מַטֶּה
maṭṭeh · mat-teh'
a branch (as extending); figuratively, a tribe; also a rod, whether for chastising (figuratively, correction), ruling (a sceptre), throwing (a lance), or walking (a staff; figuratively, a support of life, e.g. bread)
Lexicon
Derivation: or (feminine) מַטָּה; from H5186 (נָטָה);
a branch (as extending); figuratively, a tribe; also a rod, whether for chastising (figuratively, correction), ruling (a sceptre), throwing (a lance), or walking (a staff; figuratively, a support of life, e.g. bread)
- a branch (as extending)
- figuratively, a tribe
- also, a rod, whether for chastising (figuratively, correction), ruling (a sceptre), throwing (a lance), or walking (a staff
- figuratively, a support of life, e.g. bread)
Definition from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890). Wording is Strong's own, including his etymological notes, which are not separate meanings.
KJV renderings: rod, staff, tribe.
Letters
- מMem40
Picture: waves of water
- Concrete
- water · sea · blood · liquid
- Extended
- chaos · mighty and uncontrollable · the masses · from / out of
- טTet9
Picture: a basket, or something coiled
- Concrete
- basket · coil · snake · container
- Extended
- to surround · to contain · to store · to twist
- הHe5
Picture: a person with both arms raised
- Concrete
- a man calling out · a window · breath
- Extended
- behold! · revelation · to reveal · the (definite article)
Possible cultural reading (auto-composed)
water, chaos, the mighty deep › to surround and contain › to reveal, behold
Water, chaos, the mighty deep that works to surround and contain that works to reveal, behold.
Interpretive, not lexical. The dictionary sense of מַטֶּה above is the attested meaning; this pictographic reading is a tradition about how the sign-shapes may have been heard. Both can be held at once, they are answering different questions.
Usage
252 occurrences · 252 OT · 0 NT · 97 distinct forms
KJV renderings of this word, by how often each one is used.
- of the tribe57 · 28%
- and out of the tribe26 · 13%
- tribe17 · 8%
- of the tribes12 · 6%
- of them, even of the tribe12 · 6%
- out of the tribe11 · 5%
- the rod6 · 3%
- his rod5 · 2%
- tribes5 · 2%
- of every tribe5 · 2%
- for the tribe5 · 2%
- rod5 · 2%
- the tribe4 · 2%
- the staff4 · 2%
- rods4 · 2%
- then the tribe4 · 2%
- thy rod4 · 2%
- of the rod2 · 1%
- throughout all the tribes2 · 1%
- him a rod2 · 1%
- of every one of them a rod2 · 1%
- by him shall be the tribe2 · 1%
- with the rod2 · 1%
- and the rod2 · 1%
- their rods2 · 1%
Where it is used, by book.
Inflected forms found in the text.
Counts are computed from the tagged Hebrew and Greek text aligned to the King James Version, not from an estimate.