---
title: מָשַׁשׁ — feel · The Tanakh dictionary
description: מָשַׁשׁ (4959), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 9 times: feel. BDB 1906: vb. feel, grope. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/4959.html)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [Tanakh](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/) / [מ](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1502-10.md)‎ / מָשַׁשׁ‎

<!-- .hw dir=rtl lang=hbo -->
# מָשַׁשׁ

<!-- .meta -->
«מָשַׁשׁ» in the Tanakh dictionary: **feel** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Used:** 9 times · **Key:** 4959 · **BDB:** מָשַׁשׁ

### Glosses

he (2); they.grope (2); groping (1)

### Meaning (OSHB)

feel [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1502/4959/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

vb. feel, grope [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1502/4959/#m2)

<!-- fold -->
**The whole BDB entry:** vb. feel, grope (NH id. Pi; Arabic مَسَّ fell; Ethiopic መርሰሰ: Di166; Aramaic ܡܰܫ, מְשַׁשׁ Pa., Palp.—v. also ימשׁ, II. מושׁ);— Impf. 3 ms. sf. יְמֻשֵּׁנִי Gn 27:12 perhaps my father will feel me; וַיְמֻשֵּׁהוּ v 22 and he felt of him (both J). Pf. 2 ms. מִשַּׁשְׁתָּ; Impf. 3 ms. יְמַשֵּׁשׁ Dt 28:29, וַיְמַשֵּׁשׁ Gn 31:34; 3 mpl. יִמַשִׁשׁוּ Jb 5:14; 12:25; Pt. מְמַשֵּׁשׁ Dt 28:29;—feel over or through, grope:— וַיְמ׳ לָבָן אֶת־כָּל־הָאֹהֶל Gn 31:34 and Laban felt through the whole tent (i.e. searched it); so (obj. כֵּלַי) v 37 thou hast felt through all my possessions (or baggage; both E). grope, of blind Dt 28:29b (in sim.), periphr. conj., וְהָיִיתָ מְמַשֵּׁשׁ v 29a and thou shalt become one that gropes at noonday (fig. of judicial blindness); cf. Jb 5:14; 12:25. Impf. וְיָמֵשׁ חֹשֶׁךְ Ex 10:21 that one may feel (the) darkness; read also Imv. sf. הֲמִשֵּׁנִי (for והימשׁני, v. ימשׁ, p. 413 supr.) Ju 16:26 and let me touch the pillars (2 acc.)

<!-- .note -->
Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 8 of its verses cited, 2 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (3 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 1 with the glosses (2 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «מָשַׁשׁ» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1502/4959/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

<!-- div verse -->

<!-- .ref -->
[Job 5:14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.5.14/)

<!-- .vt dir=rtl lang=hbo -->
יוֹמָ֥ם יְפַגְּשׁוּ־חֹ֑שֶׁךְ וְ֝כַלַּ֗יְלָה יְֽמַשְׁשׁ֥וּ בַֽצָּהֳרָֽיִם׃

*Word for word:* by.day they.meet darkness and like (the) night they.grope at (the) noon(s)

*JPS 1917:* They meet with darkness in the day-time, and grope at noonday as in the night.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div verse -->

<!-- .ref -->
[Job 12:25](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.12.25/)

<!-- .vt dir=rtl lang=hbo -->
יְמַֽשְׁשׁוּ־חֹ֥שֶׁךְ וְלֹא־א֑וֹר וַ֝יַּתְעֵ֗ם כַּשִּׁכּֽוֹר׃

*Word for word:* they.grope darkness and not light and he made.them.wander like (the) drunkard

*JPS 1917:* They grope in the dark without light, and He maketh them to stagger like a drunken man.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [מַשְׂרֵת](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/4958.md)
- next →: [מִשְׁתֶּה](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/4960.md)
- ↑ back to [מ](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1502-10.md)