מִשְׁפָּחָה
family
‘family’ is one of 5 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Construct-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
State
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
Gender
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
- Singular
- One.
Every verse where H4940 appears in the Book of Joshua — 42 distinct verses. 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.
Joshua
- Joshua 6:23 מִשְׁפְּחוֹתֶ֖י/הָ n c fp cs + sfx pers 3fs The young men the spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brothers, and all that she had; all her relatives also they brought out; and they set them outside of the camp of Israel.
- Joshua 7:14 לַ/מִּשְׁפָּח֗וֹת וְ/הַ/מִּשְׁפָּחָ֞ה prep det + n c fp conj + ptcl def.art + n c fs In the morning therefore you shall be brought near by your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which Yahweh takes shall come near by families; and the family which Yahweh shall take shall come near by households; and the household which Yahweh shall take shall come near man by man.
- Joshua 7:17 מִשְׁפַּ֣חַת מִשְׁפַּ֣חַת מִשְׁפַּ֤חַת n c fs cs n c fs cs n c fs cs and he brought near the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zerahites: and he brought near the family of the Zerahites man by man; and Zabdi was taken:
- Joshua 13:15 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָֽ/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp Moses gave to the tribe of the children of Reuben according to their families.
- Joshua 13:23 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֔/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp The border of the children of Reuben was the Jordan, and the border [of it]. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben according to their families, the cities and the villages of it.
- Joshua 13:24 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָֽ/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp Moses gave to the tribe of Gad, to the children of Gad, according to their families.
- Joshua 13:28 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֑/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp This is the inheritance of the children of Gad according to their families, the cities and the villages of it.
- Joshua 13:29 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחוֹתָֽ/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp Moses gave [inheritance] to the half-tribe of Manasseh: and it was for the half-tribe of the children of Manasseh according to their families.
- Joshua 13:31 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחוֹתָֽ/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp and half Gilead, and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were for the children of Machir the son of Manasseh, even for the half of the children of Machir according to their families.
- Joshua 15:1 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֑/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp The lot for the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families was to the border of Edom, even to the wilderness of Zin southward, at the uttermost part of the south.
- Joshua 15:12 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָֽ/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp The west border was to the great sea, and the border [of it]. This is the border of the children of Judah round about according to their families.
- Joshua 15:20 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָֽ/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families.
- Joshua 16:5 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֑/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp The border of the children of Ephraim according to their families was [thus]: the border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth Addar, to Beth Horon the upper;
- Joshua 16:8 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָֽ/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp From Tappuah the border went along westward to the brook of Kanah; and the goings out of it were at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim according to their families;
- Joshua 17:2 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָ/ם֒ לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָֽ/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp So [the lot] was for the rest of the children of Manasseh according to their families: for the children of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida: these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families.
- Joshua 18:11 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֑/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp The lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families: and the border of their lot went out between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph.
- Joshua 18:20 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָֽ/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp The Jordan was the border of it on the east quarter. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, by the borders of it round about, according to their families.
- Joshua 18:21 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֽוֹתֵי/הֶ֑ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, and Beth Hoglah, and Emek Keziz,
- Joshua 18:28 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָֽ/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp and Zelah, Eleph, and the Jebusite (the same is Jerusalem), Gibeath, [and] Kiriath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.
- Joshua 19:1 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחוֹתָ֑/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp The second lot came out for Simeon, even for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families: and their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the children of Judah.
- Joshua 19:8 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָֽ/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp and all the villages that were round about these cities to Baalath Beer, Ramah of the South. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families.
- Joshua 19:10 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֑/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp The third lot came up for the children of Zebulun according to their families; and the border of their inheritance was to Sarid;
- Joshua 19:16 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחוֹתָ֑/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp This is the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.
- Joshua 19:17 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחוֹתָֽ/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp The fourth lot came out for Issachar, even for the children of Issachar according to their families.
- Joshua 19:23 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֑/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar according to their families, the cities with their villages.
- Joshua 19:24 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחוֹתָֽ/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp The fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families.
- Joshua 19:31 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֑/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages.
- Joshua 19:32 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָֽ/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp The sixth lot came out for the children of Naphtali, even for the children of Naphtali according to their families.
- Joshua 19:39 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֑/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Naphtali according to their families, the cities with their villages.
- Joshua 19:40 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֑/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families.
- Joshua 19:48 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֑/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.
- Joshua 21:4 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹ֣ת prep + n c fp cs The lot came out for the families of the Kohathites: and the children of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of the Simeonites, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities.
- Joshua 21:5 מִ/מִּשְׁפְּחֹ֣ת prep + n c fp cs The rest of the children of Kohath had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, ten cities.
