Lexical Summary
makkah or makkeh: Wound, blow, plague, slaughter
Original Word:מַכָּה
Part of Speech:Noun Feminine
Transliteration:makkah
Pronunciation:mahk-KAH
Phonetic Spelling:(mak-kaw')
KJV: beaten, blow, plague, slaughter, smote, X sore, stripe, stroke, wound((-ed))
NASB:slaughter, wounds, wound, plagues, plague, strokes, blow
Word Origin:[(plural only) fromH5221 (נָכָה - struck)]
1. a blow (in 2 Chronicles 2
2. (by implication) a wound
3. (figuratively) carnage, also pestilence
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
beaten, blow, plague, slaughter, smote, sore, stripe, stroke,
Or (masculine) makkeh {muk-keh'}; (plural only) fromnakah; a blow (in 2 Chronicles 2:10, of the flail); by implication, a wound; figuratively, carnage, also pestilence -- beaten, blow, plague, slaughter, smote, X sore, stripe, stroke, wound((-ed)).
see HEBREWnakah
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
nakahDefinitiona blow, wound, slaughter
NASB Translationblow (1), casualties (1), crushed (1), disasters (1), inflicted (1), injury (1), plague (3), plagues (4), slaughter (14), stripes (1), strokes (2), wound (8), wounded (1), wounds (9).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
; — absolute
1 Samuel 4:8 +; construct
Isaiah 10:26 +; suffix
Jeremiah 10:19;
Jeremiah 15:18, etc.; plural
2 Kings 8:29 =
2 Kings 9:15 2Chron 22:6; absolute
Zechariah 13:6 +, construct,' etc.; plural absolute
2 Kings 8:29 +; construct
Deuteronomy 29:21 +; suffix
Deuteronomy 28:59,
Jeremiah 30:17, etc.; —
blow, stripe, literally of scourging, chastisingDeuteronomy 25:3;Proverbs 20:30 ("" );Esther 9:5 (as accusative of congnate meaning with verb).
beating, scourging, figurative of defeat of MidianIsaiah 10:26 ("" ).
oftenwound1 Kings 22:35;2 Kings 8:29;2 Kings 9:15 2Chronicles 22:6 (read ),Zechariah 13:6 (); symbolic of violenceJeremiah 6:7 (+ );Isaiah 1:6 (of Judah, under figure of maltreated man), compareMicah 1:9 ),Nahum 3:19 ("" ; of Nineveh), especially in Jeremiah (of Judah):Jeremiah 10:19;Jeremiah 14:17;Jeremiah 30:12 (all +severe; "" ),Jeremiah 15:18 ( ),Jeremiah 19:8;Jeremiah 47:17;Jeremiah 50:13, as accusative of congnate meaning with verbJeremiah 30:14, with verbhealJeremiah 30:17; alsoIsaiah 30:26 ("" ); of wounds made by s arrowsPsalm 64:8.
=slaughter1 Samuel 4:10;1 Samuel 14:30, usually as accusative of congnate meaning with verb withJoshua 10:20;1 Samuel 6:19;1 Samuel 14:14;1 Samuel 19:8;1 Samuel 23:5;1 Kings 20:21; 2Chronicles 13:17.
=defeat, as accusative of congnate meaning with verb withJoshua 10:10;Joshua 11:33;Joshua 15:8; 2Chronicles 28:5; =conquest (of )Isaiah 14:6.
plague, especially disease, as punishment (of ),1 Samuel 4:8;Deuteronomy 28:59 (3 t. in verse) ("" ),Deuteronomy 28:61 (""id.),Deuteronomy 29:21 ("" ),Leviticus 26:21 (H), as accusative of congnate meaning with verbNumbers 11:33. — 2Chron 2:9 read (see ) as ""1 Kings 5:25, so Be Öttli and Th1Ki 5:25.
Topical Lexicon
Overviewמַכָּה (makka) is used roughly forty-eight times across the Old Testament to denote a blow, wound, stripe, stroke, defeat, or plague. Scripture applies the word both to human‐inflicted injuries and to acts of judgment or discipline that come directly from the hand of the LORD. The breadth of its usage supplies a vivid picture of the tragedy of sin, the certainty of divine justice, and the hope of healing and restoration.
Range of Meaning
1. Physical injury: the concrete result of violence, accident, or corporal punishment.
2. National calamity: pestilence, disease, or military disaster sent by God.
3. Moral and spiritual affliction: inner pain or brokenness pictured as an open sore.
4. Judicial sentence: an ordained number of lashes designed to correct without degrading.
Occurrences in the Torah
•Deuteronomy 25:3 prescribes limits on corporal punishment: “He may receive up to forty lashes, but no more; otherwise, if he is flogged with more than these, your brother will be degraded in your sight.” The single term “lashes” (makkah rabbah, “a great wound”) guards the dignity of the offender and restrains excessive force.
•Deuteronomy 28:59–61 warns of covenant curses: “Then the LORD will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues, severe and lasting plagues, and miserable and chronic sicknesses.” Here makka extends to prolonged national epidemics, underscoring that Israel’s fidelity is inseparable from her physical well-being.
•Deuteronomy 32:39 sets makka within the sovereign plan of God: “I wound and I heal,” declaring that no power rivals His authority either to smite or to restore.
Historical Books
•1 Kings 20:37-38 recounts a prophet ordering a companion, “Strike me,” so that a visible wound will reinforce the prophetic message. The self-inflicted makka becomes an enacted parable of the blow soon to fall upon disobedient King Ahab.
•2 Chronicles 21:18-19 records Jehoram’s terminal disease: “The LORD struck him in his intestines with an incurable disease… and he died in great agony.” Personal makka here represents covenant judgment on a king who led Judah into idolatry.
