H4093 H4093
Knowledge, learning, understanding (intellectual attainment, often paired with wisdom); thought, mind (inner awareness).
The masculine noun madda is a late Hebrew word for 'knowledge' or 'learning,' appearing only six times and concentrated in contexts of exceptional intellectual endowment. Five occurrences cluster around Solomon's divinely granted wisdom (2 Chr 1:10-12) and Daniel's court education in Babylon (Dan 1:4, 17), where madda appears alongside chokmah ('wisdom') and da'at ('understanding') as overlapping but distinct terms for intellectual capacity. Spanish ciencia and conocimiento both appear in these passages, reflecting the word's range from theoretical 'science' to practical 'knowledge.' The sixth occurrence, in Ecclesiastes 10:20, shifts inward: 'even in your madda do not curse the king' — here meaning 'thought' or 'mind,' the private interior space of consciousness. Spanish pensamiento and English 'thoughts' confirm this as a genuinely internalized sense, distinct from the public, acquired knowledge of the Chronicles and Daniel passages.
1. knowledge, learning, science — Knowledge, learning, understanding, or science — acquired intellectual content and educated awareness, typically appearing in parallelism with chokmah (wisdom) and da'at (knowledge). Five occurrences span Solomon's request for 'wisdom and knowledge' to govern Israel (2 Chr 1:10, 11, 12) and the young Judean exiles in Babylon who showed aptitude 'in all learning and knowledge' (Dan 1:4) and to whom God gave 'knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom' (Dan 1:17). Spanish alternates between ciencia (science/learning) and conocimiento (knowledge), while French connaissance and intelligence both appear, reflecting the word's placement at the intersection of learning and discernment. 5×
AR["عِلْمًا","عِلْمٍ","وَ-الْمَعْرِفَةُ","وَ-مَعْرِفَةً"]·ben["আর-জ্ঞান","আর-সেই-জ্ঞান","জ্ঞান","বিজ্ঞান"]·DE["[והמדע]","[ומדע]","[מדע]"]·EN["and-knowledge","and-the-knowledge","knowledge","learning"]·FR["connaissance","et-intelligence"]·heb["ו-ה-מדע","ו-מדע","מדע"]·HI["और-ज्ञान","ज्ञान","विज्ञान"]·ID["dan-pengetahuan","ilmu"]·IT["[מדע]","e-intelligenza"]·jav["lan-pangertosan","ngelmu"]·KO["그리고-그-지식","그리고-지식","지식과","학문을"]·PT["ciência","e-conhecimento","e-o-conhecimento"]·RU["и-знание","науку","познание"]·ES["ciencia","conocimiento","y-conocimiento","y-el-conocimiento"]·SW["elimu","maarifa","na-maarifa"]·TR["bilgi","ilim","ve-bilgi"]·urd["اور-علم","دانش"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. thought, inner awareness, mind — Thought, mind, or inner awareness — the private space of consciousness where one forms opinions or intentions. Found only in Ecclesiastes 10:20: 'even in your thought (bemaddaakha) do not curse the king, for a bird of the heavens may carry the sound.' The shift from public, acquired knowledge to private mental consciousness is confirmed by Spanish pensamiento ('thought'), English 'thoughts,' and the contextual logic of the warning: what is at stake is not knowledge one possesses but thoughts one entertains in secret. BDB aptly glosses this as 'place of knowledge, mind,' recognizing the spatial metaphor underlying the internalization. 1×
AR["بِ-مَدَّعَكَ"]·ben["তোমার-মনে"]·DE["[במדעך]"]·EN["in-your-thoughts"]·FR["dans-ton-במדעך-toi"]·heb["ב-מדעך"]·HI["अपने-मन-में"]·ID["dalam-pikiranmu"]·IT["in-in-tuo-thoughts-tuo"]·jav["ing-pamikir-panjenengan"]·KO["생각-너의-에서"]·PT["em-pensamento-teu"]·RU["в-мыслях-твоих"]·ES["en-tu-pensamiento"]·SW["katika-mawazo-yako"]·TR["dusuncende"]·urd["اپنے-خیال-میں"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† מַדָּע n.m. 2 Ch 1:12 knowledge, thought (late); מַדָּע 2 Ch 1:10 + 4 times; מַדָּֽעֲךָ Ec 10:20;— 1. knowledge (‖ חָכְמָה) of Solomon, 2 Ch 1:10, 11, 12 Dn 1:4 (‖ חָכְמָה and דַּעַת), v 7 (‖ הַשְׂכֵּל). 2. place of knowledge, mind, (in our idiom also) thought Ec 10:20.