5979. emdah
Lexical Summary
emdah: Stand, position, place

Original Word: עֶמְדָּה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: `emdah
Pronunciation: em-dah'
Phonetic Spelling: (em-daw')
KJV: standing
NASB: support
Word Origin: [from H5975 (עָמַד - stand)]

1. a station, i.e. domicile

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
standing

From amad; a station, i.e. Domicile -- standing.

see HEBREW amad

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from amad
Definition
standing ground
NASB Translation
support (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
[עֶמְדָּה] noun feminine standing-ground; — suffix יִקַּח מִכֶּם עֶמְדָּתוֺ Micah 1:11; text dubious see Now.

Topical Lexicon
Overview

The term עֶמְדָּה (Strong’s 5979) conveys the idea of a fixed place to stand, a base or support upon which something rests securely. It appears once in the Old Testament, functioning poetically in Micah 1:11 to picture the removal of a community’s security under divine judgment.

Biblical Context

Micah 1 announces God’s imminent judgment on both Samaria and Judah. In a series of pun-laden oracles (Micah 1:10-16), the prophet calls out towns whose very names become sober wordplays. When he turns to Beth Ezel, he declares:

“Pass on your way, O inhabitant of Shaphir, in nakedness and shame; the inhabitant of Zaanan does not come out. The lamentation of Beth-ezel will take from you its support.” (Micah 1:11)

The phrase “its support” translates עֶמְדָּה, symbolizing a foundational footing that is being withdrawn.

Historical Setting

Beth Ezel (“house beside”) was apparently a small Judean settlement near the Philistine border. In the eighth century B.C., Assyria’s advance threatened such frontier towns first. Their fall would remove the “standing ground” for the rest of Judah, exposing Jerusalem to further assault. Micah’s imagery evokes refugees watching their buffer zone collapse—one town after another losing the very footing that once shielded them.

Imagery of Standing and Support

1. Security removed: The idea of a base being pulled away captures the helplessness of people stripped of every earthly prop.
2. Divine agency: The support is not lost accidentally; the Lord Himself revokes it because of covenant unfaithfulness (Micah 1:5-7).
3. Moral footing: The same root elsewhere describes righteous firmness (for example, Psalm 1:1; Joshua 7:12, “cannot stand”). Micah reverses the picture: sin causes what should stand to collapse.

Theological Significance

• Covenant accountability: Judah’s “standing” depended on obedience (Leviticus 26:3-8). By highlighting its removal, Micah underscores the moral basis of national security.
• Prophetic consistency: Later prophets reiterate that only the righteous will “stand in the judgment” (Psalm 1:5; Nahum 1:6). Micah foreshadows this theme through the loss of עֶמְדָּה.
• Hope beyond collapse: Micah will later promise a remnant with renewed footing in Zion (Micah 4:1-2). The present loss of support is disciplinary, not terminal.

New Testament Echoes

Though עֶמְדָּה itself does not recur, its core idea reappears:
• “Stand firm” amid adversity (1 Corinthians 16:13; Ephesians 6:13-14).
• Christ as the unshakable foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11).
• The wise builder whose house remains standing because it is founded on obedience to Christ’s words (Matthew 7:24-25).

Applications for Ministry

1. Personal holiness safeguards stability. Churches and believers who compromise truth should heed Micah’s warning: God can withdraw platforms that once seemed secure.
2. Intercessory urgency. As Beth Ezel’s fall imperiled surrounding towns, compromise in one part of the body can destabilize others (1 Corinthians 12:26).
3. Gospel hope. Even when earthly supports vanish, believers possess an enduring foundation in Christ (Hebrews 12:28).

Related Biblical Themes

• Standing in judgment: Psalm 1:5; Malachi 3:2
• God as a refuge and support: Psalm 18:2; Isaiah 26:3-4
• Consequences of covenant infidelity: Deuteronomy 28:52; Lamentations 2:1

A single, vivid occurrence of עֶמְדָּה thus becomes a doorway into the broader biblical motif of standing—or falling—before the Lord.

Forms and Transliterations
עֶמְדָּתֽוֹ׃ עמדתו׃ ‘em·dā·ṯōw ‘emdāṯōw emdaTo
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Englishman's Concordance
Micah 1:11
HEB: יִקַּ֥ח מִכֶּ֖ם עֶמְדָּתֽוֹ׃
NAS: He will take from you its support.
KJV: he shall receive of you his standing.
INT: will take at support

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 5979
1 Occurrence


‘em·dā·ṯōw — 1 Occ.

5978
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