Lexical Summary
maccekah: Molten image, cast image, idol
Original Word:מַסֵּכָה
Part of Speech:Noun Feminine
Transliteration:maccekah
Pronunciation:mas-seh-kaw'
Phonetic Spelling:(mas-say-kaw')
KJV: covering, molten (image), vail
Word Origin:[fromH5258 (נָסַך - To pour out)]
1. (properly) a pouring over, i.e. fusion of metal (especially a cast image)
2. (by implication) a libation, i.e. league
3. (concretely) a coverlet (as if poured out)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
covering, molten image, vail
Fromnacak; properly, a pouring over, i.e. Fusion of metal (especially a cast image); by implication, a libation, i.e. League; concretely a coverlet (as if poured out) -- covering, molten (image), vail.
see HEBREWnacak
Brown-Driver-Briggs
I.
;
; —Exodus 32:4 +; constructIsaiah 30:22; plural1 Kings 14:9 +; suffixNumbers 33:52; —
libation, with covenant sacrifice in making covenantIsaiah 30:1 (=
; see, however, below II. []).
molten metal, orimage:molten calfExodus 32:4,8;Deuteronomy 9:16;Nehemiah 9:18, comparePsalm 106:19;molten godsExodus 34:17;Leviticus 19:4;Numbers 33:52;Deuteronomy 27:15;Judges 17:3,4;Judges 18:14;Nahum 1:14; 2Chronicles 34:3,4, elsewhere (variously)Deuteronomy 9:12;Judges 18:17,18;1 Kings 14:9;2 Kings 17:16; 2Chronicles 28:2;Isaiah 30:22;Isaiah 42:17;Hosea 13:2;Habakkuk 2:18.
II. , especially as covering; — absoluteIsaiah 25:7the web that is woven over all the nations (i.e.mourning-veil, symbol of distress; "" ); = bed-coveringIsaiah 28:20 (in figurative). Perhaps alsoIsaiah 30:1weave a web ("" ), reference to negotiations with Egypt (so Aq Ew De Che Di; > Ges Hi Kn Brd Dupour a libation; not elsewhere = ).
Topical Lexicon
Overviewמַסֵּכָה designates an object or substance produced by pouring. In Scripture it most often refers to a cast-metal idol, but in a few passages it describes a covering or a libation. Taken together, the word traces a persistent conflict between the saving revelation of the LORD and the man-made substitutes that threaten covenant faithfulness.
Survey of Old Testament Usage
1. Molten idols:Exodus 32:4, 32:8; 34:17;Leviticus 19:4;Numbers 33:52;Deuteronomy 9:12, 9:16; 27:15;Judges 17:3-6; 18:14-31;2 Kings 17:16;2 Chronicles 34:3-7 (in the Chronicler’s summary);Psalm 106:19;Isaiah 30:22; 40:19; 41:29; 42:17; 44:10; 45:20;Jeremiah 10:14; 51:17;Hosea 13:2;Habakkuk 2:18.
2. Covering/veil:Isaiah 25:7; 28:20; 30:1.
3. Libation: implied inNumbers 28:7 (context of a drink offering poured out) and related cultic regulations.
Roughly twenty-eight instances appear in the Hebrew canon.
Molten Images and Israel’s Worship
From Sinai forward the molten image represents corporate rebellion. When Aaron “made it into a molten calf” (Exodus 32:4) the nation exchanged the invisible Redeemer for a visible fraud. Moses shattered the tablets, burned the calf, and ground it to powder, underscoring that idolatry destroys fellowship with God and corrupts priestly ministry.
The statutes that follow are uncompromising: “You shall make no molten gods for yourselves” (Exodus 34:17), a command repeated inLeviticus 19:4 and later codified inDeuteronomy 27:15 with a covenant curse. These laws protect both the transcendence of God and the purity of His people.
Micah’s Household Shrine (Judges 17–18)
The Ephraimite Micah collects two hundred shekels of silver, fashions a מַסֵּכָה, hires a Levite, and invents a rival liturgy. The Danites later seize the image and transplant this syncretism to Laish. The narrative exposes how quickly private compromise breeds tribal apostasy when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6).
