4273. machats
Lexical Summary
machats: To smite, wound, pierce, shatter

Original Word: מַחַץ
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: machats
Pronunciation: mah-khats'
Phonetic Spelling: (makh'-ats)
KJV: stroke
NASB: bruise
Word Origin: [from H4272 (מָחַץ - shatter)]

1. a contusion

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
stroke

From machats; a contusion -- stroke.

see HEBREW machats

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from machats
Definition
a severe wound
NASB Translation
bruise (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
מַ֫חַץ noun [masculine] severe wound; — only construct מַחַץ מַכָּתוֺ יִרְמָּא Isaiah 30:26 of ׳יs restoration of his people ("" חָבַשׁ שֶׁבֶר עַמּוֺ).

מַחְצֵב see חצב. מֶחֱצָה, מַחֲצִית see חצה.

Topical Lexicon
Occurrence in Scripture

מַחַץ appears once in the Hebrew Bible, Isaiah 30:26. In context the prophet declares, “The light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, like the light of seven days, on the day the Lord binds up the brokenness of His people and heals the wounds He inflicted” (Berean Standard Bible). Here מַחַץ depicts a grievous, open wound that Yahweh Himself has struck yet also promises to mend.

Prophetic Context in Isaiah 30

Isaiah 30 confronts Judah’s self-reliance and political alliances with Egypt. Divine chastening would fall because the nation trusted human power rather than the covenant Lord (Isaiah 30:1-5). Nevertheless, the oracle moves from threat to hope. The promised “healing of the wounds” signals eschatological restoration when light is intensified and creation itself reflects renewed favor. מַחַץ, therefore, stands at the hinge between judgment for covenant infidelity and the lavish mercy that follows repentance.

Theological Significance of Divine Wounding and Healing

1. Divine Discipline: Scripture frequently presents God as both the One who smites and the One who heals (Deuteronomy 32:39; Hosea 6:1). מַחַץ crystallizes this dual role—reminding believers that discipline arises from covenant love, not caprice (Hebrews 12:5-11).
2. Restoration After Repentance: The wound is not terminal but remedial. Like the potter breaking a marred vessel to remake it, Yahweh’s strike prepares His people for renewal (Jeremiah 18:1-6).
3. Foreshadowing Messianic Healing: Isaiah later announces that the Servant will be “pierced for our transgressions” and “by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). The singular מַחַץ anticipates the redemptive suffering borne ultimately by Christ, whose wounds secure eternal restoration (1 Peter 2:24).

Historical and Cultural Background

In the Ancient Near East, wounds sustained in battle often left warriors permanently scarred. Healing required skilled physicians and time, symbolizing costly recovery. Isaiah’s audience understood מַחַץ as a life-threatening blow, underscoring how severe divine discipline could be. Yet the language of binding up and healing surpassed human medical capability, emphasizing Yahweh’s unique, saving power.

Ministry Implications

• Preaching: Use Isaiah 30:26 to affirm that the same God who confronts sin also provides complete healing through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Pastoral Care: Comfort repentant believers with the assurance that no wound inflicted by divine discipline lies beyond God’s restorative grace.
• Discipleship: Teach that sanctification sometimes involves painful exposure of sin; genuine healing comes through submission to God’s corrective hand.

Practical Application for Believers

1. Recognize divine wounds as invitations to return to covenant faithfulness.
2. Await the full brightness of future restoration, confident that present chastening is temporary and purposeful.
3. Proclaim the gospel as the ultimate healing for humanity’s deepest מַחַץ, the wound of sin.

Forms and Transliterations
וּמַ֥חַץ ומחץ ū·ma·ḥaṣ uMachatz ūmaḥaṣ
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Isaiah 30:26
HEB: שֶׁ֣בֶר עַמּ֔וֹ וּמַ֥חַץ מַכָּת֖וֹ יִרְפָּֽא׃
NAS: and heals the bruise He has inflicted.
KJV: and healeth the stroke of their wound.
INT: the fracture of his people the bruise has inflicted and heals

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 4273
1 Occurrence


ū·ma·ḥaṣ — 1 Occ.

4272
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