Lexical Summary
mathoq or mathuq: Sweet
Original Word:מָתוֹק
Part of Speech:Adjective; noun masculine
Transliteration:mathowq
Pronunciation:maw-thoke' or maw-thook'
Phonetic Spelling:(maw-thoke')
KJV: sweet(-er, -ness)
NASB:sweet, pleasant, sweeter, something sweet
Word Origin:[fromH4985 (מָתַק - sweet)]
1. sweet
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
sweeter,
Or mathuwq {maw-thook'}; frommathaq; sweet -- sweet(-er, -ness).
see HEBREWmathaq
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
mathoqDefinitionsweet, sweetness
NASB Translationpleasant (2), something sweet (1), sweet (7), sweeter (2).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
, and
(on form see Lag BN 30, 60, compare BaNB 13, 36); — absoluteJudges 14:14 9t.; feminineEcclesiastes 5:11; pluralPsalm 19:11; —
sweet, of honeyJudges 14:14 (where = substantivea sweet thing),Judges 14:18 (both Samson's riddle),Proverbs 24:13; so =sweetness,Ezekiel 3:3; more Generally,Proverbs 27:7every bitter thing is sweet to one hungry; figurativePsalm 19:11 (God's commandments, sweeter than honey), compareProverbs 16:24 (simile of pleasant words)Songs 2:3 (i.e his caresses);Isaiah 5:20making bitter into sweet and sweet into bitter (obscuring moral distinctions; "" ).
=pleasant, sleep of the toilerEcclesiastes 5:11; lightEcclesiastes 1:17 ("" ).
Topical Lexicon
Overview of Biblical “Sweetness”The Hebrew term מָתוֹק consistently evokes the experience of delightful taste but stretches beyond the palate into realms of wisdom, revelation, labor, and covenant devotion. Whether describing honey, restful sleep, or prophetic scrolls, “sweet” marks gifts which God intends to be received with gratitude and stewarded with discernment.
Samson’s Riddle: Sweetness from Strength (Judges 14:14,Judges 14:18)
The first canonical occurrences frame sweetness as an unexpected grace: “Out of the strong came something sweet.” The lion’s carcass, once a symbol of death, now yields honey. The episode pre-figures the divine habit of drawing goodness out of judgment and points ahead to the ultimate paradox of life springing from the crucified Messiah.
Wisdom Literature: Honey as Moral and Intellectual Delight
• Proverbs repeatedly joins honey with edifying speech and right desire. “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones” (Proverbs 16:24). By aligning the tongue with honey, the writer underscores the formative power of conversation in shaping spiritual health.
•Proverbs 24:13 invites the young to taste honey so they may grasp that “wisdom is just like that for your soul.” Sweetness therefore trains moral appetite.
•Proverbs 27:7 warns that satiation dulls discernment: “A satisfied soul loathes the honeycomb, but to a hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.” Hunger—physical or spiritual—conditions perception.
•Ecclesiastes 5:12 andEcclesiastes 11:7 expand the sense from flavor to life-experience: restful sleep and the sunrise are “sweet,” gifts often unnoticed until lost.
Psalm 19:10: Revelation Sweeter Than Honey
“They are more desirable than gold, than much pure gold; sweeter than honey, than honey dripping from the comb.” The psalmist compares Torah to the finest sweetness, teaching that God’s self-disclosure satisfies deeper than any sensual pleasure and refines character more surely than wealth.
Moral Inversion: Bitter for Sweet (Isaiah 5:20)
Isaiah pronounces woe on those who “put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” By reversing categories, the covenant-breaking culture severs moral taste buds, calling evil good. The verse stands as a perpetual caution that discernment is not merely intellectual but affective; sin disorders the capacity to delight in what is truly sweet.
Ezekiel’s Scroll: The Sweet Obligation of Prophecy (Ezekiel 3:3)
When the prophet ingests God’s message, “it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.” The juxtaposition of sweet taste with forthcoming hard words shows that obedience to God’s commission delights the faithful even when the task is grievous. Sweetness here signals the inward assurance that God’s Word is always good.
Song of Solomon 2:3: Sweetness of Covenant Love
“I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste.” Marital affection, anchored in exclusivity and mutual delight, is portrayed through sensory sweetness, endorsing bodily joy within God-ordained union and hinting at the greater intimacy between Christ and His people.
Theological Trajectory
1. Divine revelation is inherently pleasant to the receptive heart.
2. True sweetness accords with holiness; counterfeit sweetness ends in bitterness.
3. God often hides sweetness in unlikely contexts—within carcasses, labor, prophetic burdens—calling believers to trust His providence.
Ministry and Discipleship Implications
• Cultivate appetite for Scripture as superior sweetness; encourage memorization and meditation that move beyond duty into delight.
• Guard the moral palate. Regular confession and communal accountability help prevent Isaiah’s inversion where sin begins to taste sweet.
• Use sensory metaphors in preaching and teaching. Modern listeners still resonate with flavor imagery; linking honey with gracious speech, diligent labor, and marital fidelity brings ancient texts to life.
• Emphasize that obedience may feel bitter to the flesh yet ultimately proves sweet to the spirit, preparing believers to embrace costly faithfulness.
Forms and Transliterations
וּמְתוּקִ֥ים וּמָת֖וֹק וּמָת֥וֹק ומתוק ומתוקים לְמָת֖וֹק לְמָתֽוֹק׃ למתוק למתוק׃ מְתוּקָה֙ מָ֝ת֗וֹק מָּת֣וֹק מָת֑וֹק מָת֥וֹק מָתֽוֹק׃ מתוק מתוק׃ מתוקה lə·mā·ṯō·wq lemaTok ləmāṯōwq mā·ṯō·wq maTok māṯōwq mə·ṯū·qāh metuKah məṯūqāh ū·mā·ṯō·wq ū·mə·ṯū·qîm umaTok ūmāṯōwq umetuKim ūməṯūqîm
Links
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