Language Studies

Hebrew Thoughts

môwshâbh - מושב (Strong's #4186)
Seat

מושב môwshâbh (Strong's #4186) comes from the commonly occuring (over a 1000 times) root ישב yâshabh (Strong's #3427) meaning to "dwell, remain, abide, sit". Prefixing an מ 'm-' to make a noun from a verb is common in Hebrew as evidenced by the 1030+ dictionary entries under the letter מ 'm', nearly 1/8 of the lexicon total. Essentially, the noun in meaning becomes "that on which one dwells, remains, abides, sits..." and hence a dwelling place for oneself or for one's posterior, i.e., "a seat".

We see the verb and noun combined in such verses as Leviticus 13:46 "...he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp", describing the practical measures employed in quarantining those with leprosy or plague.

The majority of its 44 occurrences are usually translated by terms such as "habitation" (x12, AV) or "dwelling" (x18), effectively meaning one's home or village.

In modern Hebrew, a moshav is a kibbutz-like cooperative settlement of people living and working together, though with more individual ownership and independence than a kibbutz (see further: http://nvnv.essortment.com/whatiskibbutz_rghm.htm, http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-6740.html).

As translations "seat" or "sitting" occur 9 times in the AV and 10 times in the NAS. Commenting on Psalm 1:1's "seat of the scorners" Barnes says that מושב môwshâbh "denotes a number of men seated together on the ground in Eastern fashion and conferring on matters of business or pleasure" (Barnes, Psalms, Westminster Commentaries, p.3). This picture of the typical discussions held, often at a city's gate, depicts a town's thinkers, wise men and elders, debating the issues of the day, or perhaps the weather! Ruth 4:1-2 portrays a similar scene, as does Job 29:7: "When I went out to the gate by the city, I took my seat (מושב môwshâbh ) in the street". Psalm 107:32 similarly refers to the "the assembly of the people, and ... seat (מושב môwshâbh ) of the elders" which some Bible translations render by "council", "assembly" or "company".

In Ezekiel "seat" could have more religious overtones. In 8:3 it is used of "the seat of the image of jealousy", of idols, previously erected that were provoking God to jealousy. In 28:2 we read of the prince of Tyre, a passage which goes on to talk of the king of Tyre and his conceited string of "I will's" and often taken as referring to Satan. The prince of Tyre says "I am a God, I sit in the seat of God", which some translations render contextually as a "throne". To take someone's seat was more than breaking dinner party etiquette, or rude opportunism on the tube or metro, it was to usurp.

In the New Testament we find surprisingly that Jesus said of the Pharisees, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do" (Matthew 23:2-3). Here the seat of Moses is the place of teaching, authority, scriptural interpretations and judgements. Moses' seat was a place of instruction and dispensation of justice. In Judaism people stood to pray but sat down to teach.

Other words and technical terms are used to describe the biblical mercy seat or judgement seat as the predominant usage of מושב môwshâbh is "the place where one dwells", or where one "sits" for company or discussion.

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