I was struggling with another entry to share here, but instead I was led to share this. I hope it touches someone.
⦁ Exodus 10:21 (NKJV – The Ninth Plague: Darkness)
21 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt (h4959. מָשַׁשׁ mâšaš).”
⦁ Exodus 10:21
21 וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוָ֜ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה נְטֵ֤ה יָֽדְךָ֙ עַל־הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וִ֥יהִי חֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־אֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם וְיָמֵ֖שׁ חֹֽשֶׁךְ׃
- See that Strong’s and BDB give the root for “felt” as משש, whereas EDBH gives the root as מוש.
▸ h4959. מָשַׁשׁ mâšaš; a primitive root; to feel of; by implication, to grope: — feel, grope, search.
AV (9) – grope 4, feel 3, search 2;
- to feel, grope
- (Qal) to feel, grope
- (Piel) to feel over or through, grope
- to feel through
- to grope
- (Hiphil) to feel
▸ h4184. מוּשׁ mûš; a primitive root; to touch: — feel, handle.
AV (3) – feel 2, handle 1;
- to feel
- (Qal) to feel
- (Hiphil) to feel
▸ h4185. מוּשׁ mûš; a primitive root (perhaps rather the same as 4184 through the idea of receding by contact); to withdraw (both literally and figuratively, whether intransitive or transitive): — cease, depart, go back, remove, take away.
AV (21) – depart 11, remove 6, take away 1, gone back 1, cease 1, variant 1;
(Hiphil) to remove, depart
to depart, remove
(Qal)
to depart
to remove
to be removed (of inanimate objects)
((I included משח here not because it is in the Gradational Variant family, but because it is good to see the relationship to that root, which is the root for Messiah משיח))
- שן tooth נס pole; standard שם name צן Zin(wilderness of, in Numbers) מש feel cognate permutations (banner/focus)
(In Exodus 10:21 above, see the words that would include this group (banner/focus) ➔ Moses, heaven, Egypt, and felt. Consider how these relate to focusing our attention or the Israelites’ attention.)
The next few images are from Jeff Benner’s Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible, pp.160-161. The point in showing these is for you to see how he begins with a two-letter “parent root” (PR) and shows the “child roots” (CR) that come from them. He also includes “adopted roots” (AR). Xlit stands for “transliteration,” or the way to pronounce it; Trans indicates a common English translation; Def is a more literal definition; and Str refers to the Strong’s number. Ac is the action that is described by the combined two letters of the parent root. ((Co is the concrete meaning; Ab is the abstract meaning; Pict refers to the pictograph, which does not show in this electronic version – seen below from the printed book ✱))
✱
- I do not presume to be knowledgeable about the Ancient Pictographs as Benner is. I only share these snippets in order to make you aware of the intensity of the combination of these two letters. I also remind you that the order of the letters does not substantially change the meaning. And I remind you that שם is “name,” which is what our Jewish brothers and sisters call the LORD, “the name,” השם.
- This is the “also” verse from the מוש listing in EDBH, to better help understand the meaning of feeling as described in the opening verse, Exodus 10:21.
⦁ Psalms 115:7 – ESV speaking of idols
7 They have hands, but they cannot feel (h4184. מוּשׁ mûš);
They have feet, but they cannot walk;
They cannot make a sound with their throat.
⦁ Psalms 115:7
7 יְדֵיהֶ֤ם ׀ וְלֹ֬א יְמִישׁ֗וּן רַ֭גְלֵיהֶם וְלֹ֣א יְהַלֵּ֑כוּ לֹֽא־יֶ֝הְגּ֗וּ בִּגְרוֹנָֽם׃
- I simply remind you of the earlier entries about artificial intelligence and Golem.
- It is “feeling” that sets the LORD apart from anything that we create with our hands/our minds.
Impression פסל idol; image לבש clothe; לוז transpose; פלש penetrate; בצל peel; uncover (transform; develop from pressure)
⦁ ▸ Tanakh (6 results)
1. Yehoshua 1:8 (Mikraot Gedolot)
לֹא יָמוּשׁ סֵפֶר הַתּוֹרָה הַזֶּה מִפִּיךָ וְהָגִיתָ בּוֹ יוֹמָם וָלַיְלָה לְמַעַן תִּשְׁמֹר לַעֲשׂוֹת כְּכׇל הַכָּתוּב בּוֹ כִּי אָז תַּצְלִיחַ אֶת דְּרָכֶךָ וְאָז תַּשְׂכִּיל.
⦁ Joshua 1:8
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
2. Shofetim 11:24 (Mikraot Gedolot)
הֲלֹא אֵת אֲשֶׁר יוֹרִישְׁךָ כְּמוֹשׁ אֱלֹהֶיךָ אוֹתוֹ תִירָשׁ וְאֵת כׇּל אֲשֶׁר הוֹרִישׁ י־ְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מִפָּנֵינוּ אוֹתוֹ נִירָשׁ.
⦁ Judges 11:24
24 Will you not possess whatever Chemosh your god gives you to possess? So whatever the LORD our God takes possession of before us, we will possess.
3. Melakhim I 11:33 (Mikraot Gedolot)
יַעַן אֲשֶׁר עֲזָבוּנִי וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲווּ לְעַשְׁתֹּרֶת אֱלֹהֵי צִדֹנִין לִכְמוֹשׁ אֱלֹהֵי מוֹאָב וּלְמִלְכֹּם אֱלֹהֵי בְנֵי עַמּוֹן וְלֹאהָלְכוּ בִדְרָכַי לַעֲשׂוֹת הַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינַי וְחֻקֹּתַי וּמִשְׁפָּטַי כְּדָוִד אָבִיו.
