מָתַח

# H4969 (מָתַח): A Rare Hebrew Verb for Spreading The Hebrew verb *matach* appears only once in the biblical text, making it an extremely rare word. Its definition—"to spread"—suggests an action of extending or stretching something outward. Despite its singular occurrence, the semantic field of "spreading" represents a concrete, physical action that would have been immediately understood by ancient Hebrew speakers. The limited attestation of this word makes it difficult to establish a broad range of usage or nuanced meanings. With only one biblical occurrence, we cannot determine whether *matach* carried specialized connotations or appeared in particular literary contexts. This scarcity distinguishes it from more common Hebrew verbs; readers of the Hebrew Bible would have encountered it only once, making it a distinctive rather than formulaic element of the text where it appears. For biblical interpretation, the rarity of *matach* suggests it may have been chosen deliberately by its author for stylistic or emphatic effect, though the lexical data alone does not confirm this. The word's straightforward meaning—spreading or extending—provides clear semantic content, but its single appearance limits our ability to understand its full significance within biblical Hebrew vocabulary and usage patterns.