מָשַׁל
to rule
also: have dominion, reign fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Qal verb in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
Stem
- Qal
- The basic, simple active stem — the plain form of the verb (“he wrote”). Here: ‘human subj.’
- Hiphil
- The causative active stem (“he caused / brought about”).
Form
- Participle Active
- A verbal adjective expressing ongoing or characteristic action (“writing / one who writes”).
- Imperfect
- An incomplete, ongoing, or future action (“he will / would write”).
- Sequential Perfect
- A perfect with prefixed waw continuing a preceding imperfect or command (waw-consecutive perfect).
- Infinitive Construct
- A bound verbal noun, frequently with prepositions (“to write / in writing”).
- Perfect
- A completed action or state — Hebrew marks aspect (completeness) more than strict tense (“he wrote”).
- Sequential Imperfect
- An imperfect with prefixed waw — the standard past-narrative form (waw-consecutive imperfect).
- Infinitive Absolute
- An unbound verbal noun, often intensifying or standing in for a finite verb.
- Jussive
- A third- or second-person volitional form expressing wish or command (“let him write”).
- Imperative
- A direct command (“write!”).
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
Person
- 3rd Person
- The one spoken about (“he / she / it / they”).
- 2nd Person
- The one addressed (“you”).
- 1st Person
- The speaker (“I / we”).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
- Common
- Either gender — not distinguished for this form.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Grammatical forms 24 distinct
- Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Singular, Absolute 30 times (37%)
- Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Plural, Absolute 8 times (10%)
- Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular 7 times (9%)
- Verb, Qal, Infinitive Construct 7 times (9%)
- Verb, Qal, Sequential Perfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular 4 times (5%)
- Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Singular, Construct 4 times (5%)
- Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 2nd Person, Masculine, Singular 2 times (2%)
- Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Plural 2 times (2%)
+16 more forms (18 occurrences)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (morphhb / Westminster Leningrad Codex — WLC text public domain, morphhb tagging CC BY 4.0), counted across 82 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Every verse where H4910 appears — 74 distinct verses across 23 books. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Genesis 7 verses
- Genesis 1:18 וְ/לִ/מְשֹׁל֙ conj + prep + Qal inf.cs and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.
- Genesis 3:16 יִמְשָׁל Qal impf 3ms To the woman he said, "I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. In pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."
- Genesis 4:7 תִּמְשָׁל Qal impf 2ms If you do well, will it not be lifted up? If you don't do well, sin crouches at the door. Its desire is for you, but you are to rule over it."
- Genesis 24:2 הַ/מֹּשֵׁ֖ל ptcl def.art + Qal ptcp.act ms Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his house, who ruled over all that he had, "Please put your hand under my thigh.
- Genesis 37:8 מָשׁ֥וֹל תִּמְשֹׁ֖ל Qal inf.abs Qal impf 2ms His brothers said to him, "Will you indeed reign over us? Or will you indeed have dominion over us?" They hated him all the more for his dreams and for his words.
- Genesis 45:8 וּ/מֹשֵׁ֖ל conj + Qal ptcp.act ms So now it wasn't you who sent me here, but God, and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
- Genesis 45:26 מֹשֵׁ֖ל Qal ptcp.act ms They told him, saying, "Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt." His heart fainted, for he didn't believe them.
Exodus 1 verse
Deuteronomy 1 verse
Joshua 2 verses
- Joshua 12:2 מֹשֵׁ֡ל Qal ptcp.act ms Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and ruled from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, and [the city that is in] the middle of the valley, and half Gilead, even to the river Jabbok, the border of the children of Ammon;
- Joshua 12:5 וּ֠/מֹשֵׁל conj + Qal ptcp.act ms and ruled in Mount Hermon, and in Salecah, and in all Bashan, to the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and half Gilead, the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.
Judges 5 verses
- Judges 8:22 מְשָׁל Qal impv 2ms Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, Rule you over us, both you, and your son, and your son's son also; for you have saved us out of the hand of Midian.
- Judges 8:23 אֶמְשֹׁ֤ל יִמְשֹׁ֥ל יִמְשֹׁ֥ל Qal impf 1cs Qal impf 3ms Qal impf 3ms Gideon said to them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: Yahweh shall rule over you.