⦁ 1 Kings 11:31-33
31 And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you 32 (but he shall have one tribe for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), 33 because they have forsaken Me, and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the people of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways to do what is right in My eyes and keep My statutes and My judgments, as did his father David.
4. Yeshayahu 54:10 (Mikraot Gedolot)
כִּי הֶהָרִים יָמוּשׁוּ וְהַגְּבָעוֹת תְּמוּטֶינָה וְחַסְדִּי מֵאִתֵּךְ לֹא יָמוּשׁ וּבְרִית שְׁלוֹמִי לֹא תָמוּט אָמַר מְרַחֲמֵךְ י־ְהֹוָה.
⦁ Isaiah 54:10
10 For the mountains shall depart
And the hills be removed,
But My kindness shall not depart from you,
Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,”
Says the LORD, who has mercy on you.
5. Yeshayahu 59:21 (Mikraot Gedolot)
וַאֲנִי זֹאת בְּרִיתִי אוֹתָם אָמַר י־ְהֹוָה רוּחִי אֲשֶׁר עָלֶיךָ וּדְבָרַי אֲשֶׁר שַׂמְתִּי בְּפִיךָ לֹא יָמוּשׁוּ מִפִּיךָ וּמִפִּי זַרְעֲךָ וּמִפִּי זֶרַע זַרְעֲךָ אָמַר י־ְהֹוָה מֵעַתָּה וְעַד עוֹלָם.
⦁ Isaiah 59:21
21 “As for Me,” says the LORD, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the LORD, “from this time and forevermore.”
6. Mishlei 17:13 (Mikraot Gedolot)
מֵשִׁיב רָעָה תַּחַת טוֹבָה לֹא [תָמוּשׁ] (תמיש) רָעָה מִבֵּיתוֹ.
⦁ Proverbs 17:13
13 Whoever rewards evil for good,
Evil will not depart from his house.
⦁ Proverbs 17:13
13 מֵשִׁ֣יב רָ֭עָה תַּ֣חַת טוֹבָ֑ה לֹא־תָמ֥יּשׁ* רָ֝עָ֗ה מִבֵּיתֹֽו׃
* Kתָמִישׁ Qתָמ֥וּשׁ
- I always like to ask myself, when trying to think in the more concrete, Hebraic way, what was the connection that the people “saw?” Why is “depart” intertwined with “feel?”
- Is it because some of our deepest feelings are experienced when there is a departure? Someone we love walks away… Someone we love dies…
- Recall how Yeshua/Jesus wept with Mary and Martha who were weeping at the loss of Lazarus.
- I am reminded of a quotation:
⦁ Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
I have started to write a number of times in the past about gender of Hebrew words, but I have not published those because I was trying not to be too technical. You may have seen some of my notations in more recent entries, indicating the gender of words in some cases. I’m afraid this has brought me to the point where I really have to share a little bit more in the way of technical aspects about the Hebrew. Apologies to those who don’t have interest in this area.
One of the early posts on the website goes into more detail about gender. There is even more than shown here if you want to dig deeper. 07. Resources and Grammar:
❶ one reason that having English as the “universal language“ is somewhat of a problem is the lack of gender. It certainly makes it easier to use, not to have to perform all those different conjugations, but it also loses some potential meaning.
❷ another important point in English is that the pronoun for the “second person” is “you,” which can be both singular and plural.
❸ remember that there is no neuter gender form in Hebrew. Everything is either masculine or feminine. In recent entries, I have often been indicating in my more literal translations, singular and plural, and sometimes masculine and feminine.
❹ a big question to me is whether a masculine word or feminine word indicates the characteristics of that word. It may be dangerous to assume, but I do point toGenesis 2:19, which says that the naming indicates characteristics. I probably need to leave that to your discernment. Also see the AI Overview below.
❺ if you do a search in LogAndSpeck for the word “Spanish,” it will take to to a discussion in post 07. about the words for “Table.” You will see that in Spanish, the word for table is feminine, and in Hebrew the word for table is masculine. Does this indicate a different perspective on purpose or characteristics of a table for people using those two different languages? What is the connection between how we think and the language that we speak? There has been much study on this concept, and I believe there is a good Scriptural basis for it. Don’t forget also the “scattering” after the Tower of Babel.
By the way, remember that the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is mentioned in the movie Arrival (which I have recommended several times), and much of the basis of that movie relates to this discussion.
- You can do the search and follow up on the links for more details…
- You might also want to go back to LogAndSpeck post 03. Hebrew Thought to see how it connects to some of the ideas expressed above.
❻ another difference to be aware of between Hebrew and English is that English is structured around nouns, where Hebrew is structured around verbs, and as mentioned before, action verbs. The example given of a pencil in post 03. shows well the action or functional aspect of Hebrew. Would a similar consideration apply to a Table? Would a Hebrew table be masculine because at that time the masculine function was to support the family, and was the table seen as a structure for support? And maybe in Spanish a table is seen as a place for nurturing, often thought of as a more feminine trait? These are all just questions for you to ponder. 🤔
This blog has gotten long already. I anticipate we will need to come back to this discussion, but the thing I recommend you to consider until another time relates to these verses:
⦁ Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
We know the famous book called Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. Does this passage teach us this essence? We know God has male and female characteristics (Genesis 1:27). When he has thoughts (which are feminine in gender) are they different from the thoughts (also feminine) of a masculine group? This may twist your noggin… And how does this relate to our topic “feel?”
Blessings, PG
Ⓒ Copyright Philip E. Gates; LogAndSpeck.com, December 2025. Please cite if you use this material.