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משל

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Etymology and origin of the Biblical Hebrew word משל

משל1 to rule

Confidence
Established
First attested
Hebrew Bible

Pronunciation

  • Tiberian: māšal, pausal māšāl[1][2]
  • Samaritan reading tradition: mā̊šål, imperfect yimšål[3]

Forms

מָשַׁל (māšal) verb[2] Qal imperfect יִמְשֹׁל, also יִמְשָׁל־ (Genesis 3:16), infinitive מְשֹׁל and absolute מָשׁוֹל, participle מֹשֵׁל (plene מוֹשֵׁל) “ruler”.[4][1] Hiphil הִמְשִׁיל “to make someone ruler”, three times, and once the infinitive הַמְשֵׁל used as a noun (Job 25:2).[4]

Etymology

The verb “to rule” is shared only with the nearest neighbours of Hebrew: Phoenician mšl “to rule” and the same consonants as a noun “ruler”, a title of an official at Kition,[5][4][1] and Old Aramaic.[4] Klein gives only the Phoenician comparison,[6] and Gesenius–Buhl tentatively adds a personal name in Egyptian hieroglyphic writing, ⟨j(a)masura⟩, as a form of the Hebrew imperfect.[7]

HALOT, BDB and Klein all keep it apart from the homonymous root of comparison, “to be like”, from which comes מָשָׁל (māšāl, “proverb”).[4][1][6] From the verb “to rule” Hebrew formed מֶמְשָׁלָה (memšālâ, “dominion”), מִמְשָׁל (mimšāl) and a rare noun meaning “dominion”.[4][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb is not found in the archaic poems.[2] In the main body of the Bible it is used in Genesis to Kings of the husband over his wife, wəhûʾ yimšāl-bāḵ “and he shall rule over you” (Genesis 3:16), of Joseph over Egypt (Genesis 45:8, 26), and of the lights that rule the day and the night (Genesis 1:18).[4][2] When the Israelites ask Gideon to rule over them he answers lōʾ-ʾemšōl ʾănî bāḵem, “I will not rule over you; the LORD shall rule over you” (Judges 8:23), a passage HALOT lists for God's rule.[4][2]

Semantic evolution

The verb is spread over every part of the Bible: 18 times in Genesis to Kings, 19 in the prophets, 23 in the poetic books and 13 in the late books.[2] The subject may be a king, a master, a slave over his master's property, a woman over a people (Isaiah 3:12) or God, and the participle מֹשֵׁל is “ruler”, as in “ruler of peoples” for Pharaoh (Psalm 105:20).[4][1] Proverbs also uses it of self-control: one who rules his spirit is better than one who takes a city (Proverbs 16:32).[4] The Septuagint renders it with several verbs of rule: Ancient Greek ἄρχω (árkhō), κυριεύω (kurieúō), δεσπόζω (despózō) and κρατέω (kratéō).[2]

The Dead Sea Scrolls use the verb often, above all in the wisdom text 4Q418 and in the Isaiah scroll.[9] In Rabbinic Hebrew the verb also means “to manage, control”, and מוֹשֵׁל is the title of a Roman governor.[10] Modern Hebrew משל (mashál) still means “to rule”.[11][12]

Timeline

  • Classical Biblical Hebrew – wəhûʾ yimšāl-bāḵ “and he shall rule over you” (Genesis 3:16); Gideon's refusal to rule (Judges 8:23).[2][4]
  • Late Biblical Hebrew – 13 occurrences in the late books, with the noun מֹשֶׁל “dominion” in Daniel 11:4.[2][8]
  • 3rd–2nd century BC – the Septuagint renders it with Ancient Greek ἄρχω (árkhō) and other verbs of rule.[13][2]
  • 2nd century BC – 2nd century AD – used about 150 times in the Dead Sea Scrolls.[14][9]
  • Rabbinic Hebrew – “to manage, control”; מוֹשֵׁל “governor”.[10]

Meanings

Verb

  1. qal to rule, have dominion over (with בְּ): of kings, masters, a husband, the heavenly lights.[4][1]
  2. qal to rule, of God and his kingdom.[4]
  3. qal to exercise authority;[12] (figurative) to master oneself (Proverbs 16:32).[4]
  4. qal participle a ruler, one in authority.[4][1]
  5. hiphil to make someone ruler over (with בְּ).[4]