- Judges 9:2 הַ/מְשֹׁ֨ל מְשֹׁ֥ל ptcl inter + Qal inf.cs Qal inf.cs Please speak in the ears of all the men of Shechem, Whether is better for you, that all the sons of Jerubbaal, who are seventy persons, rule over you, or that one rule over you? Remember also that I am your bone and your flesh.
- Judges 14:4 מֹשְׁלִ֥ים Qal ptcp.act mp But his father and his mother didn't know that it was of Yahweh; for he sought an occasion against the Philistines. Now at that time the Philistines had rule over Israel.
- Judges 15:11 מֹשְׁלִ֥ים Qal ptcp.act mp Then three thousand men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, "Don't you know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?" He said to them, As they did to me, so have I done to them.
2 Samuel 1 verse
1 Kings 1 verse
1 Chronicles 1 verse
2 Chronicles 4 verses
- 2 Chronicles 7:18 מוֹשֵׁ֖ל Qal ptcp.act ms then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, according as I covenanted with David your father, saying, There shall not fail you a man to be ruler in Israel.
- 2 Chronicles 9:26 מוֹשֵׁ֖ל Qal ptcp.act ms He ruled over all the kings from the River even to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.
- 2 Chronicles 20:6 מוֹשֵׁ֔ל Qal ptcp.act ms and he said, Yahweh, the God of our fathers, aren't you God in heaven? and aren't you ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? and in your hand is power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.
- 2 Chronicles 23:20 הַ/מּֽוֹשְׁלִ֨ים ptcl def.art + Qal ptcp.act mp He took the captains of hundreds, and the nobles, and the governors of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought down the king from the house of Yahweh: and they came through the upper gate to the king's house, and set the king on the throne of the kingdom.
Nehemiah 1 verse
Job 1 verse
Psalms 10 verses
- Psalms 8:6 תַּ֭מְשִׁילֵ/הוּ Hiphil impf 2ms + sfx pers 3ms You make him ruler over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet:
- Psalms 19:13 יִמְשְׁלוּ Qal juss 3mp Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then I will be upright, I will be blameless and innocent of great transgression.
- Psalms 22:28 וּ֝/מֹשֵׁ֗ל conj + Qal ptcp.act ms For the kingdom is Yahweh's. He is the ruler over the nations.
- Psalms 59:13 מֹשֵׁ֣ל Qal ptcp.act ms Consume them in wrath. Consume them, and they will be no more. Let them know that God rules in Jacob, To the ends of the earth. Selah.
- Psalms 66:7 מֹ֘שֵׁ֤ל Qal ptcp.act ms He rules by his might forever. His eyes watch the nations. Don't let the rebellious rise up against him. Selah.
- Psalms 89:9 מ֭וֹשֵׁל Qal ptcp.act ms You rule the pride of the sea. When its waves rise up, you calm them.
- Psalms 103:19 מָשָֽׁלָה Qal pf 3fs Yahweh has established his throne in the heavens. His kingdom rules over all.
- Psalms 105:20 מֹשֵׁ֥ל Qal ptcp.act ms cs The king sent and freed him; Even the ruler of peoples, and let him go free.
- Psalms 105:21 וּ֝/מֹשֵׁ֗ל conj + Qal ptcp.act ms He made him lord of his house, And ruler of all of his possessions;
- Psalms 106:41 וַֽ/יִּמְשְׁל֥וּ conj + Qal wimpf 3mp He gave them into the hand of the nations. Those who hated them ruled over them.
Proverbs 11 verses
- Proverbs 6:7 וּ/מֹשֵֽׁל conj + Qal ptcp.act ms Which having no chief, overseer, or ruler,
- Proverbs 12:24 תִּמְשׁ֑וֹל Qal impf 3fs The hands of the diligent ones shall rule, But laziness ends in slave labor.
- Proverbs 16:32 וּ/מֹשֵׁ֥ל conj + Qal ptcp.act ms One who is slow to anger is better than the mighty; One who rules his spirit, than he who takes a city.
- Proverbs 17:2 יִ֭מְשֹׁל Qal impf 3ms A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who causes shame, And shall have a part in the inheritance among the brothers.
- Proverbs 19:10 מְשֹׁ֬ל Qal inf.cs Delicate living is not appropriate for a fool, Much less for a servant to have rule over princes.
