מָהִיר
ma.hir
quick
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Hebrew Word Analysis: מָהִיר (mahir) The Hebrew term *mahir* carries the straightforward meaning of "quick" or swift action. With only four occurrences in the biblical text, this is a relatively rare word, suggesting it was used selectively rather than as a common descriptor for speed in everyday language. The limited frequency of *mahir* indicates it likely held a specific or emphatic purpose when employed by biblical authors. Rather than serving as a standard term for quickness, its rarity suggests it may have been chosen to convey particular weight or significance in the contexts where it appears. Without access to the specific passages in your data, we cannot determine whether it was applied to physical movement, mental processes, or divine action, but the word's focused usage pattern points to careful rhetorical selection rather than casual repetition. For readers encountering this term, understanding its rarity is important: the biblical writers did not turn to *mahir* habitually when describing speed, which implies that each of its four appearances warrants attention to what specifically was being described as quick and why that quickness mattered to the narrative or message at hand.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
4 total occurrences across the text
this Ezra went up from Babylon. He was a skilled scribe in the law of Moses, which Yahweh, the God of Israel, had given; and the king granted him all his request, according to Yahweh his God’s hand on him.
Psalms 45:1My heart overflows with a noble theme. I recite my verses for the king. My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer.
Proverbs 22:29Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve kings. He won’t serve obscure men.
Isaiah 16:5A throne will be established in loving kindness. One will sit on it in truth, in the tent of David, judging, seeking justice, and swift to do righteousness.