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מָצָא

𐤌𐤑𐤀

mâtsâʼ

H4672 verb

SILEX Entry

Root מְצָא to find, to discover, to encounter, to come upon

Definition

To find, encounter, come across, or attain; to meet with (a person, object, circumstance, or result), either through search, chance, or providence. Also conveys the sense of being discovered, appearing, or being present/available. Depending on context, encompasses both literal discovery or acquisition and figurative senses such as being able, sufficing, or occurrence (an event befalling someone).

Semantic Range

to find, to come upon, to encounter (person/object/situation), to attain/acquire, to meet, to be discovered, to be present/available, to occur (befall/happen), to suffice/be enough, to deliver up, to cause to come to hand, to befall, to obtain

Root / Etymology

From the root מ-צ-א (מצא), which in its basic sense means 'to find' or 'to come upon.' The verb מָצָא is a standard verb (qal, also occurring in other stems) built directly from this root, with its various conjugations reflecting different voices or nuances.

Historical & Contextual Notes

מָצָא is a common verb throughout biblical Hebrew. In narrative contexts, it typically refers to physically coming upon or discovering persons, places, or objects (e.g., Genesis 2:20; 37:15). In legal, prophetic, and wisdom literature, it expands to abstract uses, such as encountering circumstances, attaining favor, or experiencing outcomes (Ruth 2:2; Proverbs 8:35). The difference from related terms such as גִּלָּה (to uncover, reveal) is that מָצָא focuses on the event of coming upon or discovering, not on the removal of a covering. English 'find' overlaps but sometimes lacks the nuance of unexpected encounter or the result of searching. Some idioms employ מָצָא with prepositions (e.g., מָצָא חֵן 'to find favor') to convey evaluation or experience. Over time and in later Hebrew, some of its usages expand especially in abstract senses. In post-exilic contexts, still regularly retains both the literal and figurative nuances, and later translations or Jewish interpretive traditions sometimes render with 'to be able' or 'to suffice' (reflecting the concept of something being 'found' as available or adequate).

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; properly, to come forth to, i.e. appear or exist; transitively, to attain, i.e. find or acquire; figuratively, to occur, meet or be present; [phrase] be able, befall, being, catch, [idiom] certainly, (cause to) come (on, to, to hand), deliver, be enough (cause to) find(-ing, occasion, out), get (hold upon), [idiom] have (here), be here, hit, be left, light (up-) on, meet (with), [idiom] occasion serve, (be) present, ready, speed, suffice, take hold on.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

מצא (m-ṣ-ʾ) — to find, discover, encounter, come upon

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4162 מוֹצָא and Moza
H4677 מְצֹבָיָה the Found-of-Yah
H4681 מֹצָה and the Bringing-Forth Place

Word Forms

119 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H4672-27 מָצָ֤אתִי matsati HVqp1cs I have found I found 40
H4672-53 נִמְצָ֥א nimetsa HVNp3ms was found was found 27
H4672-108 יִמָּצֵ֥א yimatse HVNi3ms is found he will be found 25
H4672-23 מָצָ֥א matsa HVqp3ms found he found 25
H4672-08 הֲ/נִמְצָ֣א hanimetsa HTi/Vqi1cp that was found the one being found 22
H4672-64 תִּמְצָ֣א timetsa HVqi2ms you find you will find 20
H4672-110 יִמְצָ֖א yimetsa HVqi3ms finds he finds 17
H4672-94 וַ/יִּמְצָ֛א vayimetsa HC/Vqw3ms and found and he found 16
H4672-03 אֶמְצָ֥א emetsa HVqi1cs I find I will find 15
H4672-58 נִמְצְא֥וּ nimetseu HVNp3cp were found they were found 14

Occurrences in Scripture

457 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H4672-23 Genesis 2:20 מָצָ֥א matsa HVqp3ms was found he found
H4672-49 Genesis 4:14 מֹצְאִ֖/י motsei HVqrmsc/Sp1cs finds me the one finding me
H4672-50 Genesis 4:15 מֹצְאֽ/וֹ motseo HVqrmsc/Sp3ms finding him finding him
H4672-23 Genesis 6:8 מָ֥צָא matsa HVqp3ms found he found
H4672-29 Genesis 8:9 מָצְאָה֩ matseah HVqp3fs found she found
H4672-99 Genesis 11:2 וַֽ/יִּמְצְא֥וּ vayimetseu HC/Vqw3mp that they found and they found
H4672-95 Genesis 16:7 וַֽ/יִּמְצָאָ֞/הּ vayimetsaah HC/Vqw3ms/Sp3fs found her and he found her
H4672-27 Genesis 18:3 מָצָ֤אתִי matsati HVqp1cs I have found I found
H4672-03 Genesis 18:26 אֶמְצָ֥א emetsa HVqi1cs I find I will find
H4672-03 Genesis 18:28 אֶמְצָ֣א emetsa HVqi1cs I find I will find
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