- Proverbs 22:7 יִמְשׁ֑וֹל Qal impf 3ms The rich rule over the poor. The borrower is servant to the lender.
- Proverbs 23:1 מוֹשֵׁ֑ל Qal ptcp.act ms When you sit to eat with a ruler, Consider diligently what is before you;
- Proverbs 28:15 מֹשֵׁ֥ל Qal ptcp.act ms As a roaring lion or a charging bear, So is a wicked ruler over helpless people.
- Proverbs 29:2 וּ/בִ/מְשֹׁ֥ל conj + prep + Qal inf.cs When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; But when the wicked rule, the people groan.
- Proverbs 29:12 מֹ֭שֵׁל Qal ptcp.act ms If a ruler listens to lies, All of his officials are wicked.
- Proverbs 29:26 מוֹשֵׁ֑ל Qal ptcp.act ms Many seek the ruler's favor, But a man's justice comes from Yahweh.
Ecclesiastes 2 verses
- Ecclesiastes 9:17 מוֹשֵׁ֖ל Qal ptcp.act ms The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the cry of him who rules among fools.
- Ecclesiastes 10:4 הַ/מּוֹשֵׁל֙ ptcl def.art + Qal ptcp.act ms If the spirit of the ruler rises up against you, don't leave your place; for gentleness lays great offenses to rest.
Isaiah 10 verses
- Isaiah 3:4 יִמְשְׁלוּ Qal impf 3mp I will give boys to be their princes, And children shall rule over them.
- Isaiah 3:12 מָ֣שְׁלוּ Qal pf 3cp As for my people, children are their oppressors, And women rule over them. My people, those who lead you cause you to err, And destroy the way of your paths.
- Isaiah 14:5 מֹשְׁלִֽים Qal ptcp.act mp Yahweh has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers;
- Isaiah 16:1 מֹשֵֽׁל Qal ptcp.act ms cs Send you the lambs for the ruler of the land from Selah to the wilderness, to the mountain of the daughter of Zion.
- Isaiah 19:4 יִמְשָׁל Qal impf 3ms I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, says the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts.
- Isaiah 28:14 מֹֽשְׁלֵי֙ Qal ptcp.act mp cs Why hear the word of Yahweh, you scoffers, that rule this people that is in Jerusalem:
- Isaiah 40:10 מֹ֣שְׁלָה Qal ptcp.act fs Behold, the Lord Yahweh will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him: Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
- Isaiah 49:7 מֹשְׁלִ֔ים Qal ptcp.act mp Thus says Yahweh, the Redeemer of Israel, [and] his Holy One, to him whom man despises, to him whom the nation abhors, to a servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall worship; because of Yahweh who is faithful, [even] the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.
- Isaiah 52:5 משל/ו מֹשְׁלָ֤י/ו Qal ptcp.act ms cs + sfx pers 3ms Qal ptcp.act mp cs + sfx pers 3ms Now therefore, what do I here, says Yahweh, seeing that my people is taken away for nothing? those who rule over them do howl, says Yahweh, and my name continually all the day is blasphemed.
- Isaiah 63:19 מָשַׁ֣לְתָּ Qal pf 2ms We are become as they over whom you never bear rule, as those who were not called by your name.
Jeremiah 4 verses
- Jeremiah 22:30 וּ/מֹשֵׁ֥ל conj + Qal ptcp.act ms Thus says Yahweh, Write you this man childless, a man who shall not prosper in his days; for no more shall a man of his seed prosper, sitting on the throne of David, and ruling in Judah.
- Jeremiah 30:21 וּ/מֹֽשְׁל/וֹ֙ conj + Qal ptcp.act ms cs + sfx pers 3ms Their prince shall be of themselves, and their ruler shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach to me: for who is he who has had boldness to approach to me? says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 33:26 מֹֽשְׁלִ֔ים Qal ptcp.act mp then will I also cast away the seed of Jacob, and of David my servant, so that I will not take of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and will have mercy on them.
- Jeremiah 51:46 וּ/מֹשֵׁ֖ל מֹשֵֽׁל conj + Qal ptcp.act ms Qal ptcp.act ms Don't let your heart faint, neither fear for the news that shall be heard in the land; for news shall come one year, and after that in another year [shall come] news, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.
