Lexical Summary
machah: To wipe, blot out, obliterate
Original Word:מָחָה
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:machah
Pronunciation:mah-khah'
Phonetic Spelling:(maw-khaw')
KJV: abolish, blot out, destroy, full of marrow, put out, reach unto, X utterly, wipe (away, out)
Word Origin:[a primitive root]
1. (properly) to stroke or rub
2. (by implication) to erase
3. (also) to smooth (as if with oil), i.e. grease or make fat
4. (also) to touch, i.e. reach to
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
abolish, blot out, destroy, full of marrow, put out, reach unto, utterly, wipe away,
A primitive root; properly, to stroke or rub; by implication, to erase; also to smooth (as if with oil), i.e. Grease or make fat; also to touch, i.e. Reach to -- abolish, blot out, destroy, full of marrow, put out, reach unto, X utterly, wipe (away, out).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
I. (Late Hebrew
id.; Arabic
,
efface, erase, cancel, obliterate; Aramaic (I), compare Phoenician
according to stroke = exactly Hoffin
Phoenician Inschr., Abh. GGW, xxxvi. May 1889, 9). —
Perfect3masculine singularNumbers 5:23 3t.; 3 feminine singularProverbs 30:20 4t.Pf; Imperfect2 Kings 21:13; (Baer; variant reading )Genesis 7:23; 1singular suffixExodus 32:33; 4t. Imperfect;ImperativePsalm 51:3;Psalm 51:11; suffixExodus 32:32;Infinitive absoluteExodus 17:14;construct2 Kings 14:27;ParticipleIsaiah 43:25; feminine pluralProverbs 31:3; (Ges Fl Nö De Str for ); —
wipe, the mouthProverbs 30:20; tears from () the faceIsaiah 25:8; written curse, into the water () for drinkingNumbers 5:23 (P); Moses' name from the book () of GodExodus 32:32,33 (J);2 Kings 21:13and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipeth a dish, — he doth wipe and turn it (but read probably )upside down.
blot out = obliterate from the memory,from under heaven e.g. the nameDeuteronomy 9:14;Deuteronomy 29:19;2 Kings 14:27; the remembranceExodus 17:14 (twice in verse) (J),Deuteronomy 25:19; the name for everPsalm 9:6; transgressions (; no more remembered by God against sinner)Psalm 51:3;Isaiah 43:25;Isaiah 44:22;Psalm 51:11.
blot out = exterminate, all existing thingsGenesis 7:23 (J) and mankind,Genesis 6:7;Genesis 7:4 (J);Proverbs 31:3 (with the text-change, see above) =destroyers of kings (i.e. impure women), but expression strange and dubious.
Niph`alPerfect3masculine pluralEzekiel 6:6;ImperfectDeuteronomy 25:6;Judges 21:17;Psalm 109:13; 3feminine singularPsalm 109:14; 4t. Imperfect; —
be wiped outPsalm 69:29.
be blotted out, of a nameDeuteronomy 25:6, a tribeJudges 21:17; name ("" posterity)Psalm 109:13; from memory, of sinsNehemiah 3:37;Psalm 109:14; reproach,Proverbs 6:33.
be exterminated,Genesis 7:23 (J); of idolatrous works of IsraelEzekiel 6:6.
Imperfect2masculine singularNehemiah 13:14;Jeremiah 18:23 (but tone suggests compare Ges§ 75. R. 17; Gie reads Qal and doubts Hiph`il altogether);InfinitiveProverbs 31:3 ( = but see ); —blot out, from the memory; pious actsNehemiah 13:14; sinsJeremiah 18:23.
II. (Aramaic (II),
; according to L GeiUrspr. d. spr. 416 LagSemitic i. 26, BN 142 NöZMG xxxii, 1878, 409 weakend from
=
, Hebrew q. v. compare Dr§ 178 n.; Assyrianma—û =crush, oppress, according to DlHWB 396); —Perfect3masculine singular consecutive,Numbers 34:11 (P)and the bordershall strike upon (reach unto) the shoulder of the sea of Chinnereth ( > Di and others derive from I.rub along by, brush past, skirt).
