מִקְשָׁה
miq.shah
beating
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# מִקְשָׁה (miqshah): A Technical Term for Beating The Hebrew word *miqshah* denotes the action or process of beating, appearing nine times throughout the biblical text. As a noun derived from a root meaning "to beat" or "strike," it refers specifically to the physical act of striking or hammering—whether applied to metalwork, grain processing, or other labor-intensive activities. The word's presence in biblical vocabulary suggests this was a recognized, named activity significant enough to warrant its own technical term. With only nine occurrences across the entire Hebrew Bible, *miqshah* appears to be a specialized rather than common word, likely used in contexts where the precise nature of the beating activity needed to be identified. Its limited distribution indicates it was employed for particular types of work or processes where this terminology carried specific meaning—whether describing the manufacture of objects through percussion, the preparation of materials, or similar labor. The word's survival in the biblical record, despite its rarity, testifies to activities that were important enough to the communities who produced these texts to document with their own distinct terminology.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
9 total occurrences across the text
You shall make two cherubim of hammered gold. You shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat.
Exodus 25:31“You shall make a lamp stand of pure gold. The lamp stand shall be made of hammered work. Its base, its shaft, its cups, its buds, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it.
Exodus 25:36Their buds and their branches shall be of one piece with it, all of it one beaten work of pure gold.
Exodus 37:7He made two cherubim of gold. He made them of beaten work, at the two ends of the mercy seat:
Exodus 37:17He made the lamp stand of pure gold. He made the lamp stand of beaten work. Its base, its shaft, its cups, its buds, and its flowers were of one piece with it.
Exodus 37:22Their buds and their branches were of one piece with it. The whole thing was one beaten work of pure gold.
Numbers 8:4This was the workmanship of the lamp stand, beaten work of gold. From its base to its flowers, it was beaten work. He made the lamp stand according to the pattern which Yahweh had shown Moses.
Numbers 8:4This was the workmanship of the lamp stand, beaten work of gold. From its base to its flowers, it was beaten work. He made the lamp stand according to the pattern which Yahweh had shown Moses.
Numbers 10:2“Make two trumpets of silver. You shall make them of beaten work. You shall use them for the calling of the congregation, and for the journeying of the camps.