H4284 H4284
Thought, plan, scheme, device; inner cognitive activity ranging from quiet reflection to deliberate purpose, hostile plotting, and artistic design.
Machashavah holds together the entire arc of the thinking mind, from wordless reflection to calculated design. At one end, it describes the quiet inner life — what humans and God think in the privacy of their hearts — as when Genesis 6:5 observes that 'every inclination of the thoughts (machshevot) of the human heart was only evil continually.' At the other end, it becomes intensely practical: the skilled artisans of the tabernacle devise machashavot — 'inventive designs' — in gold, silver, and bronze (Exod 31:4; 35:32). Between these poles lie plans that may be benevolent (Psalm 33:11, 'the plans of the LORD stand firm forever') or malicious (Jeremiah 11:19, 'I did not know they had devised schemes against me'). German captures the spectrum neatly: Gedanken for quiet thoughts, Plaene for deliberate plans, and the shared root denk- underscoring that thinking and planning shade into each other. Spanish pensamientos and French dessein show a similar spread. The word's richness warns against reducing Hebrew cognition to a single register.
3. schemes, evil plots — Hostile schemes, evil plots, and cunning machinations devised against others — 9 occurrences where the neutral 'plan' darkens into malicious conspiracy. Jeremiah 11:19 discovers too late that his enemies had 'devised schemes' against him like leading a lamb to slaughter, and Lamentations 3:60 pairs machashavah directly with vengeance: 'you have seen all their schemes against me.' Esther 8:3 and 9:25 use the word for Haman's genocidal plot against the Jews, where the political stakes elevate the term beyond private ill will to state-level conspiracy. Spanish planes/pensamiento and French projet/dessein shift toward negative-intentionality vocabulary in these contexts. The difference from sense 2 is not merely contextual coloring but a genuine semantic clustering around adversarial, other-directed plotting. 9×
AR["تَدْبِيرَاتٍ","تَدْبِيرَهُ","تَدْبِيرُهُ","فِكْرًا","مَكَائِدِهِمْ","مُخَطَّطَاتٍ","مُخَطَّطَاتِهِ","مُفَكِّرَاتٍ"]·ben["চিন্তা","চিন্তাগুলি","তাদের-পরিকল্পনা","তার-পরিকল্পনাগুলি","তার-ষড়যন্ত্র","পরিকল্পনা"]·DE["Plaene","Plan"]·EN["his-plot","his-schemes","scheme","schemes","their-plots"]·FR["dessein","projet"]·heb["מחשבה-ו","מחשבות","מחשבותיו","מחשבותם","מחשבת"]·HI["उनकी-योजनाएं","उसकी-योजना","योजना","योजनाएँ","योजनाएँ-उसकी","योजनाएं"]·ID["rencana","rencana-rencana","rencana-rencana-mereka","rencana-rencananya","rencananya"]·IT["disegno","piano","progetto"]·jav["pamikiran","rancangan","rancangan-ipun","rancangan;","rancanganipun"]·KO["계획-","계획들을","그들-계획들-을","그의-계획들을","그의-계획을","그의-악한-계획이","음모들을"]·PT["plano","plano-seu","planos","planos:","seus-planos","tramas;"]·RU["замысел","замысел-его","замыслы","замыслы-их","замыслы-свои"]·ES["pensamiento","planes","planes-sus","su-maquinación","sus-pensamientos","tramas"]·SW["alipanga","mipango","mipango-yake","mipango-yao","mpango","mpango-wake"]·TR["düşüncelerini-onların","plan","planlar","planlarını","planı","planını"]·urd["اس-کی-سازش","اُن-کے-منصوبے","سازشیں","منصوبہ","منصوبے"]
