Mas describes imposed labor or a levy, with context identifying the people, authority and burden involved. Exodus 1:11 places forced labor within Egypt's deliberate oppression of Israel and the building of Pharaoh's store cities.
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Full entry for מַס (H4522) · Open the biblical lexicon
Mas describes imposed labor or a levy, with context identifying the people, authority and burden involved. Exodus 1:11 places forced labor within Egypt's deliberate oppression of Israel and the building of Pharaoh's store cities.
The BSB source-word alignment has 23 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include of the forced labor (4), as forced laborers (2), into forced labor (2), the forced labor (2), to forced labor (2).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 49:15. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Kings (7), Judges (4), 2 Chronicles (2), Joshua (2).
Mas describes imposed labor or a levy, with context identifying the people, authority and burden involved. Exodus 1:11 places forced labor within Egypt's deliberate oppression of Israel and the building of Pharaoh's store cities. First Kings 5:13-14 describes Solomon's conscripted workforce and its alternating months in Lebanon and at home. The shared label records organized labor demands, but the different narratives must supply their own evaluation and consequences.
First Kings 12:18 names Adoram as the official over forced labor after the people have pleaded for a lighter yoke and Rehoboam has answered harshly. His death occurs in that rupture; recording it does not instruct readers to retaliate against labor officials. Proverbs 12:24 contrasts diligence with laziness ending in forced labor, but that saying cannot explain Egypt's oppression as a consequence of Israel's laziness. Teaching should distinguish administrative description, oppression, political conflict and proverbial warning rather than making every conscripted worker personally responsible for the burden imposed.
Egyptian store-city oppression, Solomon's rotating conscription, a labor official in the kingdom's rupture and a diligence proverb describe different settings. Their shared labor label neither approves every levy nor diagnoses every worker's personal conduct.
So the Egyptians appointed taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. As a result, they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.
Taskmasters and forced labor implement Egypt's plan to oppress Israel, building Pharaoh's store cities. The ensuing account of harsh service must remain in the explanation.
Then King Solomon conscripted a labor force of 30,000 men from all Israel.
Solomon conscripts a workforce from Israel, with the following verse specifying monthly rotations. The administrative description does not by itself approve every future forced-labor system.
Then King Rehoboam sent out Adoram, who was in charge of the forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. And King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste and escaped to Jerusalem.
The official over forced labor is killed after Rehoboam refuses the people's plea and increases his threatened yoke. The narrative records the rupture without issuing a command to imitate the killing.
The hand of the diligent will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.
Diligence and laziness are contrasted through rule and forced labor. This proverbial warning is not a universal causal account of why every oppressed worker suffers.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Hebrew word. Forced labor tax that burdens and weakens; denotes both the corvée system and oppressive servitude imposed by kings
Forced labor tax that burdens and weakens; denotes both the corvée system and oppressive servitude imposed by kings
properly, a burden (as causing to faint), i.e. a tax in the form of forced labor BDB: body of forced labourers Usage: discomfited, levy, task(-master), tribute(-tary).
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 23 lexical occurrence verses.
מַס is built from this root:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Exodus explicitly locates forced labor in a ruler's plan to suppress a people he fears. The narrative's account of harsh service therefore prevents blaming Israel's burden on a supposed personal failure to work diligently. Solomon's workforce is described administratively, including rotations, and requires its own setting rather than importing every detail of Egypt's oppression or assuming royal organization makes any demand just.
The appeal in First Kings 12 asks for relief from a heavy yoke, and Rehoboam's refusal is followed by political rupture and the killing of the labor official. The recorded violence is a consequence in the narrative, not a remedy commanded for today's readers. Proverbs' contrast can encourage diligence without explaining every coerced worker's circumstances. Mark 10:42-45 supplies a Christian leadership comparison that directs authority toward service. Responsible teaching holds work, imposed burden, leadership and personal conduct together without erasing the distinction between the person harmed and the power imposing the demand.
Exod.1.11
The noun can identify imposed labor, a labor force or a levy in its construction. Administrative description and proverbial contrast do not give the term a universal approval or blame verdict; the authority, workforce and narrative evaluation must remain explicit.
Mark 10:42-45 places service at the center of leadership among Jesus' followers rather than domination. It offers a Christian comparison for assessing authority alongside the labor narratives. It does not translate mas into a Greek servant term or make the death of a labor official a model for contemporary action.