H4022 H4022
Choice things, precious bounty; the finest produce of heaven and earth, used of nature's gifts in blessing and love poetry.
A masculine noun meaning 'choice things' or 'precious bounty,' confined to two remarkable poetic contexts: Moses' blessing of Joseph (Deut 33:13–16) and the garden imagery of the Song of Songs (4:13, 16; 7:14). In Deuteronomy, meged appears five times in rapid succession to enumerate the choicest gifts of heaven, sun, moon, ancient hills, and earth's fullness — a cascade of abundance poured out on Joseph's portion. In the Song of Songs, it describes the 'choice fruits' of the beloved's garden. The Arabic cognate majd means 'glory, nobility,' underscoring the word's sense of supreme excellence.
Senses
1. choice things, bounty, precious produce — The finest, most excellent produce of the natural world, understood as divine gift. In Moses' blessing (Deut 33:13–16), the word appears in five successive construct phrases: 'the bounty of heaven' (dew), 'the bounty of the sun's yield,' 'the bounty of the moon's produce,' 'the bounty of the ancient hills,' and 'the bounty of the earth and its fullness' — each naming a dimension of agricultural abundance bestowed on Joseph's tribal territory. In the Song of Songs, the plural megadim describes 'choice fruits' in the beloved's garden (4:13, 16) and fruits 'new and old' laid up for the lover (7:14). Spanish excelencia and French délices capture the overtone of supreme desirability, while the Arabic cognate majd ('glory, nobility') reveals the word's deep semantic range extending from material bounty to abstract excellence. 8×
AR["الثِّمَارِ", "مِجَدَيو", "مِجَدِيم", "مِنْ-نَفَائِسِ", "وَمِنْ-نَفَائِسِ"]·ben["-মূল্যবানের", "এবং-থেকে-সেরা", "তাঁর-মূল্যবানের।", "থেকে-সেরা", "মূল্যবান"]·DE["[מגדיו]", "[מגדים]", "und-von-bounty-von", "von-bounty-von"]·EN["and-from-bounty-of", "choice-fruits", "choice-things", "from-bounty-of", "its-choice-things"]·FR["de-bounty-de", "de-ses-délices!", "et-de-bounty-de", "exquis,", "les-fruits-exquis,"]·heb["ו-מ-מגד", "מ-מגד", "מגדיו", "מגדים"]·HI["अपने-उत्तमों-के", "उत्तम-फल", "उत्तमों-के", "और-में-उत्तम-से", "में-उत्तम-से"]·ID["buah-buah-pilihan", "dan-dari-yang-terbaik", "dari-yang-terbaik", "pilihan", "pilihannya"]·IT["choice-fruits", "choice-things", "da-bounty-di", "e-da-bounty-di", "its-choice-things-suo"]·jav["Lan-saking-pilihan", "kang-éca", "kang-éca-piyambakipun", "lan-saking-pilihan", "saking-pilihan", "woh-kang-éca"]·KO["귀한-것들-의", "귀한-것들-이라", "그-귀한-것들-의", "그리고-에서-좋은-것(접)", "에서-좋은-것(접)"]·PT["E-do-melhor-de", "delícias", "do-melhor-de", "e-do-melhor-de", "preciosos", "suas-delícias"]·RU["и-от-драгоценностей", "от-драгоценностей", "отборные-его.", "отборными", "плоды-отборные"]·ES["de-lo-excelente-de", "excelencia", "fruta-exquisita", "sus-excelencias", "y-de-lo-excelente-de"]·SW["Na-kwa-zawadi-nzuri-ya", "kwa-zawadi-nzuri-ya", "mazuri", "na-kwa-zawadi-nzuri-ya", "ya-matunda-mazuri"]·TR["Ve-en-iyisinden", "en-iyisinden", "nadide", "ve-en-iyisinden"]·urd["اور-نفیس-چیزوں-سے", "اپنے-نفیس-کا", "نفیس", "نفیس-پھل", "نفیس-چیزوں-سے"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† מֶ֫גֶד n.m. excellence (NH id., choice fruit; Syriac ܡܰܓܕܳܐ fruit; Arabic مَجْدٌ glory, honour, nobility);—מ׳ cstr. Dt 33:13 + 4 times Dt 33; pl. מְגָדִים Ct 4:13; 7:14; sf. מְגָדָיו Ct 4:16—excellence: excellent or choice things; always of gifts of nature: מ׳ שָׁמַיִם Dt 33:13 i.e. (natural) gifts of heaven; מ׳ תְּבוּאֹת שֶׁמֶשׁ v 14; מ׳ גֶּרֶשׁ יְרָחִים v 14; מ׳ גִּבְעוֹת עוֹלָם v 15 (‖ רֹאשׁ…