▼ 3 more senses below
Senses
1. thoughts, mental reflections — Inner thoughts, mental reflections, and cognitive activity — the broadest sense at 24 occurrences, covering what humans and God think, ponder, or turn over in the mind. Genesis 6:5 pairs it with yetser ('inclination') to describe the total depravity of antediluvian thought, while Psalm 94:11 declares 'the LORD knows the thoughts of man — that they are vapor.' In 1 Chronicles 28:9 David tells Solomon that God 'searches every heart and understands every machashavah,' where the word clearly means the unspoken cognitive life rather than any external plan. Spanish pensamientos, French dessein, and German Gedanken all select reflective or cognitive vocabulary here, confirming a genuine 'thinking' sense distinct from purposive planning. 24×
AR["أفْكارُ","أَفْكَارَ","أَفْكَارَكُمْ","أَفْكَارَهُ","أَفْكَارُ","أَفْكَارُكُمْ","أَفْكَارُهُمْ","أَفْكَارِ","أَفْكَارِنَا","أَفْكَارِهِمْ","الْأَفْكَارِ","عَنْ-أَفْكَارِكُمْ","مَكائِدَ","وَ-أَفْكَارِي","وَأَفْكارَكَ","وَأَفْكَارُهُمْ"]·ben["-এবং-আমার-চিন্তাগুলি","-এবং-তাদের-চিন্তা","আমাদের-চিন্তাগুলির","ও-তোমার-পরিকল্পনা","চিন্তা","চিন্তাগুলি","চিন্তাগুলি-","চিন্তাগুলির","চিন্তাসমূহের","তাদের-চিন্তাগুলি","তাদের-চিন্তার","তার-চিন্তাগুলিকে","তোমাদের-চিন্তা","তোমাদের-চিন্তাগুলি","তোমাদের-চিন্তাগুলির-চেয়ে","পরিকল্পনাগুলি"]·DE["Plaene","Plan","der-Gedanken","der-Gedanken-von","und-Plan","und-dein-Gedanken"]·EN["and-Your-thoughts","and-my-thoughts","and-their-thoughts","are-the-thoughts-of","are-thoughts-of","his-thoughts","than-your-thoughts","the-thoughts-of","their-own-thoughts","their-thoughts","thoughts","thoughts-of","thoughts-our","your-thoughts"]·FR["de-dessein","dessein","et-de-dessein","et-dessein","pensée","projet","thoughts-de","votre-pensée-vous"]·heb["ו-מחשבותי","ו-מחשבותי-ך","ו-מחשבותיהם","מ-מחשבותיכם","מחשבה","מחשבות","מחשבותיהם","מחשבותיו","מחשבותיכם","מחשבותינו"]·HI["अपने-विचारोंको","उनके-विचार","और-मेरे-विचार","और-विचार-तेरे","और-विचारों-उनके","तुम्हारे-विचार","तुम्हारे-विचारों-से","योजनाएँ","योजनाओं-अपनी","विचार","विचारों","विचारों-अपने-के","सोच"]·ID["Pikiran-pikiran","dan-pikiran-pikiran-Ku","dan-pikiran-pikiran-mereka","dari-pikiran-pikiranmu","pikiran","pikiran-pikiran","pikiran-pikiran-mereka","pikiran-pikiranmu","pikiran-pikirannya","rencana-rencana","rencana-rencana-kami","rencana-rencana-kamu"]·IT["disegno","e-disegno","pensiero","pensiero-vostro","piano","progetto","thoughts-di"]·jav["Pikiran-ipun","kados-pikiranipun","lan-pikiran-Ku","lan-pikiran-ipun","lan-rancangan-Panjenengan","panggalih","panggalihan","pikiran","pikiran-","pikiran-ipun","pikiran-panjenengan","pikiran-pikiran","pikiranipun","rancangan-kawula","rancangan-saking","rancanganipun","saking-pikiranipun"]·KO["계획들을","그들의-생각들은","그들의-생각들을","그리고-그들의-생각을-알다","그리고-나의-생각들이","그리고-주-의-생각들-을","너희의-생각들에서-","너희의-생각들을","너희의-생각들이고","사상들-의","사상들의","생각-들-은","생각-들-을","생각들","생각들-을","생각들은","생각들이","생각들이니","우리의-생각들을","자기-생각들을"]·PT["Pensamentos-de","de-vossos-pensamentos","dos-pensamentos","e-meus-pensamentos","e-pensamentos-deles","e-teus-pensamentos","nossos-pensamentos","os-pensamentos-do