To liken
מָשַׁלStrong’s H4911mashal (ma-shal)
Appears in 15 verses of the Old Testament
In short
Mashal is the Hebrew word usually translated “equal”, “is like” and “speak a parable”. It appears in 15 verses of the Old Testament.
“Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say, Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared:”
Meaning
- To represent, liken, be like(Niphal) to liken, be like, be similar · (Hiphil) to compare · (Hithpael) to become like
- To speak in a proverb, use a proverb, speak in parables, speak in sentences of poetry(Qal) to use a proverb, speak a parable or proverb · (Piel) to make a parable
How it's translated
- and i will be equal 2
- he is like 2
- and speak a parable 2
- those speak proverbs 1
- and i have become like 1
- you have become like 1
- and will you compare me 1
- people will use as a proverb 1
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- Ezekiel 7
- Psalms 4
- Isaiah 2
- Numbers 1
- Job 1
5 books in all.
Explore in Scripture
- Job 30:19He hath cast me into the mire, and I am become like dust and ashes.
- Psalms 28:1Unto thee will I cry, O LORD my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.
- Psalms 49:12Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.
- Psalms 49:20Man that is in honour, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish.
- Psalms 143:7Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
- Isaiah 14:10All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us?
Hebrew dictionary
מָשַׁל mashal · to liken
1) to represent, liken, be like 1a) (Niphal) to liken, be like, be similar 1b) (Hiphil) to compare 1c) (Hithpael) to become like
מָשַׁל mashal · to use a proverb
1) to speak in a proverb, use a proverb, speak in parables, speak in sentences of poetry 1a) (Qal) to use a proverb, speak a parable or proverb 1b) (Piel) to make a parable 1b1) maker of parables (participle)
From STEPBible’s Hebrew lexicon (based on Brown-Driver-Briggs).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “liken” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
LIKEN, verb transitive
li'kn.
- “Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, that built his house on a rock” Matthew 7:24
Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.
Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Hebrew, not from any one translation.