Lamentations 1 verse
Ezekiel 2 verses
- Ezekiel 19:11 מֹֽשְׁלִ֔ים Qal ptcp.act mp It had strong rods for the scepters of those who bore rule, and their stature was exalted among the thick boughs, and they were seen in their height with the multitude of their branches.
- Ezekiel 19:14 לִ/מְשׁ֑וֹל prep + Qal inf.cs Fire is gone out of the rods of its branches, it has devoured its fruit, so that there is in it no strong rod to be a scepter to rule. This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.
Daniel 5 verses
- Daniel 11:3 וּ/מָשַׁל֙ conj + Qal wpf 3ms A mighty king shall stand up, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.
- Daniel 11:4 מָשָׁ֔ל Qal pf 3ms When he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of the sky, but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides these.
- Daniel 11:5 וּ/מָשָׁ֔ל conj + Qal wpf 3ms The king of the south shall be strong, and [one] of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.
- Daniel 11:39 וְ/הִמְשִׁילָ/ם֙ conj + Hiphil wpf 3ms + sfx pers 3mp He shall deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a foreign god: whoever acknowledges [him] he will increase with glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for a price.
- Daniel 11:43 וּ/מָשַׁ֗ל conj + Qal wpf 3ms But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
Joel 1 verse
Micah 1 verse
Habakkuk 1 verse
Zechariah 1 verse
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
משל (mâshal) is a Hebrew verb most often rendered “to rule.” The verb spans 5 stems, from Niphal to Hiphil. The Hebrew Bible uses it across 74 verses — moderately common. It first appears in Genesis 1:18. Sharing its root, it stands alongside ממשל, משל and משל. For the data behind this summary, explore the sense tree and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H4910 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 74
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 74 distinct verses.
- 23 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 23 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #487
- by frequency
- Top 500 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 487 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 74 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 74 distinct verses.
- Writings (Ketuvim) 36 verses · 49%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 29 verses · 39%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 9 verses · 12%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 3 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: Ruler 9×, Rule 7×, Shall rule 5×
- American Standard Version†: Ruler 9×, Rule 8×, Ruleth 4×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Rule 15×, Ruler 13×, Will rule 6×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Rule 15×, Ruler 10×, Ruling 8×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H4910 across 81† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 44 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H4910 across 81† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 51 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H4910 across 79† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 28 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 2 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H4910 across 89† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 33 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
10 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
Hebrew verbs can shift meaning by stem (binyan): Qal is the basic action, Niphal is often passive or reflexive, Piel often intensifies or makes it factitive, and Hiphil is typically causative. The senses below are grouped under the stem BDB assigns to each. This entry also uses Hithpael (reflexive or reciprocal).
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 10 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
משל I represent, be like (Arabic مَثَلَ stand erect (cf. FlDe Pr 1
Niphal
- Pf. 3 ms. נִמְשַׁל ψ 49:13, 21; 2 ms. נִמְשָׁ֑לְתָּ Is 14:10; 1 s. נִמְשַׁלְתִּי ψ 28:1; 143:7:—be like, similar, c. אֶל Is 14:10; עִם ψ 28:1 = 143:7; כְּ ψ 49:13, 21. e.g. Psalms 49:13
Hiphil
- Impf. 2 mpl. sf. וְתַמְשִׁלוּנִי compare Is 46:5. e.g. Isaiah 46:5
Hithpael
- Impf. 1 s. וָאֶתְמַשֵּׁל Jb 30:19 (c. כְּ) and I have become like dust. e.g. Job 30:19
משל II denom. use a proverb, speak in parables or sentences of poetry, especially Ezek.
Qal
- Impf. יִמְשֹׁל Ez 16:44; 3 mpl. יִּמְשְׁלוּ 12:23; Imv. מְשֹׁל 17:2; 24:3; Inf. cstr. מְשֹׁל 18:3; Pt. מֹשֵׁל 16:44, pl. מֹשְׁלִים 18:2 Nu 21:27;—use a proverb: מ׳ מָשָׁל Ez 12:23; 18:3 + ב loc.; a parable c. אֶל־ 17:2 (‖ חוד), 24:3; c. עַל־ 18:2, and (מָשָׁל appar. om.) הִנֵּה כָּל־הַמּשֵׁל עָלַיִךְ יִמְשֹׁל 16:44 (but this is awkward; point הִנֵּה כֹּל הַמָּשָׁל); מֹשְׁלִים Nu 21:27 (JE). e.g. Ezekiel 16:44
Piel
- Pt. הֲלֹא מְמַשֵּׁל מְשַׁלִים הוּא Ez 20:49 is he not a maker of parables? e.g. Ezekiel 21:5
משל III rule, have dominion, reign (NH Pt. id.
