← H4346 H4348 →

מַכָּה

𐤌𐤊𐤄

makkâh

H4347 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

A physical strike or impact causing injury; an inflicted wound. In broader use, refers to any form of injury, calamity, or afflictive event, whether literal or figurative, such as pestilence or military defeat. The term may describe a physical injury, the result of judicial punishment, communal disaster, or a divinely sent plague or affliction.

Semantic Range

blow, strike, wound, injury, beating, stripe, affliction, plague (divine or natural), pestilence, slaughter, calamity

Root / Etymology

From the root נכה (to strike, smite). מַכָּה is a feminine noun derived directly from the root, indicating the act or result of striking. The root נכה primarily conveys the idea 'to hit' or 'to smite,' and the noun expresses the result, i.e., a blow or wound.

Historical & Contextual Notes

מַכָּה is used throughout all periods of biblical Hebrew, both for individual physical strikes (as in personal injury or punishment) and for large-scale disasters (such as plagues or military defeat). In the Torah and Prophets, מַכָּה frequently describes injuries resulting from violence between individuals (e.g., Exodus 21:25) or judicial punishment. It is also used in descriptions of national calamities, especially those interpreted as acts of divine judgment (e.g., the Egyptian plagues in Exodus). The term is broader than צָרָה (distress, trouble), which usually refers to states of hardship without the sense of an inflicted blow. English translations occasionally render מַכָּה as 'plague' or 'pestilence' when the context is national or divine affliction, but the word's core sense remains tied to impact or injury. In later periods, מַכָּה can also reference metaphorical or moral blows (e.g., calamity). Some translation traditions, particularly in older English Bibles, may use terms like 'sore' or 'stroke,' which do not always capture the breadth of the term's application in the Hebrew text.

Translation Consistency

primary "blow" 32 occurrences

מַכָּה most commonly denotes a physical strike or stroke and is regularly used figuratively for an affliction or calamity (e.g. a plague sent as a ‘blow’). "Blow" is natural, concise, and covers the primary semantic range (strike, wound, affliction) better than more specialized alternatives like "wound" or "plague," so it supports consistent, readable translation across contexts.

Alternatives (16 occurrences):
"wounds" (6x) "wound" (6x) "plagues" (1x) "slaughter" (1x) "like the stroke of" (1x) "beaten" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

or (masculine) מַכֶּה; (plural only) from נָכָה; a blow (in 2 Chronicles 2:10, of the flail); by implication,; a wound; figuratively, carnage, also pestilence; beaten, blow, plague, slaughter, smote, [idiom] sore, stripe, stroke, wound(-ed).

Bantu Hebrew

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.

+ Add Bantu Hebrew Word

Root Family

נכה (n-k-h) — to strike, to smite, to injure

Root נכה to strike, to smite, to injure
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H5218 נָכֵא struck ones
H5219 נְכֹאת fragrant struck resin
H5221 נָכָה I will strike
H5222 נֵכֶה stricken men
H5223 נָכֶה stricken one

Word Forms

20 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H4347-06 מַכָּ֔ה makah HNcfsa a slaughter a striking-blow a striking blow 17
H4347-12 מַכּ֣וֹת makot HNcfpc plagues strikes of blows of 4
H4347-03 הַ/מַּכִּים֙ hamakim HTd/Ncfpa the wounds the smiters the wounds 3
H4347-07 מַכַּ֖ת makat HNcfsc stroke blow of blow of 3
H4347-02 הַ/מַּכָּ֖ה hamakah HTd/Ncfsa of the wound the inflicted blow the inflicted blow 3
H4347-14 מַכֹּתֶֽ/הָ makoteha HNcfpc/Sp3fs her wounds her blows her blows 2
H4347-16 מַכּוֹתֶֽי/הָ makoteyha HNcfpc/Sp3fs her wound her blows her blows 2
H4347-17 וּ/מַכָּ֣ה umakah HC/Ncfsa and stripe and a blow and a blow 2
H4347-10 מַכָּתִ֑/י makati HNcfsc/Sp1cs my wound my wound my wound 1
H4347-04 הַ/מַּכּ֛וֹת hamakot HTd/Ncfpa the wounds the blows the wounds 1

Occurrences in Scripture

48 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H4347-06 Leviticus 26:21 מַכָּ֔ה makah HNcfsa plague a striking-blow a striking blow
H4347-06 Numbers 11:33 מַכָּ֖ה makah HNcfsa a plague a striking-blow a striking blow
H4347-06 Deuteronomy 25:3 מַכָּ֣ה makah HNcfsa stripes a striking-blow a striking blow
H4347-15 Deuteronomy 28:59 מַכֹּ֣תְ/ךָ֔ makotekha HNcfpc/Sp2ms your plagues your blows your plagues
H4347-12 Deuteronomy 28:59 מַכּ֣וֹת makot HNcfpc plagues strikes of blows of
H4347-12 Deuteronomy 28:59 מַכּ֤וֹת makot-2 HNcfpa plagues strikes of blows of
H4347-06 Deuteronomy 28:61 מַכָּ֔ה makah HNcfsa plague a striking-blow a striking blow
H4347-12 Deuteronomy 29:21 מַכּ֞וֹת makot HNcfpc the plagues strikes of blows of
H4347-06 Joshua 10:10 מַכָּֽה makah HNcfsa a slaughter a striking-blow a striking blow
H4347-06 Joshua 10:20 מַכָּ֥ה makah HNcfsa a slaughter a striking-blow a striking blow
← H4346 Hebrew Lexicon H4348 →