Word family

  • מִמְשָׁל (mimšāl)
  • מֶמְשָׁלָה (memšālâ)

Descendants

  • Modern Hebrew משל (mashál)[12]

משל2 proverb, saying

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Hebrew Bible (Oracles of Balaam)
Ultimate origin
Biblical Hebrew משל

Pronunciation

  • Tiberian: māšāl, construct məšal[15][2]
  • Samaritan reading tradition: mā̊šål, with suffix mā̊šā̊lu[3]

Forms

מָשָׁל (māšāl) noun, masculine[2][15] Construct מְשַׁל, with suffix מְשָׁלוֹ, plural מְשָׁלִים, construct plural מִשְׁלֵי, the title of Proverbs (מִשְׁלֵי שְׁלֹמֹה).[16][15]

Etymology

The proverb is a noun from Biblical Hebrew מָשַׁל (māšal, “to be like, compare”), so at first a comparison or likeness.[17][16] The same noun is found in Aramaic מַתְלָא (maṯlā, “parable, proverb”), Classical Syriac ܡܬܠܐ (maṯlā) and Arabic مَثَل (maṯal, “likeness, parable, proverb”),[17][16][12] while Sabaean mṯl means “monument” and Akkadian mišlu “half”.[16] BDB adds the Arabic sense “description by way of comparison”.[18]

HALOT and BDB take the qal and piel of the verb, “to cite a saying, tell parables”, as denominal from this noun.[19][20]

Earliest recorded meaning

Seven of the 39 occurrences are in the Oracles of Balaam (Numbers 23–24), which Sáenz-Badillos counts among the archaic poems.[2][21] Each oracle is introduced by wayyiśśāʾ məšālô wayyōʾmar, “and he took up his discourse and said” (Numbers 23:7): there the word is the solemn utterance of a seer, which BDB calls prophetic figurative discourse.[15][16][2]

Semantic evolution

HALOT lists a range of genres: a saying in general, a popular proverb such as “Is Saul also among the prophets?” (1 Samuel 10:12), a byword, a wisdom saying (Solomon's three thousand, 1 Kings 5:12), a parable (Ezekiel 17:2) and a mocking song (Micah 2:4, Habakkuk 2:6).[16][15] To become a māšāl is to become a byword among the nations (Deuteronomy 28:37).[16] The plural construct מִשְׁלֵי titles the book of Proverbs.[16] The Septuagint usually renders it Ancient Greek παραβολή (parabolḗ), sometimes παροιμία (paroimía).[2]

In Rabbinic Hebrew the māšāl is above all the illustrative parable, introduced by “to what is the matter like?”.[22] Modern Hebrew משל (mashál) means “proverb, parable, fable” and “example”.[17][12]

Timeline

  • Archaic Hebrew poetry – wayyiśśāʾ məšālô “and he took up his discourse” in the Oracles of Balaam (Numbers 23:7).[21][2]
  • Classical Biblical Hebrew – the proverb “Is Saul also among the prophets?” (1 Samuel 10:12).[16]
  • 3rd–2nd century BC – the Septuagint translates it as Ancient Greek παραβολή (parabolḗ).[13][2]
  • 2nd century BC – 2nd century AD – 25 occurrences in the Dead Sea Scrolls.[14][9]
  • Rabbinic Hebrew – the illustrative parable of the rabbis.[22]

Meanings

Noun

  1. a saying; the solemn utterance of a seer (with נָשָׂא, “to take up”).[16][15]
  2. a proverb, a popular saying.[16][15]
  3. a byword, an object of scorn among the nations.[16][15]
  4. a wisdom saying; a parable or allegory.[16]
  5. a mocking song, a taunt.[16]

Descendants

  • Modern Hebrew משל (mashál)[12]

משל3 to be like; to speak in proverbs

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Hebrew Bible
Ultimate origin
Biblical Hebrew משל

Pronunciation

  • Tiberian: māšal[18]
  • Samaritan reading tradition: mā̊šā̊ləm (participle)[3]

Forms

מָשַׁל (māšal) verb[2] Qal imperfect יִמְשֹׁל, imperative מְשֹׁל, participle מֹשֵׁל; piel participle מְמַשֵּׁל; niphal נִמְשַׁל; hiphil תַּמְשִׁילוּנִי; hithpael אֶתְמַשֵּׁל.[19][18][20]