Qal
- Pf. 3 ms. וּמָשַׁל consec. Zc 6:13 + 2 times, מָשָׁ֑ל Dn 11:4, וּמָשָׁ֑ל consec. v 5; 3 fs. מָשָׁ֑לָה ψ 103:19; 2 ms. מָשַׁלְתָּ Is 63:19, וּמָשַׁלְתָּ֫ Dt 15:16; 3 pl. מָֽשְׁלוּ Is 3:5 La 5:8; Impf. 3 ms. יִמְשֹׁל Ex 21:8 + 3 times, יִמְשׁוֹל Pr 22:7; יִמְשָׁל־ Gn 3:16, etc.; Imv. מְשָׁל־ Ju 8:22; Inf. abs. מָשׁוֹל Gn 37:8; cstr. מְשֹׁל Ju 9:2 +, לִמְשָׁל־ Jo 2:17, etc.; Pt. מֹשֵׁל Gn 45:26 +, etc.;— e.g. Zechariah 6:13
- 1. human subj., rule, have dominion over (בְּ) Gn 3:16; 4:7; 24:2 (all J), 45:8, 26 (E), מָשׁוֹל תִּמְשֹׁל ב׳ 37:8 (E); Dt 15:6(×2) Jos 12:5 (D); Ju 8:22, 23(×2); 9:2(×2); 14:4; 15:11 2 S 23:3 (Pt. abs. = when one ruleth, cf. Dr), 1 K 5:1; 2 Ch 7:18; 9:26; 23:20; Is 3:4, 12; 19:4; Mi 5:1 Hb 1:14; Je 22:30; La 5:8; Jo 2:17; Pr 16:32 (משֵׁל בְּרוּחוֹ), 17:2; 19:20; 22:7 ψ 19:14; 105:21; 106:41 Dn 11:43; Ec 9:17; rarely other preps.: ל (c. inf.) Ex 21:8 (E); עַל־ Pr 28:15; Ne 9:37, אֶל־ Je 33:26; c. sf. Is 52:5 Je 30:21; c. acc. cogn. מ׳ מִמְשָׁל רָ֑ב Dn 11:3, 4; מָשַׁל מִן … וְעַד Jos 12:2 (D); abs. 2 S 23:3 (cf. Dr), Ez 19:14; Zc 6:13 (עַל loc.), Pr 12:24; 29:2; Dn 11:5; especially Pt. as subst. = ruler, משֵׁל־אֶרֶץ Is 16:1, משֵׁל עַמִּים ψ 105:20; abs. Is 14:5; 49:7; Je 51:46(×2) Ez 19:11; Pr 6:7; 23:1; 29:12, 26; Ec 10:4; משְׁלֵי הָעָם הַזֶּה Is 28:14. e.g. Genesis 3:16
- 2. of heavenly bodies, c. בְּ Gn 1:18. e.g. Genesis 1:18
- 3. of God, c. בְּ Ju 8:23; Is 63:19 ψ 22:29; 59:14; 89:10; 103:19 1 Ch 29:12; 2 Ch 20:6; abs. ψ 66:7; וּזְרֹעוֹ מ׳ לוֹ Is 40:10 his arm ruling for him. e.g. Judges 8:23
Hiphil
- Pf. 3 ms. sf. consec. וְהִמְשִׁילָם Dn 11:39; Impf. 2 ms. sf. תַּמְשִׁילֵהוּ ψ 8:7; Inf. abs. הַמְשֵׁל Jb 25:2;—cause to rule, sq. acc. pers. + בְּ ψ 8:7 (subj. י׳), Dn 11:39; exercise dominion, only inf. abs. as n. abstr. the exercise of dominion Jb 25:2 (attrib. of God). e.g. Daniel 11:39
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
I. vb. represent, be like (Arabic مَثَلَ stand erect (cf. FlDe Pr 1:1), ii. effigiavit, representavit (rem alicui), v. imitate, use a verse as a proverb; مَثَلٌ description by way of comparison; Assyrian mašâlu, DlHWB 431 f.; Ethiopic መሰለ become like; Aramaic מְתַל be like, ܡܬܰܠ compare).
