Lexical Summary tit: Mud, Mire, Clay Original Word: טִיט Strong's Exhaustive Concordance clay, dirt, mire From an unused root meaning apparently to be sticky (rath. Perb. A demon. From tuw', through the idea of dirt to be swept away); mud or clay; figuratively, calamity -- clay, dirt, mire. see HEBREW tuw' NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originof uncertain derivation Definition mud, mire, clay NASB Translation clay (2), mire (7), mud (3). Brown-Driver-Briggs טִיט noun masculine mud, mire, clay (Late Hebrew id.; Assyrian ‰î‰u, id., Flood Tablet iii, 10. 25) — absolute טִיט Job 41:22 6t.; construct id. Micah 7:10 5t.; — 1 mud, mire of streets (always in simile of contempt, ignominious treatment) חוּצוֺת ׳ט Micah 7:10; Psalm 18:43 = 2 Samuel 22:43; Zechariah 9:3; Zechariah 10:5; of Jeremiah's dungeon Jeremiah 38:6 (twice in verse); of mire in which crocodile lies Job 41:22; cast up by sea Isaiah 57:20 ("" רֶפֶשׁ); of a bog (figurative of distress) Psalm 69:15 and הַיָּוֵן ׳ט Psalm 40:30. 2 poetic of potter's clay ("" חֹמֶר) Isaiah 41:25, brick-clay ("" id.) Nahum 3:14. טוֺטָפֹת, טֹטָפֹת see טטף. Topical Lexicon Substance and Settingטִיט appears across Israel’s Scriptures as wet clay or mire, the thick mud formed where earth and water mingle. In the ancient Near East it served practical uses—brick-making (Nahum 3:14), smearing walls, sealing cisterns—yet it was also the unavoidable sludge of unpaved streets after rain. Because it soils, resists footing, and slows movement, the word carries negative overtones whenever it is found outside those utilitarian settings. Symbol of Moral Plight and Personal Deliverance David’s testimony makes טִיט a vivid emblem of the sinner’s helpless estate and the Lord’s rescuing grace. “He lifted me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm.” (Psalm 40:2) The pit is deep, the mire clings, but covenant love reaches in. The same plea recurs in Psalm 69:14, where sinking in mud parallels drowning in hostile waters. These psalms offer a theology of salvation that prefigures the Gospel: deliverance is by God’s initiative, is total, and results in a new, stable standing. Agent of Divine Judgment on Nations When judgment falls, enemies are reduced to trampled mud. “I ground them as the dust of the earth; I crushed and trampled them like mud in the streets.” (2 Samuel 22:43; cf. Psalm 18:42) Micah 7:10 pictures the proud adversary “trampled like mud in the streets,” a humiliation intensified in Zechariah 9:3 and 10:5, where once-formidable cities and cavalry are flattened under the feet of the Lord’s restored people. The image communicates finality: mire has no shape worth preserving; so with unrepentant power structures before the divine Warrior-King. Clay Under the Potter’s Foot Isaiah 41:25 extends the metaphor: the conqueror God raises up “will trample rulers as on mortar, as a potter treads the clay.” The potter’s clay is fully subject to the craftsman; likewise, kings and empires are malleable before Yahweh’s redemptive plan. The passage buttresses the prophetic theme of sovereignty over history and nations. Mire and Imprisonment Jeremiah’s descent into the cistern (Jeremiah 38:6, repeated for emphasis in the narrative) unites literal mud with prophetic suffering. His body sinks, but his message stands. The scene illustrates the cost of faithfulness, foreshadowing the greater Suffering Servant who would be cast into death’s pit yet vindicated. Creation’s Untamed Power Job 41:30 notes Leviathan “spreading out the mud like a threshing sledge.” Here טִיט amplifies the untamable strength of the creature; even the riverbeds churn beneath him. The Creator alone can master such chaos, reinforcing Job’s submission and awe. Practical Ministry Implications • Proclamation: Use Psalm 40 to call hearers from self-rescue to divine rescue, stressing God’s initiative. Christological Echoes The psalmist’s rescue from miry clay anticipates the Resurrection: the Son was drawn “from the pit,” established forever as the cornerstone. Believers united to Him share the same transition—from instability to sure footing. Eschatological Horizon Final judgment will again distinguish rock from mire. Those in Christ stand; those who resist are swept away as unformed clay beneath His feet. The recurring image invites sober reflection and confident hope rooted in the faithfulness of the covenant God. Forms and Transliterations בְּטִ֤יט בַּטִּֽיט׃ בַטִּ֛יט בטיט בטיט׃ וָטִֽיט׃ וטיט׃ טִ֔יט טִֽיט׃ טיט טיט׃ כְּטִ֖יט כְּטִ֥יט כְּטִיט־ כטיט כטיט־ מִ֭טִּיט מִטִּ֪יט מטיט baṭ·ṭîṭ ḇaṭ·ṭîṭ batTit baṭṭîṭ ḇaṭṭîṭ bə·ṭîṭ beTit bəṭîṭ kə·ṭîṭ kə·ṭîṭ- ketit kəṭîṭ kəṭîṭ- miṭ·ṭîṭ mitTit miṭṭîṭ Tit ṭîṭ vaTit vatTit wā·ṭîṭ wāṭîṭLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance 2 Samuel 22:43 HEB: כַּעֲפַר־ אָ֑רֶץ כְּטִיט־ חוּצ֥וֹת אֲדִקֵּ֖ם NAS: [and] stamped them as the mire of the streets. KJV: I did stamp them as the mire of the street, INT: as the dust of the earth as the mire of the streets crushed Job 41:30 Psalm 18:42 Psalm 40:2 Psalm 69:14 Isaiah 41:25 Isaiah 57:20 Jeremiah 38:6 Jeremiah 38:6 Micah 7:10 Nahum 3:14 Zechariah 9:3 Zechariah 10:5 13 Occurrences |
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