Genesis 25:14

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

Mishma, Dumah, Massa,

World English Bible · Public Domain

Highlights

3 first appearances in the Hebrew Bible

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Word by word

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וּמַשָּֽׂא

Massâʼ

H4854

“and · Massa”

Conjunction + Noun, Proper

Appears 2× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears here

Full BDB Definition

Origin: the same as H4853

TWOT: None

Massa = "burden" - a son of Ishmael

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

3: words
3: distinct lemmas
Pentateuch: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is וּמַשָּֽׂא Massa H4854 — appearing just 2 times in the whole Hebrew Bible.

First appearance in Scripture

These words make their first canonical appearance in the Hebrew Bible here:

וּמִשְׁמָ֥ע Mishma H4927
וְדוּמָ֖ה Dumah H1746
וּמַשָּֽׂא Massa H4854

Shared distinctive vocabulary

וּמַשָּֽׂא Massa H4854 occurs in 2 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

1 Chronicles 1:30

Grammatical profile

3 nouns

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 3 words from the Hebrew and 6 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — closely comparable.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Genesis 25:14 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Isaiah 21:11 The burden of Dumah. One calls to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?
Isaiah 21:16 For thus has the Lord said to me, Within a year, according to the years of a hireling, all the glory of Kedar shall fail;

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew Genesis 25:14 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

וּמִשְׁמָ֥ע וְדוּמָ֖ה וּמַשָּֽׂא

Mishma, Dumah, Massa,

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Genesis 25:14 Septuagint · lemma form

καί μασμα καί ιδουμα καί μασση

and Masma, and Duma, and Masse,

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

On this verse, The Pulpit Commentary discusses the Septuagint’s reading. Read the note in Commentary ↓

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Targum (Aramaic paraphrase)

The Targum is the ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures — an interpretive translation, not the Hebrew text itself. Onkelos (literal) and Pseudo-Jonathan (expansive) render the Torah, and Jonathan the Prophets. Coverage is partial: where no permissively-licensed English translation exists for a verse, only the Aramaic is shown. This is verse-level text, not a word-by-word alignment to the Hebrew.

Targum Onkelos Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

וּמִשְׁמָע וְדוּמָה וּמַשָּׂא

(no public-domain English translation for this verse)

Targum Onkelos — Aramaic: “Onkelos Genesis” (public domain); “Onkelos Exodus” (public domain); “Onkelos Leviticus” (public domain); “Onkelos Numbers” (public domain); “Onkelos Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “J.W. Etheridge. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel on the Pentateuch. London: Longmans, Green, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

וּצְמִיתָא וּשְׁתּוּקָא וְסוֹבָרָא

--Hearing, Silence, Patience,

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan — Aramaic: “Targum Jonathan on Genesis” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Exodus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Leviticus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Numbers” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, trans. J. W. Etheridge, London, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Commentary

Notes on Genesis 25:14 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Trapp's Complete Commentary

John Trapp

Gen 25:14 And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,

Ver. 14. And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massah.] Out of these three names - which signify hearing, silence, and suffering - the Masorites gather the three principal duties of man, in common conversation; viz., to hear, to keep silence, and bear: these, say they, make a quiet and good life. Sustine et abstine, is the philosopher’s {a} counsel. Video, Taceo, "I see, and say nothing," was Queen Elizabeth’s {b} motto: and "I am for peace," {Psa 120:7} was David’s; or, as the Hebrew hath it, "I am peace." He "heard the slander of many, fear was on every side"; {Psa 31:13} but he "as a deaf man heard not, and as a dumb man, so he opened not his mouth". {Psa 38:13} Facile est in me dicere, cum non sim responsurus, said one once, to another that reviled him; thou shalt fight without an adversary, for I will hear and bear, and say nothing. The best answer to words of scorn and petulancy, saith learned Hooker, is Isaac’s apology to his brother Ishmael, patience and silence, no apology. Pασιν, απολογεισθαι θεραπευτικον. A man would not be bound to such a slavery as to answer every calumny. Qui nescit ferre calumnias, convitia, iniurias, nescit vivere, saith Chytraeus. He that cannot patiently bear reproaches and injuries, may make up his pack, and get him out of the world; for here is no being for him. Vitus Theodorus sent to advise with Melancthon, what he should do when Osiander preached against him: Melancthon per Deum obtestatur, ut taceret, et se ira gereret, quasi non audiret: Melancthon besought him, for God’s sake, to say nothing in that case, but to carry himself so as if he heard not. Vitus writes back, that this was very hard; yet he would obey. {c} It is hard to swallow down physical pills: but better swallow them whole, then chaw them between the teeth.

{a} Aνεχου και απεχου. Epictet.

{b} Cared. Elisab.

{c} Melch. Adam.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 14. Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa] Where the first and last of these settled is not known; but it is probable that Dumah gave his name to a place called Dumah in Arabia. See a prophecy concerning this place, Isa 21:11, from which we find that it was in the vicinity of Mount Seir.

These three names have passed into a proverb among the Hebrews, because of their signification. משמע mishma signifies HEARING; דומה dumah, SILENCE; and משא massa, PATIENCE. Hence, "Hear much, say little, and bear much," tantamount to the famous maxim of the Stoics, ανεχου και απεχου, "Sustain and abstain," is supposed to be the spirit of the original words.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

John Gill's Exposition

And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa. Of Mishma and Massa, and of their posterity, there is not anything said elsewhere, unless the Masani, Ptolemy (p) places near Arabia Felix, came from Massa. Dumah seems to be the same Isaiah speaks of in Gen 21:11; and in Arabia Deserta, where some of Ishmael's posterity settled, is a place called Dumaetha, by Ptolemy (q), which perhaps had its name from this son of his. The Targum of Jonathan translates these three names,"hearing, silence, and patience;''which the Jews use as a proverb, when they would signify that there are some things to be heard and not spoken of, and to be patiently borne. If Ishmael had in view to teach such lessons by the names he gave his children, he will seem to be a better man than he is usually thought to be.

(p) Georaph. l. 16. p. 528. 534. 536. (q) lbid.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations

Dumah; from him Dumah, Isa 21:11, or Dumatha, a place in Arabia, seems to have recieved its name. Others make him the father of the Idumeans.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The Pulpit Commentary

And Mishma, (Gesenius); Masma (LXX, Vulgate); connected with the Maisaimeneis, north-east of Medina (Knobel)and Dumah, same as Stony Dumah, or Syrian Dumah, in Arabia, on the edge of the Syrian desert (Gesenius); mentioned Isa_21:11and Massa, north-east of Dumah are the Massanoi.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Genesis, in the Pentateuch, opens this verse with 3 words (3 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is Massâʼ (“Massa”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

How does “Massa” (Massâʼ) shape what this verse is saying?
3 words here appear for the first time in Scripture. What is being introduced at this debut?
1 Chronicles 1:30 shares the word «Massa» with this verse. How do the two illuminate each other?
Reading how Trapp's Complete Commentary and Adam Clarke's Commentary read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

3 words make their first canonical appearance in Scripture here.
3 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 3 words in this verse.