II. vb.denom. use a proverb, speak in parables or sentences of poetry, especially Ezek.;—
III. vb. rule, have dominion, reign (NH Pt. id.; Ph. משל);—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: a primitive root
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
מָשַׁל I
- (b. h.)
- 1. to handle, to touch. Yoma 46ᵃ מָשְׁלָה בהן האור the flames had attacked them.
- 2. to attend, manage, control. B. Mets. 75ᵇ מי שאשתו מוֹשֶׁלֶת עליו he whom his wife rules. Ḥull. 60ᵇ לכי ומְשׁוֹלִי ביום וכ׳ (not ומשול; Rashi לך ומְשׁוֹל) go thou and attend by day and by night.—B. Bath. 78ᵇ (ref. to Num. XXI, 27) המוֹשְׁלִים ביצרם who control their inclinations; a. e.—מוֹשֵׁל governor, consul. Yad. IV, 8 אתם כותבים את המושל וכ׳ you write the governor’s name and year together with the name of Moses in a document. [B. Kam. 38ᵃ מוֹשְׁלֵי, מוֹשְׁלִים, censorial emendations for מַלְכוּת, v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. notes.] e.g. Numbers 21:27
- to handle, dispose of, use. Gen. R. s. 20 יכול מְמַשְּׁלָהּ מכל צד you might think, he may use her in whatever way he pleases; Yalk. ib. 32.
- to make a ruler. Sot. 36ᵇ עבד … תַּמְשִׁילֵהוּ עלינו a slave whom his master bought for twenty pieces of silver,—wilt thou make him a ruler over us?; a. e.
מָשַׁל II
- denom. of next w.)
- 1. to speak metaphorically. Nidd. V, 7 מָשָׁל מָשְׁלוּ וכ׳ the scholars introduced metaphors for designating the stages of female puberty.
- 2. to compare, to give an illustration. Tosef. Ber. I, 11 משלו משל למה וכ׳ they made a comparison: what is this to be compared to? To &c. R. Hash. 17ᵇ אֶמְשׁוֹל לך משל למה וכ׳ let me tell thee a parable: what is this like to? To &c. Cant. R. to II, 15 כשחוא מוֹשֵׁל את המלכיות אינו מוֹשְׁלָן אלא באש when one wants to find a simile for hostile governments, one compares them to fire; a. v. fr.—Part. pass. מָשׁוּל; f. מְשׁוּלָה; pl. מְשׁוּלִים, מְשׁוּלִין; מְשׁוּלוֹת. Meg. 16ᵃ אומה זו מ׳ לעפר ומ׳ וכ׳ that nation (Israel) is compared now to dust and now to the stars; a. v. fr.
- to be compared (followed by ל־, כ־ or ב־). Taan. 7ᵃ נִמְשְׁלוּ דברי תורה לאש Ms. M. (ed. כאש, באש. v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note) the words of the Law are compared to fire. Gen. R. s. 41 התורה שנִמְשְׁלָה למים the Law which is compared to water; a. v. fr.
