מֹאֶ֣סֶת

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 מֹאֶ֣סֶת

   mo-E-set

   it despises
2. phraseyour reading level🔊 מֹאֶ֣סֶת כָּל־עֵ֥ץ׃

   mo-E-set KAL-ETS

   it despises every tree or wood
3. clause🔊 אֹ֣ו נָשִׂ֔ישׂ שֵׁ֕בֶט בְּנִ֖י מֹאֶ֣סֶת כָּל־עֵ֥ץ׃

   O na-SI-s SHE-vet be-NI mo-E-set KAL-ETS

   or shall we rejoice rod my son it despises every tree or wood
4. sentence🔊 לְמַ֨עַן טְבֹ֤חַ טֶ֙בַח֙ הוּחַ֔דָה לְמַעַן־הֱיֵה־לָצָּה בָּ֖רָק מֹרָ֑טָה אֹ֣ו נָשִׂ֔ישׂ שֵׁ֕בֶט בְּנִ֖י מֹאֶ֣סֶת כָּל־עֵ֥ץ׃

   le-MA-an te-VO-akh TE-vakh hu-kha-DA le-MA-an-he-YE-la-TSA ba-RAK mo-RA-ta O na-SI-s SHE-vet be-NI mo-E-set KAL-ETS

   for the purpose of slaughtering a slaughter it was sharpened for the purpose of being for flashing lightning it was polished or shall we rejoice rod my son it despises every tree or wood

Exegesis

The closing unit šēḇeṭ bə-nî mō-ʾe-seṯ kāl-ʿēṣ {שֵׁ֖בֶט בְּנִ֣י מֹאֶ֥סֶת כָּל־עֵֽץ | šēḇeṭ bə-nî mō-ʾe-seṯ kāl-ʿēṣ} is syntactically compact and semantically difficult; the feminine participle can naturally cohere with the implied feminine “sword” in the larger oracle, allowing an English rendering with an implied subject (“it is rejecting”). The comparison “like every tree” treats the scepter as if it were mere wood, intensifying the contempt and signaling the collapse of royal authority before the coming judgment.

Root and etymology

consonants🔊 מ־א־סMem–Aleph–Samekh

“to reject”

• 🔊 מָאַסma'asrejected1 Samuel 15:23