III. only
Participle (Ges§ 75. R.13) in phraseIsaiah 25:6 fat piecesfull of marrow.
see II. .
Topical Lexicon
OverviewThe verb מָחָה occurs about thirty-six times and portrays the decisive removal of something that God or people deem intolerable—whether life, sin, memory, shame, tears, or written words. Scripture employs the term in physical, judicial, covenantal, and pastoral settings, weaving a consistent theme: what the LORD wipes away is gone in a final and authoritative sense, yet He also offers to wipe away sin for those who turn to Him.
Divine Judgment: Eradicating the Wicked and Their Memory
1. Global judgment – Before the Flood the Creator declares, “I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth” (Genesis 6:7; 7:23). The verb underscores both totality and moral cause.
2. Amalek – “I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven” (Exodus 17:14;Deuteronomy 25:19). Centuries later the threat of blotting out hangs over Israel herself (2 Kings 14:27) and over Jerusalem in Manasseh’s day: “I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish—wiping it and turning it upside down” (2 Kings 21:13).
3. The nations – InPsalm 9:5 God “blots out” the name of the wicked nations “forever and ever,” confirming that no empire can resist His moral government.
Covenant Records and the Book of Life
The act of blotting out assumes a heavenly ledger. After the golden-calf apostasy Moses pleads, “Please blot me out of the book that You have written” (Exodus 32:32). The LORD answers, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot out of My book” (32:33), anchoring personal accountability. Imprecatory psalms echo the same register: “May they be blotted out of the book of life” (Psalm 69:28; cf. 109:13-14). Conversely,Deuteronomy 25:6 protects a childless man’s “name” from being blotted out of Israel—showing that covenant blessing includes being kept on the roll of remembrance.
Intercessory Pleas for Forgiveness
While judgment blots out sinners, grace blots out sin. David cries, “Blot out my transgressions” (Psalm 51:1) and again, “Blot out all my iniquities” (51:9). Isaiah gives the divine answer: “I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake” (Isaiah 43:25; cf. 44:22). Jeremiah reverses the plea when faced with hardened enemies: “Do not…blot out their sin” (Jeremiah 18:23). In every case the verb retains its finality; what is expunged is no longer on the record.
National Memory and Identity
Māḥâ safeguards collective memory. Israel is warned that persistent rebellion could cause the LORD to “blot them out” (Deuteronomy 9:14). When Nehemiah petitions, “Do not blot out the loyalty I have shown toward the house of my God” (Nehemiah 13:14), he appeals to the same covenant mechanism now for reward rather than punishment.
Personal and Familial Shame
Proverbs 6:33 warns that adultery brings “disgrace [that] will not be wiped away.” In the ordeal of jealousy the priest literally washes the written curse into bitter water (Numbers 5:23), dramatizing either the erasure of suspicion or the activation of judgment.Psalm 109 reveals trauma that spans generations: “May the sin of his mother never be blotted out” (verse 14). Social memory, once established, is hard to erase apart from divine mercy.
Prophetic Hope and Eschatological Fulfilment
Isaiah anticipates a day when the LORD “will wipe away the tears from every face” (Isaiah 25:8). The same verb that signified catastrophic erasure now describes tender consolation, prefiguringRevelation 7:17; 21:4. The messianic promise stands: sin and sorrow can be erased without erasing the sinner who trusts in God’s redemption.
Historical Background
Ancient scribes wrote on papyrus, parchment, or wax tablets that could be moistened and rubbed clean. The imagery would have been vivid to original audiences: one stroke of a damp sponge and a name disappeared. In legal contexts, struck lines annulled debts; in ritual contexts, washing removed uncleanness. Māḥâ therefore bridges everyday experience and theological truth.