מָשָׁל
- v. מָשַׁל I) [something tangible, substantial, plausible; cmp. אֲמַתְלָא,] a truth substantiated by an illustration, wise saying; fable, allegory; example; mashal. Cant. R. introd. אל יהי המ׳ הזח קל וכ׳ do not esteem the mashal lightly, for through it man gets at the basis of &c. Ib. יש לו מקרא ויש לו מ׳ וכ׳, v. מְלִיצָה. Ex. R. s. 40, beg. צריך אדם לחיות נוטל מ׳ man should take an example (of the Lord). Pes. 49ᵃ bot. מ׳ לענבי וכ׳ it is like mixing grapes with &c.—מ׳ למה הדבר דומה, v. דָּמָה a. preced.—B. Bath. 15ᵃ איוב לא היה … אלא מ׳ היה the story of Job never occurred, but was invented merely as a parable. Snh. 92ᵇ אמת מ׳ היה (the vision of the valley of the dead) was the truth of a mashal, (emended:) באמת מ׳ היה in the truth (the fact of resurrection) there was a symbol (for the redemption of Israel from captivity; Ez. XXXVII, 11).—Y. Keth. IV, 28ᶜ top; Y. Snh. VIII, 26ᶜ top זה … שנאמרו בתורה במ׳ this is one of the three verses in which the Law uses metaphorical expressions (Ex. XXI, 19; XXII, 2; Deut. XXII, 17); Mekh. Mishp. 6; a. fr.—Pl. מְשָׁלִים, מְשָׁלוֹת. Sot. IX, 15 (49ᵃ) משמת ר"מ בטלו מושלי מ׳ with the death of R. M. ceased the composers of fables. Cant. R. l. c. מִשְׁלוֹתָיו של וכ׳ the wise sayings of Solomon. Ib. דברי מ׳ didactic literature, opp. זמר. Ib. שלש מ׳ three collections of sayings (Prov. I to IX; X to XXIV; XXV to XXXI). Num. R. s. 14, end ועם בלעם … כי אם במ׳ God spoke to Balaam only through allegories (visions).—Succ. 28ᵃ מִשְׁלוֹת שועלין (Ms. M. מִמְשְׁלוֹת, v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note) fox-fables; מ׳ כובסין washers’ fables; B. Bath. 134ᵃ. Snh. 38ᵇ (Ms. M. ממשלת); Yalk. Prov. 947.—Gitt. 35ᵃ bot. ספר איוב ומִמְשָׁלוֹת copies of the Books of Job and Proverbs (v. infra).—מִשְׁלֵי (sub. שלמה) Mishlé, the Book of Proverbs (commencing with the word mishlé). Cant. R. l. c. B. Bath. 14ᵇ. Y. Yoma I, end, 39ᵇ; a. e. e.g. Ezekiel 37:11
שַׁל
- v. שַׁלְוָה) carelessness, negligence. Sot. 35ᵃ (expl. II Sam. VII, 7) על עיסקי שַׁלּוֹ for his careless handling (of the Ark); Num. R. s. 420; Yalk. Sam. 142; Num. R. s. 2112 על השל מפני ששגגת וכ׳ ‘for the carelessness’, because an involuntary act of a scholar counts as a wilful act. e.g. 2 Samuel 7:7
שַׁל ²
- , v. שַׁלְצִיּוֹן
שֶׁל
- , v. שֶׁ־) belonging to, of. Ab. II, 2 בנו של ר׳ וכ׳ the son of &c. Ib. 12 יהי ממון … כשֶׁלְּךָ let thy neighbor’s property be as dear to thee as thine own. Ib. V, 10 האומר שֶׁלִּי שלי ושֶׁלְּךָ שֶׁלָּךְ he who says, what is mine is mine, and what is thine is thine. B. Mets. I, 1 זה אומר כולה שלי וכ׳ one says, it belongs entirely to me &c. Ib. 30ᵃ שהיתה מלאכה שֶׁלּוֹ … משל חבירו when his own work is more valuable than that required for his neighbor, i.e. when by helping his neighbor he would lose more than he could save for his neighbor. Gen. R. s. 49 אמרו לו מה נאמר … שאכלנו מִשֶּׁלּוֹ they (the strangers entertained by Araham) said to him, what shall we say? Said he, say, blessed be the God of the world of whose belongings we have partaken; a. v. fr.—Kidd. 57ᵇ שחוט שלי בשלי וכ׳ (not לי) slaughter what is owing to me (the sacrifice) on what belongs to me (on Temple grounds), and what is for thee, on thy own ground.
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 63 distinct written forms H4910 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that stem’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 3 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H4910, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derived from this word
Compare all same-root words → They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 67 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 74 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 1:18
- Exodus 21:8
- Deuteronomy 15:6
- Joshua 12:2
- Judges 8:22
- 2 Samuel 23:3
- 1 Chronicles 29:12
- 2 Chronicles 7:18
- Job 25:2
- Psalms 8:6
- Proverbs 6:7
- Ecclesiastes 9:17
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
