4476. mimshaq

Lexical Summary

mimshaq: Possession, domain, or territory

Original Word: מִמְשָׁק
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: mimshaq
Pronunciation: mim-shak
Phonetic Spelling: (mim-shawk')
KJV: breeding
NASB: place possessed
Word Origin: [from the same as H4943 (מֶשֶׁק - Possession)]

1. a possession

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

breeding

From the same as mesheq; a possession -- breeding.

see HEBREW mesheq

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from the same as mesheq
Definition
perhaps possession
NASB Translation
place possessed (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

[מִמְשָׁק] noun [masculine] possession (? so RV), perhaps better place of possession, place possessed by; only construct מִמְשַׁק חָרוּל Zephaniah 2:9 a place possessed by chickpeas (> AV breeding of nettles), ᵐ5 Δαηασκος. Word very dubious (We GASm); text probably corrupt; Schw^{ZAW x. 1890, 188} conjecture meaning place of growth; Gr (so Now) proposes קִמּוֺשׂ, or קִמְּשׂנִים.

מַשָּׁק see שׁקק. מַשְׁקֶה see שׁקה.

מִשְׁקוֺל, מִשְׁקָל, מִשְׁקֶ֫לֶת, מִשְׁקֹ֫לֶת see שׁקל.

מַשְׁקוֺף see שׁקף. [מִשְׁקָע] see שׁקע.

מִשְׁרָה see שׁרה.

מֵשָׁרִים see מֵישָׁרִים below ישׁר.

Topical Lexicon

Canonical Occurrence

Zephaniah 2:9—“Moab will become like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah— a place of weeds [Hebrew mimshaq] and salt pits, a perpetual wasteland. The remnant of My people will plunder them; the remainder of My nation will dispossess them.”

Setting in Zephaniah’s Oracle

1. Audience: Moab and Ammon, relatives of Israel through Lot, yet persistent enemies of God’s people.
2. Sin: Proud taunting of Judah (Zephaniah 2:8) joined to idolatry.
3. Verdict: Their cultivated land—once “the choice land beyond the Arnon” (Numbers 32:1-5)—is to be exchanged for “mimshaq ḥoḥim,” a ground so abandoned that only stinging nettles thrive.
4. Result: A complete reversal of fortunes pictured through agricultural ruin—destruction as thorough as Sodom and Gomorrah and as final as salt pits swallowing arable soil.

Agricultural Overtones

• Nettles mark land that has lain untended for years; in biblical thought they symbolize neglect and the curse (cf. Proverbs 24:30-31; Isaiah 34:13).
• By choosing an exceptionally rare term, the Spirit underscores how total the devastation will be: even the slightest memory of fruitful fields will be erased.
• Salt pits prevent future cultivation—a fitting emblem of the permanency of God’s sentence.

Historical Echoes

Archaeological surveys of the lower Jordan Valley and Aravah reveal abandoned terraces and salt-laden flats; Zephaniah’s image would have struck his hearers as a dread picture of sterile desolation where once flocks grazed and crops flourished (Isaiah 16:1-4; Jeremiah 48).

Theological Significance

1. Covenant Justice: Mimshaq functions as visual proof that the curses of the Mosaic covenant (Deuteronomy 29:22-23) extend beyond Israel to all nations that exalt themselves against the LORD.
2. Cosmic Reversal: Productive land reverting to wilderness displays the Creator’s sovereignty to de-create when righteousness is despised.
3. Remnant Hope: “The remnant of My people will plunder them.” The devastation of the proud provides inheritance for the humble (Psalm 37:11), foreshadowing the eschatological renewal when the meek possess the earth (Matthew 5:5).

Intertextual Connections

• Genesis 13:10-13—Lot’s choice of well-watered land ends in a landscape likened to Zephaniah’s judgment.
• Isaiah 34:9-10—Edom’s torrents turned to pitch parallel Moab’s ground turned to nettles.
• Ezekiel 47:11—Salt marshes held in reserve display God’s right to segregate regions for judgment or blessing.
• Hebrews 6:7-8—Land that yields thorns is “worthless and near to being cursed,” reinforcing the warning embedded in mimshaq.

Ministry Applications

• Pride and scorn of God’s people invite tangible, visible judgment; modern believers must guard against these sins lest productive lives deteriorate into spiritual nettle patches.
• The single use of mimshaq reminds preachers of the precision of Scripture: even an obscure term carries doctrinal weight and pastoral urgency.
• Community repentance prevents “land-cursing” consequences (2 Chronicles 7:14) and invites restoration (Isaiah 35:1-2).

Practical Exhortation

Examine the “fields” of home, congregation, and nation. Where nettles of indifference, worldliness, or ridicule of truth have begun to grow, weed them out by humble confession and diligent obedience, trusting the Lord who is able both to lay waste and to restore (Joel 2:25).

Forms and Transliterations

מִמְשַׁ֥ק ממשק mim·šaq mimšaq miShak

Englishman's Concordance

Zephaniah 2:9
HEB: עַמּוֹן֙ כַּֽעֲמֹרָ֔ה מִמְשַׁ֥ק חָר֛וּל וּמִכְרֵה־
NAS: like Gomorrah-- A place possessed by nettles
KJV: as Gomorrah, [even] the breeding of nettles,
INT: of Ammon Gomorrah the breeding nettles cistern

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 4476
1 Occurrence

mim·šaq — 1 Occ.