Ministry Application
• Proclamation – The gospel announces that through the blood of Christ every repentant sinner’s record can be wiped clean, fulfillingIsaiah 43:25.
• Assurance – Believers find confidence that forgiven sin is not merely covered but obliterated. The absence of condemnation (Romans 8:1) echoes the ancient act of blotting out.
• Warning – Persistent unbelief risks a different erasure, being “blotted out of the book of life.” Evangelism therefore carries eternal urgency.
• Pastoral care –Isaiah 25:8 invites counselors to hold forth the promise that God will wipe away every tear, validating pain yet directing eyes to future restoration.
• Corporate memory – Churches cultivate practices (baptism, the Lord’s Supper) that publicly recall forgiveness, preventing gospel truth from being “blotted out” of collective consciousness.
Māḥâ thus traces a doctrinal arc from judgment to mercy, from erased sinners to erased sin, and from temporal tears to eternal joy, demonstrating the unchanging character of God throughout the canon.
Forms and Transliterations
אֶמְחֶ֖נּוּ אֶמְחֶ֨ה אֶמְחֶה֙ אמחה אמחנו וְאֶמְחֶ֣ה וְנִמְח֖וּ וַיִּ֜מַח וַיִּמָּח֖וּ וּמָ֣חֲתָה וּמָחִ֗יתִי וּמָחִ֨יתִי וּמָחָ֖ה וּמָחָ֛ה וּמָחָ֤ה וּמָחָ֨ה ואמחה וימח וימחו ומחה ומחיתי ומחתה ונמחו יִ֭מָּחֽוּ יִמְחֶ֤ה יִמַּ֥ח יִמָּחֶ֥ה ימח ימחה ימחו לִמְחוֹת֙ לַֽמְח֥וֹת למחות מְחֵ֣ה מְחֵ֣נִי מְחֵֽה׃ מְמֻ֣חָיִ֔ם מָ֝חִ֗יתָ מָחִ֤יתִי מָחָ֔ה מָחֹ֤ה מֹחֶ֥ה מחה מחה׃ מחית מחיתי מחני ממחים תִּמְחֶה֙ תִּמָּֽח׃ תִּמָּחֶ֑ה תִמָּחֶֽה׃ תֶּ֑מְחִי תֶּ֣מַח תמח תמח׃ תמחה תמחה׃ תמחי ’em·ḥeh ’em·ḥen·nū ’emḥeh ’emḥennū emCheh emChennu lam·ḥō·wṯ lamChot lamḥōwṯ lim·ḥō·wṯ limchOt limḥōwṯ mā·ḥāh mā·ḥî·ṯā mā·ḥî·ṯî mā·ḥōh maChah maChita maChiti maChoh māḥāh māḥîṯā māḥîṯî māḥōh mə·ḥê·nî mə·ḥêh mə·mu·ḥā·yim meCheh meCheni məḥêh məḥênî meMuchaYim məmuḥāyim mō·ḥeh moCheh mōḥeh te·maḥ tem·ḥî Temach temaḥ Temchi temḥî tim·ḥeh tim·mā·ḥeh ṯim·mā·ḥeh tim·māḥ timCheh timḥeh timMach timmaCheh timmāḥ timmāḥeh ṯimmāḥeh ū·mā·ḥă·ṯāh ū·mā·ḥāh ū·mā·ḥî·ṯî umaChah uMachatah umaChiti ūmāḥāh ūmāḥăṯāh ūmāḥîṯî vaiYimach vaiyimmaChu veemCheh venimChu way·yi·maḥ way·yim·mā·ḥū wayyimaḥ wayyimmāḥū wə’emḥeh wə·’em·ḥeh wə·nim·ḥū wənimḥū yim·ḥeh yim·mā·ḥeh yim·mā·ḥū yim·maḥ yimCheh yimḥeh yimMach yimmaCheh Yimmachu yimmaḥ yimmāḥeh yimmāḥū
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