","pensamentos","pensamentos-de","pensamentos-deles","planos-de","seus-pensamentos","vossos-pensamentos"]·RU["замыслы","и-замыслов-Твоих","и-мысли-Мои","и-помыслы-их","мыслей","мысли","мысли-","мысли-ваши","мысли-их","мысли-свои","над-мыслями-вашими","помыслами-их","помыслами-нашими"]·ES["pensamientos","pensamientos-de","pensamientos-nuestros","que-vuestros-pensamientos","sus-pensamientos","vuestros-pensamientos","y-mis-pensamientos","y-sus-pensamientos","y-tus-pensamientos"]·SW["kuliko-mawazo-yenu","mawazo","mawazo-ya","mawazo-yake","mawazo-yao","mawazo-yenu","mawazo-yetu","mipango-ya","na-mawazo-yako","na-mawazo-yangu","na-mawazo-yao","ni-mawazo","ya-mawazo"]·TR["dusunceleri","dusunceleri-","dusuncelerini","dusuncelerinin","dusunceleriniz","dusuncelerinizden","düşünceleri","düşüncelerimizin","düşüncelerin","düşüncelerini","düşüncelerinin","düşüncelerinizi","planlarını","ve-dusuncelerim","ve-düşüncelerini"]·urd["ارادے","اور-اُن-کے-خیالات","اور-تیرے-خیالات","اور-میرے-خیال","اُن-کے-خیال","اُن-کے-خیالات","اپنے-خیال","تمہارے-خیال","تمہارے-خیالوں-سے","خیال","خیالات","خیالات-تمہارے","خیالات-کے","خیالوں-اپنے","سوچوں","سوچوں-کا","منصوبوں"]
Gen 6:5, 1 Chr 28:9, 1 Chr 29:18, Job 5:12, Job 21:27, Ps 40:5, Ps 56:5, Ps 92:5, Ps 94:11, Prov 12:5, Prov 15:26, Isa 55:7 (+12 more)
2. plans, purposes, intentions — Deliberate plans, purposes, or intentions that one resolves to carry out — 17 occurrences where the emphasis shifts from interior reflection to forward-looking resolve. Psalm 33:10-11 contrasts the futile machshevot of the nations with the enduring machshevot of YHWH that 'stand firm through all generations,' and Proverbs 6:18 lists 'a heart that devises wicked plans' among the things the LORD hates. The shift from thought to plan is visible in the multilingual evidence: German uses Plaene ('plans') and Spanish los planes de rather than the reflective pensamientos of sense 1. In 2 Samuel 14:14, the wise woman of Tekoa says God 'devises plans (machashavot) so that the banished one may not remain an outcast' — a vivid example of divine purposive thinking. 17×
AR["أفْكارٌ","أفْكارٍ","أفْكارُكَ","أَفكاراً","أَفْكارُ","أَفْكَارَ","أَفْكَارُ","الْأَفْكَارَ","تَدْبِيرًا","تَدْبِيرُ","فِكْرَةً","مَقَاصِدُ","مَكَائِدَ","وَأَفْكَارَهُ","وَمَقَاصِدَهُ"]·ben["আর-তাঁর-চিন্তাগুলো","এবং-তাঁর-পরিকল্পনাগুলি","চিন্তা","চিন্তাগুলি","চিন্তাগুলি-সেই","চিন্তাগুলো","তোমার-পরিকল্পনাগুলি","পরিকল্পনা"]·DE["Plaene","Plan","plans","plans-von","und-Plan"]·EN["a-plan","and-his-plans","are-plans","plan","plan-of","plans","plans-of","the-plans","the-plans-of","your-thoughts"]·FR["de-dessein","dessein","et-dessein","pensée","plans","projet","ton-pensée-toi"]·heb["ה-מחשבות","ו-מחשבותיו","מחשבה","מחשבות","מחשבותיך"]·HI["और-उसकी-योजनाएं","योजना","योजनाएँ","योजनाएँ-तेरी","योजनाएं","योजनाओं"]·ID["Rencana-rencana","dan-rencana-rencana-Nya","pikiran","rancangan-rancangan","rencana","rencana-rencana","rencana-rencanamu"]·IT["disegno","e-disegno","pensiero","pensiero-tuo","plans","progetto"]·jav["lan-pangèsthinipun","pamanggih","pangèsthi","rancangan","rancangan-panjenengan","rancangan-rancangan","rancangan-saking","rancangan;"]·KO["계획","계획-들-을