What does מָשַׁךְ (məšōḵ) mean in the Bible?
Drawing or extending takes its direction and meaning from the object and actor. Jeremiah's restoration address to Israel connects everlasting love with drawing in loving devotion.
Hebrew · H4900
מָשַׁךְ
Drawing or extending takes its direction and meaning from the object and actor. Jeremiah's restoration address to Israel connects everlasting love with drawing in loving devotion.
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מָשַׁךְH4900
Pronunciationməšōḵ
What does מָשַׁךְ (məšōḵ) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for מָשַׁךְ (H4900) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H4900?
The BSB source-word alignment has 36 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include drew (2), tall (2), . . . (1), advanced (1), And I will draw out (1).
Where does מָשַׁךְ (məšōḵ) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 37:28. Its strongest book concentrations include Isaiah (5), Psalms (5), Judges (4), Ezekiel (3).
What This Word Actually Means
Drawing or extending takes its direction and meaning from the object and actor. Jeremiah's restoration address to Israel connects everlasting love with drawing in loving devotion. Hosea portrays the Lord leading Israel with kindness and love while retaining the people's departure and refusal to repent. Ebed-melech's companions pull Jeremiah from the cistern with padded ropes, yet he remains in the courtyard of the guard.
Genesis also reports Joseph drawn from a pit before being sold, a harmful outcome that must not be confused with rescue. Psalm 36 asks for loving devotion to be extended, while Proverbs describes deferred hope as heart sick. These contexts do not all describe divine attraction or immediate fulfillment. Read the movement, treatment or delay actually supplied.
Kindness, practical rescue and honest waiting can be taught without promising every desire, interpreting abuse as benevolent drawing or deciding unreported motives through the verb alone.
How the Bible Uses It
Israel's loving restoration address, kindness with refused response, careful extraction from a cistern, removal before sale, extended devotion and deferred hope distinguish drawing contexts. Actual actors and outcomes prevent every movement or delay from carrying one benevolent meaning.
- Jer.31.3
The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with loving devotion.
Everlasting love and drawing with loving devotion belong to the restoration address naming the families of Israel, with rebuilding and planting in the following verses.
- Jer.38.13
And they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.
The men lift Jeremiah from the cistern with ropes after padding is supplied, and the verse expressly says he remains in the courtyard of the guard.
- Gen.37.28
So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
Joseph is pulled from the pit and sold before being taken to Egypt, so removal from danger's location does not itself establish benevolent rescue or approval of sale.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itdrew2×1 Kings 22:34, 2 Chronicles 18:33
tall2×Isaiah 18:2, Isaiah 18:7
. . .1×Ecclesiastes 2:3
advanced1×Judges 20:37
And I will draw out1×Judges 4:7
and march1×Judges 4:6
and the archers1×Isaiah 66:19
be prolonged1×Isaiah 13:22
Can you pull in1×Job 41:1
deferred1×Proverbs 13:12
delay1×Ezekiel 12:25
drag me away1×Psalms 28:3
Extend1×Psalms 36:10
follows1×Job 21:33
Go at once1×Exodus 12:21
God drags away1×Job 24:22
his brothers pulled1×Genesis 37:28
I have drawn you1×Jeremiah 31:3
I led them1×Hosea 11:4
in his net1×Psalms 10:9
Let [them] drag her away1×Ezekiel 32:20
so he joins hands1×Hosea 7:5
sounds a long blast1×Exodus 19:13
Take me1×Song Of Solomon 1:4
the bearers1×Judges 5:14
the sower1×Amos 9:13
there is a long blast1×Joshua 6:5
to extend1×Psalms 109:12
to those who draw1×Isaiah 5:18
up1×Jeremiah 38:13
will be delayed1×Ezekiel 12:28
Will You draw out1×Psalms 85:5
You were patient1×Nehemiah 9:30
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 37:28וַֽיִּמְשְׁכוּ֙tohis brothers pulledConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine pluralExodus 12:21מִֽשְׁכ֗וּtoGo at onceVerb - Qal - Imperative - masculine pluralExodus 19:13בִּמְשֹׁךְ֙tosounds a long blastPreposition-b | Verb - Qal - Infinitive constructDeuteronomy 21:3מָשְׁכָ֖הtoVerb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singularJoshua 6:5בִּמְשֹׁ֣ךְ׀tothere is a long blastPreposition-b | Verb - Qal - Infinitive constructJudges 4:6וּמָֽשַׁכְתָּ֙toand marchConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine singularJudges 4:7וּמָשַׁכְתִּ֨יtoAnd I will draw outConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singularJudges 5:14מֹשְׁכִ֖יםtothe bearersVerb - Qal - Participle - masculine pluralJudges 20:37וַיִּמְשֹׁךְ֙toadvancedConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular1 Kings 22:34מָשַׁ֤ךְtodrewVerb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 37:28
Aligned rows36
Books represented18
Genesis1Exodus2Deuteronomy1Joshua1Judges41 Kings12 Chronicles1Nehemiah1Job3Psalms5Proverbs1Ecclesiastes1Song Of Solomon1Isaiah5Jeremiah2Ezekiel3Hosea2Amos1
Source forms
מְמֻשָּׁ֣ךְ2xmə·muš·šāḵIsaiah 18:2, Isaiah 18:7
מָשַׁ֤ךְ2xmā·šaḵ1 Kings 22:34, 2 Chronicles 18:33
אֶמְשְׁכֵם֙1x’em·šə·ḵêmHosea 11:4
בְּמֹשֵׁ֣ךְ1xbə·mō·šêḵAmos 9:13
בִּמְשֹׁךְ֙1xbim·šōḵExodus 19:13
בִּמְשֹׁ֣ךְ׀1xbim·šōḵJoshua 6:5
בְּמָשְׁכ֥וֹ1xbə·mā·šə·ḵōwPsalms 10:9
וַיִּמְשֹׁךְ֙1xway·yim·šōḵJudges 20:37
Parsing patterns
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular3x1 Kings 22:34, 2 Chronicles 18:33, Hosea 7:5
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural2xGenesis 37:28, Jeremiah 38:13
Preposition-b | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct2xExodus 19:13, Joshua 6:5
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular2xEzekiel 12:25, Ezekiel 12:28
Verb - Pual - Participle - masculine singular2xIsaiah 18:2, Isaiah 18:7
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular2xJob 41:1, Psalms 85:5
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural construct2xIsaiah 5:18, Isaiah 66:19
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular1xJudges 4:7
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Practice appropriate protection and care without inventing another person's promised outcome.
