Word

מָשַׁל

mâshal · H4911 · Hebrew · 17 occurrences

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Meanings

to be like, to become like

State in which humans are similar in shape, behavior or experience to others

Examples
Job 30:19 “He has thrown me into the mire, And I have become like dust and ashes.
Psalm 49:12 But man in his splendor will not endure; He is like the animals that perish.
Psalm 49:20 Mankind in its splendor, yet without understanding, Is like the animals that perish.
to compare

Action by which humans measure the similarity or dissimilarity between different entities

Examples
Isaiah 46:5 “To whom would you liken Me And make Me equal, and compare Me, That we would be alike?
to speak in proverbs, to speak in riddles, to speak in parables, to speak in allegories

Action by which humans make statements to communicate something that they perceive as truth in an indirect way, such as a proverb, riddle, parable, song, or allegory; often seen as obscure and difficult to understand

Examples
Numbers 21:27 For that reason those who use proverbs say, “Come to Heshbon! Let it be built! So let the city of Sihon be established.
Job 17:6 “But He has made me a proverb among the people, And I am one at whom people spit.
Ezekiel 12:23 “Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says: “I will put an end to this proverb so that they will no longer use it as a proverb in Israel.” But tell them, “The days are approaching as well as the fulfillment of every vision.

How it’s used In 8 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

14 occurrences in 10 groups

Not stated: I 3
Not stated: you (one person) 3
Other words · 8 groups that occur once or twice (8) 8

What it acts on, or what is saidObject

6 occurrences in 3 groups

מָשָׁלsaying 4
נִיme 1
וֹhim 1

With prepositionsPrepositional phrases

12 occurrences in 10 groups

Other words · 10 groups that occur once or twice (15) 15

With adverbsAdverbs

2 occurrences in 2 groups

לֹאnot 2
עוֹדstill, again, yet 1

Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive

1 occurrences in 1 groups

עַםpeople 1

What it doesIt is the subject

3 occurrences in 3 groups

הָיָהto be, to become 1
מָשַׁלto be like 1
אָמַרto say 1

What is done to itIt is the object

2 occurrences in 1 groups

אָמַרto say 2

After prepositionsPrepositional phrases

1 occurrences in 1 groups

לto/for 2

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

דָּמָה dâmâh · H1819 · to cease, to perish, to be no more: Both words denote acts of comparison or likening, including being like and using similitudes or proverbs, and could substitute in contexts of comparison.

In the other Testament 1 word

ἔπω épō · G2036 · to say, to talk, to tell: Greek ἔπω broadly denotes speech/saying acts, whereas Hebrew מָשַׁל specifically denotes proverbial/parabolic speech forms or comparison-making utterances; LXX translators employ ἔπω when rendering מָשַׁל contexts where the proverbial/parabolic register is backgrounded in favor of the simple speech-act frame.

Semantic domains 5 entries

Compare002004002003: מָשַׁל describes being or becoming like something, a comparison, illustrated at Psalm 49:13 ("this is the way of those who are foolish", of whom the psalm has just said they are compared to beasts that perish) and Isaiah 14:10 ("even you have become weak as we, you have become like us").
Speak002004001009008: מָשַׁל also describes speaking a proverb or taunt, illustrated at Ezekiel 12:23 ("I will put an end to this proverb so that they will no longer use it as a proverb") and Ezekiel 18:3 ("you certainly are not going to use this proverb in Israel anymore").
Control002003002007: This entry carries no independent "Control" sense of its own distinct from speaking a proverb or making a comparison; every genuine tagged occurrence of this lexeme (e.g. Psalm 49:13, Ezekiel 12:23, 18:3) concerns comparison or proverb-speech, not exercising rule. The domain is bundle-shared with this lexeme's homonym, מָשַׁל ("to rule," מָשַׁל (mâshal, H4910)), which shares its spelling but not its root.
Leaders001001003005: This entry carries no independent "Leaders" sense of its own distinct from speaking a proverb or making a comparison; every genuine tagged occurrence of this lexeme concerns comparison or proverb-speech, not the position of a ruler. The domain is bundle-shared with this lexeme's homonym, מָשַׁל ("to rule," מָשַׁל (mâshal, H4910)).
Patient002001002020: This domain is not directly shown by the sampled citations, which describe comparison and proverbial speech rather than patience as such.

Word family 3 words

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

מָשַׁלmâshal · H4911מְשֹׁל mᵉshôl · H4914 · to be like, to become like, to compare · 0×

Also from the root מָשַׁל

מֹשֶׁל môshel · H4915 · likeness, rule, dominion · 3×

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H4911. mashal I. [מָשַׁל] verb represent, be like (Arabic stand erect (compare FlDe Pro…

H4911. mashal
I. [מָשַׁל] verb represent, be like (Arabic stand erect (compare FlDe Pro 1:1), II. effigiavit, representavit (rem alicui), see imitate, use a verse as a poverb; description by way of comparison; Assyrian mašâlu, DlHWB 451 f.; Ethiopic become like; Aramaic מְתַל be like, compare).
Niph`al Perfect3masculine singular נִמְשַׁל Psa 49:13; Psalm 49:21; Psa 49:2masculine singular נִמְֹשָׁ֑לְתָּ Isa 14:10; Isa 14:1singular נִמְשַׁלְתִּי Psa 28:1; Psa 143:7: — be like, similar, with אֶל Isa 14:10; עִם Psa 28:1 = Psa 143:7; כְּ Psa 49:13; Psalm 49:21.
Hiph`il Imperfect2masculine plural suffix וְתָמְשִׁלוּנִי compare Isa 46:5.
Hithpa`el Imperfect1singular וָאֶתְמַשֵּׁל Job 30:19 (with כְּ) and I have become like dust..
II. מָשַׁל verb denominative use of proverb, speak in parables or sentences of poetry, especially Ezekiel; —
Qal Imperfect יִמְשֹׁל Eze 16:44; Eze 16:3masculine plural יִמְשְׁלוּ Eze 12:23; Imperative מְשֹׁל Eze 17:2; Eze 24:3; Infinitive construct מְשֹׁל Eze 18:3 Participle משֵׁל Eze 16:44, plural משְׁלִים Eze 18:2; Num 21:27; — use a proverb: מָשָׁל׳מ Eze 12:23; Eze 18:3; a parable with אֶלֿ Eze 17:2 (|| חִידָה חוּד), Eze 24:3; with עַלֿ Eze 18:2, and (מָשָׁל apparently omitted) יִמְשֹׁל עָלַיִךְ הַמּשֵׁל כָּלֿ הִנֵּה Eze 16:44 (but this is awkward; point הַמָּשָׁל כֹּל הִנֵּה); משְׁלִים Num 21:27 (JE).,
Pi`el Participle הוּא מְשָׁלִים מְמַשֵּׁל הֲלֹא Eze 21:5 is he not a maker of parables?

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

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