מַעֲרֶ֫כֶת
ma.a.re.khet
row
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Ma'arekhet: Hebrew Word for "Row" The Hebrew word *ma'arekhet* (מַעֲרֶ֫כֶת) refers to a "row"—an arrangement of objects or people in a line. With ten occurrences in the biblical text, this term appears frequently enough to indicate its importance in describing organized, linear arrangements. The word likely derives from a root suggesting arrangement or order, making it the natural choice for contexts where sequential or aligned positioning matters. The practical significance of this word lies in its application to concrete, observable arrangements. Biblical writers used *ma'arekhet* when describing physical formations—such as rows of objects in the temple or ceremonial settings where precise arrangement carried meaning. The term's repeated use suggests that ancient Hebrew speakers recognized "row" as a distinct and useful concept for conveying spatial relationships in religious and structural contexts. While the lexicon data provided does not specify particular passages or enumerate individual uses, the word's presence across ten biblical occurrences indicates it served as a standard term for expressing linear organization. This reflects how ancient Hebrew vocabulary was structured to accommodate the practical needs of describing both everyday arrangements and the carefully ordered elements of religious life.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
10 total occurrences across the text
Then they went in to Hezekiah the king within the palace, and said, “We have cleansed all Yahweh’s house, including the altar of burnt offering with all its vessels, and the table of show bread with all its vessels.
Nehemiah 10:33for the show bread, for the continual meal offering, for the continual burnt offering, for the Sabbaths, for the new moons, for the set feasts, and for the holy things, and for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God.
Leviticus 24:6You shall set them in two rows, six on a row, on the pure gold table before Yahweh.
Leviticus 24:6You shall set them in two rows, six on a row, on the pure gold table before Yahweh.
Leviticus 24:7You shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be to the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
1 Chronicles 9:32Some of their brothers, of the sons of the Kohathites, were over the show bread, to prepare it every Sabbath.
1 Chronicles 23:29for the show bread also, and for the fine flour for a meal offering, whether of unleavened wafers, or of that which is baked in the pan, or of that which is soaked, and for all measurements of quantity and size;
1 Chronicles 28:16and the gold by weight for the tables of show bread, for every table; and silver for the tables of silver;
2 Chronicles 2:4Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God, to dedicate it to him, to burn before him incense of sweet spices, for the continual show bread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts of Yahweh our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel.
2 Chronicles 13:11and they burn to Yahweh every morning and every evening burnt offerings and sweet incense. They also set the show bread in order on the pure table; and the lamp stand of gold with its lamps, to burn every evening; for we keep the instruction of Yahweh our God, but you have forsaken him.