Etymology

In the senses “to cite a saying, tell parables” (qal and piel) the verb is from Biblical Hebrew מָשָׁל (māšāl, “proverb”), a denominal verb.[19][20] The niphal, hiphil and hithpael “to be like, compare” belong to a verb of comparison found across Semitic: Akkadian mašālu (“to be equal, similar”),[19][23][24] Aramaic מְתַל (mətal, “to be like”), Classical Syriac ܡܬܰܠ (mṯal, “to compare”), Arabic مَثَلَ (maṯala) and Ge'ez መሰለ (masala, “to become like”).[18][25][19] In Arabic the first stem means “to stand erect”, and BDB, following Fleischer, suggests that “to stand for, represent” was the starting point.[18][26][27]

Earliest recorded meaning

The denominal qal is first found in the canon in Numbers 21:27, where hammōšəlîm, the reciters of proverbs or bards, sing the song of Heshbon.[19][20][2] Most of its uses are in Ezekiel: māšal māšāl, “to cite a saying” (Ezekiel 12:23; 18:3).[20][2]

Semantic evolution

The verb is rare: 16 times, nine of them in the prophets.[2] The niphal means “to be like”: in Psalm 49:13 a man without understanding nimšal kabbəhēmôṯ, “is like the beasts”.[19][18][2] The hiphil asks “to whom will you compare me?” (Isaiah 46:5).[19] The Septuagint uses Ancient Greek ὁμοιόω (homoióō) for the niphal.[2] Rabbinic Hebrew uses it for telling a parable and for comparison in general.[28]

Timeline

  • Classical Biblical Hebrew – hammōšəlîm “the bards” (Numbers 21:27).[19][2]
  • Biblical prophets – māšal māšāl “to cite a saying” in Ezekiel.[20]
  • 3rd–2nd century BC – the Septuagint renders the niphal with Ancient Greek ὁμοιόω (homoióō).[13][2]
  • Rabbinic Hebrew – to tell a parable, to compare.[28]

Meanings

Verb

  1. qal to use a proverb; to tell a parable; to recite mocking verses about someone.[19][20]
  2. qal participle a reciter of sayings, a bard.[19]
  3. piel to speak in riddles (Ezekiel 21:5).[19]
  4. niphal to be like, become the same as.[19][18]
  5. hiphil to compare with;[8][29][30] hithpael to become like.[19][18]