","계획들은","계획들을","계획들이","계획들이-네","계획을","그-계획들을","그리고-계획들을-그의","사상들을","생각들을","생각은"]·PT["Planos","Planos-de","e-seus-pensamentos","os-pensamentos","os-pensamentos-de","os-pensamentos-dos","pensamento","pensamento;","pensamentos","pensamentos-de","pensamentos-de-","plano-de","planos","planos-de","teus-pensamentos"]·RU["замысел","замыслы","замыслы-твои","и-планы-Его","планы"]·ES["Los-planes-de","Planes","los-pensamientos","maquinación-de","pensamiento","pensamientos","pensamientos-de","pensamientos-tus","plan","planes","y-sus-pensamientos"]·SW["kusudi","mawazo-ya","mipango","mipango-yako","mpango","na-makusudi-yake"]·TR["düşünce","düşünceler","düşünceleri","düşüncelerimi-o","düşüncelerin","düşüncelerini","plan","planlar","planları","planının","ve-düşüncelerini"]·urd["ارادے","اور-ارادے-اُس-کے","اور-منصوبوں-اُس-کے","تدبیر","تدبیریں","تدبیریں-تیری","سازش","منصوبوں","منصوبوں-کو","منصوبہ","منصوبے"]
2 Sam 14:14, Esth 8:5, Ps 33:10, Ps 33:11, Prov 6:18, Prov 15:22, Prov 16:3, Prov 19:21, Prov 20:18, Prov 21:5, Jer 18:11, Jer 29:11 (+5 more)
4. inventive design, skilled craft — Inventive design and skilled craftsmanship — 6 occurrences, all concentrated in the Exodus tabernacle narratives and 2 Chronicles. In Exodus 31:4 God fills Bezalel with his Spirit so that he can 'devise artistic designs (machashavot) in gold, silver, and bronze,' and Exodus 35:32-35 repeats the term three times for the full range of tabernacle artistry. In 2 Chronicles 2:14, Huram-abi is described as skilled in machashavot of every kind, and 2 Chronicles 26:15 attributes military 'inventions' to Uzziah's engineers. Spanish diseños ('designs'), French designs, and German entwerfen ('to devise/draft') all select craft-and-engineering vocabulary, clearly distinguishing this from the cognitive and volitional senses. The word here merges thinking with making — the artisan's machashavah is a thought that takes physical form. 6×
AR["اخْتِرَاعَ","التَّصميمِ","اِبتِكاراتٍ","تَصاميمَ","فِكْرٍ"]·ben["কৌশলীর","নকশা","নকশার","পরিকল্পনা"]·DE["Plan","designs","entwerfen"]·EN["design","designs","invention-of"]·FR["design","designs","projet"]·heb["מחשבה","מחשבות","מחשבת"]·HI["आविष्कार","कला-की","योजना","योजनाएँ"]·ID["penemuan","rancangan","rancangan-rancangan"]·IT["design","designs","progetto"]·jav["rancangan","rancangan,","rancangan-rancangan.","rèka-ipun","seni."]·KO["고안들을","고안의","설계"]·PT["arte","invenção","invenção-de","planos"]·RU["замысел","замысла","замыслы","изобретения"]·ES["diseño","diseños","invención-de","pensamiento"]·SW["mipango","ubunifu","ustadi","uvumbuzi-wa"]·TR["düşünce","sanatın","tasarımlar","tasarımları","tasarımların","tasarımıyla"]·urd["ایجاد","سوچ","منصوبوں-کے","منصوبے","نقشے","ہنر-کا"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† מַחֲשָׁבָה n.f. thought, device (chiefly poet. and late)—abs. מ׳ Je 18:11; 49:30; מַחֲשֶׁ֫בֶת Ez 38:10; מַחֲשָׁ֑בֶת Ex 35:33 2 Ch 2:13; cstr. מַחֲשֶׁ֫בֶת Est 8:5 2 Ch 26:15; sf. מַחֲשַׁבְתּוֹ Est 8:3; 9:25; pl. מַחֲשָׁבוֹת Je 11:19 + 7 times; מַחֲשָׁבֹת Ex 31:4 + 3 times; cstr. מַחְשְׁבוֹת Is 59:7 + 13 times; מַחְשְׁבֹת Gn 6:5; sf. מַחְשְׁבוֹתַי Is 55:8 etc. + 19 times sfs.;— 1. thought: a. of…