- Joshua 21:6 מִ/מִּשְׁפְּח֣וֹת prep + n c fp cs The children of Gershon had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.
- Joshua 21:7 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֗/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp The children of Merari according to their families had out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.
- Joshua 21:10 מִ/מִּשְׁפְּח֥וֹת prep + n c fp cs and they were for the children of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi; for theirs was the first lot.
- Joshua 21:20 וּ/לְ/מִשְׁפְּח֤וֹת conj + prep + n c fp cs The families of the children of Kohath, the Levites, even the rest of the children of Kohath, they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim.
- Joshua 21:26 לְ/מִשְׁפְּח֥וֹת prep + n c fp cs All the cities of the families of the rest of the children of Kohath were ten with their suburbs.
- Joshua 21:27 מִ/מִּשְׁפְּחֹ֣ת prep + n c fp cs To the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the half-tribe of Manasseh [they gave] Golan in Bashan with its suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Be-eshterah with its suburbs; two cities.
- Joshua 21:33 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֑/ם prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs.
- Joshua 21:34 וּ/לְ/מִשְׁפְּח֣וֹת conj + prep + n c fp cs To the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its suburbs, and Kartah with its suburbs,
- Joshua 21:40 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֔/ם מִ/מִּשְׁפְּח֣וֹת prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3mp prep + n c fp cs All [these were] the cities of the children of Merari according to their families, even the rest of the families of the Levites; and their lot was twelve cities.
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.
The Hebrew noun משפחה centers on the idea of “family.” The King James Version usually renders it “family,” while modern versions prefer “clans” (Berean Standard Bible) and “clan of” (unfoldingWord Literal Text) — see the renderings breakdown. Spanning 224 verses in 21 books, it ranks among the common words of the Hebrew Bible. Numbers dominates its distribution — 94 of 224 verses. The lexicon spreads it across several senses; see its full sense range. Dig into 224-verse concordance and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H4940 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 →
- 224
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 224 distinct verses.
- 21 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 21 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #161
- by frequency
- Top 250 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 161 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 224 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Numbers 94 verses 42%
- Joshua 42 verses 19%
- 1 Chronicles 19 verses 8%
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 224 distinct verses.
- Torah (Pentateuch) 120 verses · 54%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 76 verses · 34%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 28 verses · 13%
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).
- King James Version: Family 95×, Families 53×, After their families 41×
- American Standard Version: Family 91×, Families 65×, According to their families 38×
- Berean Standard Bible: Clans 122×, Clan 98×, Families 15×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Clan of 88×, According to their clans 81×, Clans of 41×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H4940 across 301 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 34 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 H4940 across 300 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 34 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 H4940 across 285 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 22 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 15 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H4940 across 309 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 18 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
12 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
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 12 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.
- 1. clan:
- a. family connexion of individ. Gn 24:38 (+ בֵּית־אָבִי), v 40 (+ id.), v 41 (all J; = מוֹלַדְתִּי v 4), 2 S 14:7, united in sacrifice 1 S 20:6, 29, in passover Ex 12:21 (JE; cf. BenzEncy. Bib. Passover, §§ 9, 12); cf. Lv 20:5 (H), 25:10, 41 (P), v 49 (P; defined as כִשְּׁאֵר בְּשָׂרוֹ), non-Heb. v 47 (H), v 45 (P), Ju 1:25; מִשְׁפְּחוֹתֶיהָ Jos 6:23 (E or R) is unintelligible, probably del. (cf. Steuern Holz; בֵּית אָבִיהָ in v 25 [J]), cf. Nu 27:4, 11 (P); מ׳ בֵּית אֲבִי אִמּוֹ Ju 9:1 clan of his mother’s father-house; incl. individuals, and included by שֵׁבֶט 1 S 9:21(×2) 10:21; with specif. name, in series גֶבֶר, בַּיִת, מ׳, שֵׁבֶט Jos 7:14(×2), 17b, c (all J; v 17a read pl. Di Benn, or שֵׁבֶט GFM Ju 13:2; Steuern allows either); cf. Dt 29:17; Ju 21:24, מ׳ אָבִי בְּיִשׂ׳ 1 S 18:18 (+ חַיַּי, v. ii. [חַי]); אִישׁ … מִמּ׳ בֵּית־שָׁאוּל 2 S 16:5; with name also Ru 2:1, 3 and (non-Isr.) Jb 32:2. e.g. Genesis 24:38
- b. in loose, popular sense = tribe, Ju 13:2; 17:7; 18:19, cf. v 2 (‖ שֵׁבֶט v 1), v 11 (yet in these two read poss. pl., v. GFM). e.g. Judges 13:2
- c. techn. divisions of people of Isr. Nu 11:10 (J) Je 2:4; 31:1, cf. 3:14; Nu 1:2, 18; 2:34; 33:54 (all P), so (post-ex.) Ne 4:7: Est 9:28 (מְדִינָה, מ׳, דּוֹד). e.g. Numbers 11:10
- d. usually (P) techn. divisions of tribes of Israel, Ex 6:14, 15, 19, 25; Nu 3:15 + 112 times Nu (93 times Nu 26, incl. v 43 where הַשּׁוּחָמִי appar. = Dan), 34 times Jos 13–21; also 1 Ch 6:4, 45; 7:5; Zc 12:13; divisions of Gershom, etc. (in Levi) Nu 3:18, 19, 20 + 41 times Ex Nu Jos Ch; subdivisions of these divisions (in Levi) Nu 3:21(×2) + 6 times Nu 3 + 4:18; cf. (in other tribes) 1 Ch 2:53; 4:2, 8, 21, 27, 38; 5:7; also Zc 12:12b, c. 13 b, 14 a, and (distrib.) v 12a 14b, pleonast. מ׳ מַטֵּה אֲבִיהֶם Nu 36:6 cf. v 8, and (מַטֵּה מ׳ א׳) v 12. e.g. Exodus 6:14
- e. late, div. of other peoples 1 Ch 16:28 = ψ 96:7, ψ 22:28; in Edom Gn 36:40 (P). e.g. 1 Chronicles 16:28
- f. in wider sense = people, nation; כֹּל מִשְׁפְּחֹת הָאֲדָמָה Am 3:2; Gn 12:3; 28:14 (both J), cf. Je 10:25; Ez 20:32; Na 3:4 (all ‖ גּוֹיִם), Zc 14:17; Je 1:15; 25:9; as one’s posterity Gn 10:30, 31, 32 (all P), so prob. v 5 (P; Di Dr); = all Isr. Am 3:1, Judah Mi 2:3; Je 8:3 (הַמּ׳ הָרָעָה הַזֹּאת), Isr. + Judah, שְׁתֵּי הַמּ׳ 33:24; מִשְׁפַּחַת מִצְרַיִם Zc 14:18; cf. ψ 107:41. e.g. Amos 3:2
- 2. = guild 1 Ch 2:55 (of scribes; orig. hereditary in families). e.g. 1 Chronicles 2:55
- 3. = species, kind:
- a. of judgments Je 15:3. e.g. Jeremiah 15:3
- b. animals Gn 8:19 (P). e.g. Genesis 8:19
- 4. pl. = aristocrats Jb 31:34 (cf. Eng. ‘the classes’). e.g. Job 31:34
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
n.f.clan (RSSem i. 258, 2nd ed. 276; K149, 2nd ed. 175 BaNB § 161 a);—abs. מ׳ Am 3:1 +; cstr. מִשְׁפַּ֫חַת Ju 9:1 +; sf. מִשְׁפַּחְתִּי Gn 24:38 +, etc.; pl. מִשְׁפָּחוֹת Na 3:4 +; cstr. מִשְׁפְּחוֹת Am 3:2 +; sf. מִשְׁפְּחֹתֵיהֶם Gn 8:19 + 2 times, usually -תָם Nu 1:18 + 84 times, etc.;—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from שפה (shâphâh) (H8192) — to sweep.
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.
מִשְׁפָּחָה
- family, kinship. Tanḥ. ed. Bub., Noah 24 (play on שפה, Gen. XI, 1) מ׳ אחת one kinship (all equally bad, cmp. preced. w.). B. Bath. 109ᵇ מִשְׁפַּחַת אב קרויה מ׳ the father’s kinship is called one’s family (not the mother’s). Eduy. VIII, 7; Kidd. 71ᵃ משפחת בית וכ׳ (not משפחות) a family named Beth &c.; a. fr.—Pl. מִשְׁפָּחוֹת. Tosef. Naz. I, 3, a. e., v. גָּלָה; a. fr. e.g. Genesis 11:1
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 105 distinct written forms H4940 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’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; 45 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H4940, 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.
Derives from
Shares the same root
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 8 — not the complete family. 3 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 219 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 224 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 8:19
- Exodus 6:14
- Leviticus 20:5
- Numbers 1:2
- Deuteronomy 29:18
- Joshua 6:23
- Judges 1:25
- Ruth 2:1
- 1 Samuel 9:21
- 2 Samuel 14:7
- 1 Chronicles 2:53
- Esther 9:28
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.
