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מְתוּשֶׁלַח

𐤌𐤕𐤅𐤔𐤋𐤇

Metushelach

H4968 noun

SILEX Entry

Root מתשׁלח to die, man, weapon, spear, dart, missile

Definition

Methushelach – a personal name referring to an antediluvian patriarch, notable as the oldest person recorded in the Hebrew Bible. The name is attested only as a proper noun referring to the individual listed in Genesis 5:21–27 as the son of Hanokh (Enoch) and grandfather of Noah. The lexical meaning is debated, commonly interpreted as 'man of a weapon/lance/dart' or perhaps 'one sent (after death)'; however, as with many early biblical names, the etymology remains uncertain and largely symbolic or formulaic in character.

Semantic Range

proper noun; personal name; possibly 'man of the dart' or 'man of the weapon,' but functionally used exclusively as a name for the patriarch described in Genesis 5

Root / Etymology

Derived from the Hebrew elements מַת (mat, often interpreted as 'man') and שֶׁלַח (shelach, 'missile, dart, spear, weapon'). However, the formation is nonstandard: מַת is rare as 'man' outside of poetic usage and names, and the specifics of the compound are debated. The etymology should thus be treated as uncertain.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Methushelach is only attested as a proper name for the patriarch in the Primeval History of Genesis. As is common with genealogical names in Genesis 1–11, the underlying etymology may have had symbolic or etiological purposes. In translation history, the name was rendered as 'Methuselah' in the Septuagint and later English traditions, sometimes glossed as 'man of the dart' or similar phrases. English translations typically do not attempt to render the meaning but transliterate the name. Contemporary lexicography recognizes the uncertainty inherent in the name's origins and advises caution against deriving narrative significance solely from proposed roots. Comparisons have sometimes been made with extra-biblical Mesopotamian names and motifs, but direct linguistic connections are speculative.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from מַת and שֶׁלַח; man of a dart; Methushelach, an antediluvian patriarch; Methuselah.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

מתשלח (m-t-sh-l-ḥ) — man, weapon, spear, dart, missile, death (associated element)

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H4968-02 מְתוּשֶׁ֔לַח metushelach HNp Methuselah Man of the Dart 5
H4968-01 מְתוּשָֽׁלַח metushalach HNp Methuselah Man-of-the-Dart 1

Occurrences in Scripture

6 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H4968-01 Genesis 5:21 מְתוּשָֽׁלַח metushalach HNp Methuselah Man-of-the-Dart
H4968-02 Genesis 5:22 מְתוּשֶׁ֔לַח metushelach HNp Methuselah Man of the Dart
H4968-02 Genesis 5:25 מְתוּשֶׁ֔לַח metushelach HNp Methuselah Man of the Dart
H4968-02 Genesis 5:26 מְתוּשֶׁ֗לַח metushelach HNp Methuselah Man of the Dart
H4968-02 Genesis 5:27 מְתוּשֶׁ֔לַח metushelach HNp Methuselah Man of the Dart
H4968-02 1 Chronicles 1:3 מְתוּשֶׁ֖לַח metushelach HNp Methuselah Man of the Dart
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