Usage notes

Two rare nouns of the same spelling are מֹשֶׁל “dominion”, from the verb “to rule” (Zechariah 9:10, Daniel 11:4), and מֹשֶׁל “one like it, an equal” (Job 41:25).[8][29][30] BDB lists לִמְשֹׁל עַמִּים in Job 17:6, “a byword of the peoples”, as a noun, which HALOT emends.[31][19] מָשָׁל is also a place name (1 Chronicles 6:59), which HALOT and BDB read as Mishal.[32][33]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Brown, Francis; Driver, S. R.; Briggs, Charles A. (1906), A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, with an Appendix Containing the Biblical Aramaic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. מָשַׁל³
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Clear Bible (2023–), MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets (Westminster Leningrad Codex, with Greek alignment), github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-hebrew, CC BY 4.0
  3. ^ a b c Højgaard, Christian Canu; Naaijer, Martijn; Schorch, Stefan (2023), Text-Fabric Dataset of the Samaritan Pentateuch, Zenodo, doi:10.5281/zenodo.7734632
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Koehler, Ludwig; Baumgartner, Walter; Stamm, Johann Jakob (1994–2000), The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, transl. and ed. M. E. J. Richardson, 5 vols, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. משׁל II
  5. ^ Krahmalkov, Charles R. (2000), Phoenician-Punic Dictionary, Leuven: Peeters (OLA 90), p. s.v. m-š-l
  6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest (1987), A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English, Jerusalem: Carta; Haifa: University of Haifa, p. s.v. משׁל I
  7. ^ Gesenius, Wilhelm; Buhl, Frants (1915), Hebräisches und aramäisches Handwörterbuch über das Alte Testament, 17th ed., Leipzig: F. C. W. Vogel, p. s.v. משׁל II
  8. ^ a b c d Koehler, Ludwig; Baumgartner, Walter; Stamm, Johann Jakob (1994–2000), The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, transl. and ed. M. E. J. Richardson, 5 vols, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. מֹשֶׁל II
  9. ^ a b c Abegg, Martin G.; Jacobs, Jarod; Roorda, Dirk (2022), The Dead Sea Scrolls, Text-Fabric dataset, version 2.0.2, github.com/ETCBC/dss
  10. ^ a b Jastrow, Marcus (1886–1903), A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature, London: Luzac; New York: Putnam, p. s.v. מָשַׁל I
  11. ^ Ben-Yehuda, Eliezer (1908–1959), Millon ha-lashon ha-ʿivrit ha-yeshanah ve-ha-ḥadashah / Thesaurus totius hebraitatis, 16 vols, Jerusalem; typed edition, Project Ben-Yehuda (benyehuda.org), p. s.v. מָשַׁל
  12. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  13. ^ a b c Sáenz-Badillos, Angel (1993), A History of the Hebrew Language, transl. John Elwolde, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 93
  14. ^ a b Sáenz-Badillos, Angel (1993), A History of the Hebrew Language, transl. John Elwolde, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 143
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h Brown, Francis; Driver, S. R.; Briggs, Charles A. (1906), A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, with an Appendix Containing the Biblical Aramaic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. מָשָׁל²
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Koehler, Ludwig; Baumgartner, Walter; Stamm, Johann Jakob (1994–2000), The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, transl. and ed. M. E. J. Richardson, 5 vols, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. מָשָׁל I
  17. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest (1987), A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English, Jerusalem: Carta; Haifa: University of Haifa, p. s.v. מָשָׁל
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h Brown, Francis; Driver, S. R.; Briggs, Charles A. (1906), A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, with an Appendix Containing the Biblical Aramaic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. מָשַׁל
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Koehler, Ludwig; Baumgartner, Walter; Stamm, Johann Jakob (1994–2000), The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, transl. and ed. M. E. J. Richardson, 5 vols, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. משׁל I
  20. ^ a b c d e f g Brown, Francis; Driver, S. R.; Briggs, Charles A. (1906), A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, with an Appendix Containing the Biblical Aramaic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. מָשַׁל²
  21. ^ a b Sáenz-Badillos, Angel (1993), A History of the Hebrew Language, transl. John Elwolde, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 69–70
  22. ^ a b Jastrow, Marcus (1886–1903), A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature, London: Luzac; New York: Putnam, p. s.v. מָשָׁל
  23. ^ Black, Jeremy; George, Andrew; Postgate, Nicholas (2000), A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian, 2nd ed., Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, p. s.v. mašālu
  24. ^ Tawil, Hayim ben Yosef (2009), An Akkadian Lexical Companion for Biblical Hebrew: Etymological-Semantic and Idiomatic Equivalents, Jersey City: Ktav, p. 227
  25. ^ Klein, Ernest (1987), A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English, Jerusalem: Carta; Haifa: University of Haifa, p. s.v. משׁל II
  26. ^ Lane, Edward William (1863–1893), An Arabic-English Lexicon, 8 parts, London: Williams and Norgate, p. 3017
  27. ^ Gesenius, Wilhelm; Buhl, Frants (1915), Hebräisches und aramäisches Handwörterbuch über das Alte Testament, 17th ed., Leipzig: F. C. W. Vogel, p. s.v. משׁל I
  28. ^ a b Jastrow, Marcus (1886–1903), A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature, London: Luzac; New York: Putnam, p. s.v. מָשַׁל II
  29. ^ a b Koehler, Ludwig; Baumgartner, Walter; Stamm, Johann Jakob (1994–2000), The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, transl. and ed. M. E. J. Richardson, 5 vols, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. מֹשֶׁל I
  30. ^ a b Brown, Francis; Driver, S. R.; Briggs, Charles A. (1906), A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, with an Appendix Containing the Biblical Aramaic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. מֹשֶׁל
  31. ^ Brown, Francis; Driver, S. R.; Briggs, Charles A. (1906), A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, with an Appendix Containing the Biblical Aramaic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. מְשֹׁל
  32. ^ Koehler, Ludwig; Baumgartner, Walter; Stamm, Johann Jakob (1994–2000), The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, transl. and ed. M. E. J. Richardson, 5 vols, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. מָשָׁל II
  33. ^ Brown, Francis; Driver, S. R.; Briggs, Charles A. (1906), A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, with an Appendix Containing the Biblical Aramaic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. מָשָׁל

Derived terms

Cite this entry

“משל.” Etymologically, 1 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/hbo/%D7%9E%D7%A9%D7%9C. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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