Poetic and Wisdom Literature
•Psalm 38:5 laments, “My wounds fester and ooze because of my sinful folly.” David’s physical makka mirrors the spiritual decay produced by unconfessed sin.
•Proverbs 20:30 observes, “Blows and wounds purge away evil, and beatings cleanse the innermost parts.” Corrective discipline, though painful, serves a purifying purpose.
Major Prophets
•Isaiah 1:6 diagnoses Judah’s moral condition: “From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness—only wounds, welts, and festering sores, not cleansed or bandaged.” National apostasy is portrayed as untreated makka crying out for the Great Physician.
•Jeremiah 30:17 holds out comfort: “For I will restore health to you, and I will heal your wounds, declares the LORD.” The same God who smites for correction pledges definitive healing to the repentant remnant.
Messianic Significance
AlthoughIsaiah 53:4 employs the related passive participle (“smitten of God”), the larger Servant Song resonates with the imagery of makka. The Messiah bears the full force of the fatal blow that justice demands, so that by His suffering God’s people are forever healed. Through the cross, the ultimate wound becomes the ultimate cure.
Theology of Judgment and Mercy
1. Justice: Makka demonstrates that sin is never trivial; it invites tangible repercussions.
2. Mercy: No wound is beyond divine healing; the LORD wounds in order to restore (Job 5:18).
3. Substitution: Prophetic anticipation finds fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who absorbs the decisive stroke on behalf of the guilty.
4. Discipline: Appropriate, measured blows can train the covenant community without descending into brutality, modeling God’s own fatherly dealings (Hebrews 12:5-11).
Pastoral and Ministry Implications
• Confronting sin: Leaders must name moral failure for what it is, a destructive wound that festers when ignored.
• Administering discipline: Correction should be firm yet bounded, reflecting Deuteronomy’s concern for dignity.
• Proclaiming healing: Every makka, whether bodily, emotional, or societal, directs believers to the Savior whose scars secure our wholeness.
• Caring for the afflicted: The Church mirrors her Lord by binding up wounds (Luke 10:34) and offering gospel balm to the broken.
Representative Verses
Deuteronomy 25:3;Deuteronomy 28:59-61;Deuteronomy 32:39;1 Kings 20:37-38;2 Chronicles 21:18-19;Psalm 38:5;Proverbs 20:30;Isaiah 1:6;Jeremiah 30:17.
Summary
מַכָּה gathers together the ideas of blow, disease, punishment, and plague, all flowing from or permitted by God’s righteous governance. Yet its account never ends with a wound unhealed. Whether manifest in Egypt’s plagues, Israel’s chastisements, or the lacerated back of the Savior, every makka ultimately serves the redemptive purpose of the One who both smites and saves.
Forms and Transliterations
הַכְּמַכַּ֥ת הַמַּכִּים֙ הַמַּכָּ֖ה הַמַּכָּ֣ה הַמַּכּ֛וֹת הכמכת המכה המכות המכים וּ֝מַכּ֗וֹת וּמִמַּכּוֹתַ֥יִךְ וּמַכָּ֣ה וּמַכָּֽה׃ וּמַכָּתִ֖י ומכה ומכה׃ ומכות ומכתי וממכותיך כְּמַכַּ֥ת כמכת מַכַּ֖ת מַכַּ֨ת מַכַּת־ מַכָּ֔ה מַכָּ֖ה מַכָּ֣ה מַכָּ֥ה מַכָּֽה־ מַכָּת֖וֹ מַכָּתִ֑י מַכָּתֵֽךְ׃ מַכָּתֶ֑ךָ מַכֹּ֣תְךָ֔ מַכֹּתֶֽהָ׃ מַכּ֜וֹת מַכּ֞וֹת מַכּ֣וֹת מַכּ֤וֹת מַכּוֹתֶ֑יהָ מַכּוֹתֶֽהָ׃ מַכּוֹתֶֽיהָ׃ מַכּוֹתָֽם׃ מכה מכה־ מכות מכותה׃ מכותיה מכותיה׃ מכותם׃ מכת מכת־ מכתה׃ מכתו מכתי מכתך מכתך׃ hak·kə·mak·kaṯ hakkemakKat hakkəmakkaṯ ham·mak·kāh ham·mak·kîm ham·mak·kō·wṯ hammakKah hammakkāh hammakKim hammakkîm hammakKot hammakkōwṯ kə·mak·kaṯ kemakKat kəmakkaṯ mak·kā·ṯe·ḵā mak·kā·ṯêḵ mak·kā·ṯî mak·kā·ṯōw mak·kāh mak·kāh- mak·kaṯ mak·kaṯ- mak·kō·ṯe·hā mak·kō·ṯə·ḵā mak·kō·w·ṯām mak·kō·w·ṯe·hā mak·kō·wṯ makKah makkāh makkāh- makkat makkaṯ makkaṯ- makkaTech makkaTecha makkāṯêḵ makkāṯeḵā makkaTi makkāṯî makkaTo makkāṯōw makKot makkoTam makKotecha makkoTeha makkōṯehā makkoTeiha makkōṯəḵā makkōwṯ makkōwṯām makkōwṯehā ū·mak·kā·ṯî ū·mak·kāh ū·mak·kō·wṯ ū·mim·mak·kō·w·ṯa·yiḵ umakKah ūmakkāh umakkaTi ūmakkāṯî umakKot ūmakkōwṯ umimakkoTayich ūmimmakkōwṯayiḵ
Links
Interlinear Greek •
Interlinear Hebrew •
Strong's Numbers •
Englishman's Greek Concordance •
Englishman's Hebrew Concordance •
Parallel Texts