Idolatry under the Monarchies
Northern Israel institutionalized the sin of the calf at Bethel and Dan (2 Kings 17:16). Prophets like Hosea and Isaiah denounced the practice: “Now they continue to sin and make for themselves molten images of silver” (Hosea 13:2). Jeremiah mocks the craftsmen: “Every goldsmith is put to shame by his molten image, for his idols are false” (Jeremiah 10:14).
Josiah’s reform illustrates the proper response. He “smashed the altars and the molten images into powder” (2 Chronicles 34:7), demonstrating that genuine revival demands the physical destruction of idolatrous artifacts.
Prophetic Promises of Cleansing
Isaiah anticipates a day when the faithful “will cast them away like a menstrual cloth and say, ‘Away with you!’” (Isaiah 30:22). Zechariah echoes the theme, foretelling a land cleansed of idols (Zechariah 13:2). The ultimate fulfillment arrives in the Messiah’s reign when the nations abandon their forged deities.
Metaphorical Extensions: Veil and Covering
Isaiah widens the term’s reach: “On this mountain He will swallow up the veil that enfolds all peoples” (Isaiah 25:7). Here מַסֵּכָה pictures the spiritual pall that blinds the nations. InIsaiah 30:1 the rebellious weave a “covering” but not of the Spirit, preferring self-made security to divine guidance. These metaphors sharpen the contrast between man-devised coverings and God’s redemptive plan.
Cultic Libations
Because the root idea is “poured out,” מַסֵּכָה also relates to offerings of wine (Numbers 28:7 and parallels). The drink offering was emptied “in the sanctuary to the LORD,” dramatizing total surrender. Counterfeit libations—like the idolatrous “drink offerings” condemned inIsaiah 57:6—pervert this legitimate act of worship.
Theological and Ministry Implications
• God alone defines acceptable worship; human creativity apart from revelation breeds idolatry.
• Idols are not merely false objects but rival lords competing for trust and obedience.
• Genuine reform is tangible: sacred objects that usurp God’s glory must be destroyed, not merely neglected.
• Spiritual coverings of human origin cannot shield from judgment; only the atoning work foreshadowed in the sacrificial system—and fulfilled in Christ—removes the veil.
• The New Testament echoes the theme: “Flee from idolatry” (1 Corinthians 10:14); “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21).
Contemporary Application
Modern believers seldom bow to cast metal, yet any poured-out energy, wealth, or affection directed toward a substitute for God becomes a functional מַסֵּכָה. Faithful ministry calls the church to expose such rivals, proclaim the unchanging holiness of God, and invite all peoples to behold the unveiled glory of the Lord in the face of Jesus Christ.
Forms and Transliterations
הַמַּסֵּכָ֑ה המסכה וְהַמַּסֵּכָ֥ה וְהַמַּסֵּכֽוֹת׃ וְהַמַּסֵּכוֹת֙ וּמַסֵּכָ֑ה וּמַסֵּכָ֔ה וּמַסֵּכָ֛ה וּמַסֵּכָ֜ה וּמַסֵּכוֹת֙ והמסכה והמסכות והמסכות׃ ומסכה ומסכות לְמַסֵּכָ֖ה לְמַסֵּכָֽה׃ למסכה למסכה׃ מַסֵּֽכֹתָם֙ מַסֵּכ֛וֹת מַסֵּכַ֣ת מַסֵּכָ֑ה מַסֵּכָ֔ה מַסֵּכָ֖ה מַסֵּכָ֨ה מַסֵּכָֽה׃ מסכה מסכה׃ מסכות מסכת מסכתם ham·mas·sê·ḵāh hammasseChah hammassêḵāh lə·mas·sê·ḵāh lemasseChah ləmassêḵāh mas·sê·ḵāh mas·sê·ḵaṯ mas·sê·ḵō·ṯām mas·sê·ḵō·wṯ masseChah masseChat masseChot massechoTam massêḵāh massêḵaṯ massêḵōṯām massêḵōwṯ ū·mas·sê·ḵāh ū·mas·sê·ḵō·wṯ umasseChah umassechOt ūmassêḵāh ūmassêḵōwṯ vehammasseChah vehammasseChot wə·ham·mas·sê·ḵāh wə·ham·mas·sê·ḵō·wṯ wəhammassêḵāh wəhammassêḵōwṯ
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