- Allow honest waiting and disappointment without hidden-cause or saving-identity judgments.
Avoid claiming...
- Every drawing action is divine salvation or every movement from a pit is benevolent.
- Every deferred desire will be fulfilled or abuse becomes kindness through a shared verb.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Foundational motion verb meaning "to draw" with productive range: stretching, prolonging, extending through space and time.
Strong'sH4900
Lexical occurrences36 versesWord forms3 forms20 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkPsalms 36:10–12Source Gloss
to draw , used in a great variety of applications (including to sow , to sound , to prolong , to develop , to march , to remove , to delay , to be tall , etc.)
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups3Aligned forms20
Qalbasic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense14×
Participle activeIsa 5:18 · Isa 66:19 · Judg 5:14 · Ps 109:124×
Perfect1Kgs 22:34 · 2Chr 18:33 · Hos 7:5 · Deut 21:34×
Sequential imperfectExod 12:21 · Ezek 32:20 · Ps 36:113×
ImperfectJob 40:25 · Ps 85:6 · Job 21:333×
Pualintensive passive — intensive action received by the subject3×
Participle passiveIsa 18:2 · Isa 18:7 · Prov 13:123×
Niphalpassive or reflexive — the subject receives or experiences the action3×
ImperfectEzek 12:25 · Ezek 12:28 · Isa 13:223×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
Continue; draw out; prolong; to extend a thread or a stream of something over time
Showing 1 selected witness from 36 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
מָשַׁךְ is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
The direction and outcome determine how drawing functions. Jeremiah's restoration address names everlasting love for Israel, and Hosea joins cords of kindness with the people's actual departure rather than erasing their response. Ebed-melech's rescue effort includes padding to protect Jeremiah as he is lifted, but the narrative does not say he is immediately free from custody.
Joseph's removal from a pit instead leads to sale, retaining the brothers' harmful action even though later accounts describe preservation. Psalm 36 asks for extended devotion, while deferred hope in Proverbs names pain rather than a guaranteed fulfillment date. Teach kindness and rescue concretely while preserving these differences. The broad licensed range does not make every pulling, delay or influence a divine saving action, and it gives no teacher authority to reinterpret abuse as kindness or announce the hidden purpose of another person's waiting.
Anchor passage
Jer.38.13
Doctrinal connections
- Jeremiah 31:1-5 places everlasting love and drawing with devotion within the restoration address to Israel, keeping the named people and rebuilding promise visible.
- Hosea 11:2-6 portrays kindness and love alongside Israel's departure and refusal to repent, preserving both supplied care and the actual response.
- Jeremiah 38:11-15 describes padded ropes, extraction and continued custody, retaining practical protection without inventing complete immediate freedom.
- Genesis 37:26-30 records Joseph's removal from the pit and sale to traders, refusing to label the harmful outcome benevolent because a verb also appears in rescue contexts.
- Psalm 36:8-12 asks the Lord to extend loving devotion and protect against the proud and wicked, preserving petition rather than a current guarantee.
- Proverbs 13:10-14 describes the pain of deferred hope and delight of fulfilled desire within wisdom, without promising every wish or diagnosing every delay's cause.
The licensed Hebrew range includes drawing, extending and delaying. People, ropes, loving devotion and hope supply different objects or settings, and the outcome may be helpful, harmful or still awaited. Read actor and direction rather than making every occurrence a single spiritual attraction or fulfillment claim.
From Old to New Testament
John 6:44 speaks of the Father drawing someone to Jesus and Jesus raising that person on the last day. Preserve that Greek statement as its own supplied argument beside Jeremiah's loving address without treating every Hebrew drawing occurrence as the same action. The connection does not resolve every question about response or saving identity, and it cannot make Joseph's sale, coercion or an ordinary delay benevolent through verbal association.