot 3
Named alongside itApposition
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- הוּאhe, she, it 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- כlike/as 1
- לto/for 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 2 words
- כָּחַד kâchad · H3582 · to be hidden, to hide, to conceal
- Both words denote actions of causing something to cease to exist or to be known, in the sphere of destroying or concealing.
- דּוּחַ dûwach · H1740 · to wash, to cleanse
- Both lexemes share genuine semantic overlap in the sense of cleansing/removal/washing actions. דּוּחַ (dûwach, H1740) (4 occurrences) focuses on purging/washing out, while מָחָה (mâchâh, H4229) (36 occurrences) has broader application including wiping/blotting out, but both involve removal/cleansing operations that could substitute in certain contexts.
In the other Testament 1 word
- ἐξαλείφω exaleíphō · G1813 · to wipe away, to eliminate, to do away with
- Greek ἐξαλείφω (exaleiphō) renders Hebrew מָחָה (māḥâ) with the core sense 'to wipe out/obliterate,' encompassing both the physical act of erasure and the metaphorical application to divine forgiveness (blotting out transgressions); the shared semantic range spans destruction, removal, and erasure across contexts.
Semantic domains 6 entries
- Clean002001001011
- מָחָה describes wiping something away or clean, as in Numbers 5:23's ritual of washing off written words into water of bitterness.
- Non-Know002004002008
- The verb can describe erasing something from memory or record, as in Exodus 17:14's command to "utterly wipe out the memory of Amalek," removing it from being known or remembered.
- Innocent002003003015
- The fact-packet data also assigns the Innocent domain, likely reflecting the verb's use for blotting out guilt or transgression (as in Exodus 32:32's plea to be "wiped out" from God's book, or the broader biblical idiom of sin being blotted out), though none of the sampled citations directly illustrates this sense.
- Non-Exist002002002006
- In its most forceful sense the verb describes total destruction or annihilation, as in the flood narrative's repeated "He wiped out every living thing" (Genesis 7:23), bringing existence itself to an end.
- Space002002001017
- The fact-packet data also assigns the Space domain here, likely reflecting the gloss's related sense "reach unto" (extending to fill a spatial extent), though no sampled citation directly illustrates this sense.
- Contain002002001003
- Likewise, the Contain domain appears to reflect the gloss's "full of marrow" sense (a vessel or object filled to capacity), a distinct usage not illustrated among the sampled wiping/destroying citations.
Word family 4 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H4229. machah I. מָחָה verb wipe, wipe out (Late Hebrew id.; Arabic , efface, erase,…
I. מָחָה verb wipe, wipe out (Late Hebrew id.; Arabic , efface, erase, cancel, obliterate; Aramaic מְחָא (I), compare Phoenician למחת according to stroke = exactly HoffinPhoenician Inschr., Abh. GGW, xxxvi. May 1889, 9). —
Qal Perfect3masculine singular מָחָה Num 5:23 Num 5:3t.; 3 feminine singular מחֲתָה Pro 30:20 Pro 30:4t. Pf; Imperfect יִמְחֶה 2Ki 21:13; וַיִּמַח (Baer; variant reading וַיִּמַּח) Gen 7:23; Gen 7:1singular suffix אֶמְחֶנּוּ Exo 32:33; Exo 32:4t. Imperfect; Imperative מְחֵה Psa 51:3; Psa 51:11; suffix מְחֵנִי Exo 32:32; Infinitive absolute מָחֹה Exo 17:14; construct לִמְחוֺת 2Ki 14:27; Participle מֹחֶה Isa 43:25; feminine plural (לְ)מֹחוֺת Pro 31:3; (Ges Fl Nö De Str for לַמְחוֺת ᵑ0); —
1 wipe, the mouth Pro 30:20; tears from (מעל) the face Isa 25:8; written curse, into the water (אלמֿים) for drinking Num 5:23 (P); Moses' name from the book (מספר) of God Exo 32:32-33, (J); עַלמָּֿנֶיהָ וְהָפַךְ מָחָה אֶתהַֿצַּלַּחַת יִמְחֶה כַּאֲשֶׁר יְרוּשָׁלִַם אֶתֿ וּמָחִיתִי 2Ki 21:13 and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipeth a dish, — he doth wipe and turn it (but read probably וְהָפֹךְ מָחֹה) upside down.
2 blot out = obliterate from the memory, הַשָּׁמַיִם מִתַּחַת from under heaven e.g. the name Deu 9:14; Deu 29:19; 2Ki 14:27; the remembrance Exo 17:14 (twice in verse) (J), Deu 25:19; the name for ever Psa 9:6; transgressions (פשׁע; no more remembered by God against sinner) Psa 51:3; Isa 43:25; Isa 44:22; עָון Psa 51:11.
3 blot out = exterminate, כלהֿיקוֺם all existing things Gen 7:23 (J) and mankind, הָאֲדָמָה מְּנֵי מֵעַל Gen 6:7; Gen 7:4 (J); מְלָכִין מֹחוֺת Pro 31:3 (with the text-change, see above) = destroyers of kings (i.e. impure women), but expression strange and dubious.
Niph`al Perfect3masculine plural נִמְחוּ Eze 6:6; Imperfect יִמָּחֶה Deu 25:6; Jdg 21:17; יִמַּח Psa 109:13; Psa 109:3feminine singular תִּמָּ֑ח Psa 109:14; Psa 109:4t. Imperfect; —
1 be wiped out חַיִּים מִסֵּפֶר Psa 69:29.
2 be blotted out, מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל of a name Deu 25:6, a tribe Jdg 21:17; name (|| posterity) Psa 109:13; from memory, of sins Nehemiah 3:37; Psa 109:14; reproach, Pro 6:33.
3 be exterminated, מִןהָֿאָרֶץ Gen 7:23 (J); of idolatrous works of Israel Eze 6:6.
Hiph`il Imperfect2masculine singular תֶּ֫מַח Neh 13:14; תֶּ֑מְחִי Jer 18:23 (but tone suggests תֶּ֫מַח compare Ges§ 75. R. 17; Gie reads Qal and doubts Hiph`il altogether); Infinitive לַמְחוֺת Pro 31:3 ( = לְהַמְחוֺת but see Qal 3); — blot out, from the memory; pious acts Neh 13:14; sins Jer 18:23.
II. מָחָה verb strike (Aramaic מְחָא (II), ; according to L GeiUrspr. d. spr. 416 LagSemitic i. 26, BN 142 NöZMG xxxii, 1878, 409 weakend from = , Hebrew מָחַץ q. v. compare Dr§ 178 n.; Assyrian ma—û = crush, oppress, according to DlHWB 396); — Perfect3masculine singular consecutive, וגו ׳עַלכֶּֿתֶף וּמָחָה Num 34:11 (P) and the border shall strike upon (reach unto) the shoulder of the sea of Chinnereth ( > Di and others derive from I. מָחָה rub along by, brush past, skirt).
III. מָחָה verb denominative only
Pu`al Participle מְמֻחָיִם (Ges§ 75. R.13) in phrase מ ׳שְׁמָנִים Isa 25:6 fat pieces full of marrow.
מְחִי see II. מחה.
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 6 entries
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
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org.