H4853a H4853a
Load, burden, carrying; also prophetic oracle, tribute, or lifting up of desire — from the root נָשָׂא 'to lift, bear'
Derived from the root נָשָׂא (to lift, carry), מַשָּׂא covers a surprisingly wide semantic range unified by the idea of 'something lifted or borne.' Its most common use is the concrete physical load carried by an animal or person — the burden on a donkey (Exod 23:5) or the loads forbidden on the Sabbath (Jer 17:21; Neh 13:15). It extends naturally to figurative burdens: people as a weight to bear (Num 11:11; Deut 1:12), sins pressing down like a heavy load (Ps 38:5), or the obligation of tribute (2 Chr 17:11). The Spanish 'carga' and French 'charge' consistently map to the burden sense, while English splits between 'burden,' 'load,' and 'oracle.' In Proverbs 30:1 and 31:1 it introduces a prophetic utterance — perhaps originally a 'weighty word' laid upon the speaker. In Ezekiel 24:25 it denotes the yearning or lifting of the soul's desire, a rare but evocative extension.
Senses
1. physical burden or load — The dominant sense: a tangible weight or load borne by animals (donkeys in Exod 23:5, mules in 2 Kgs 5:17, camels in 2 Kgs 8:9), or carried by people in contexts like the Levitical transport of the tabernacle (Num 4:15, 24, 27). This extends figuratively to the 'burden' of caring for people (Num 11:11; Deut 1:12), being a weight upon someone (2 Sam 15:33; Job 7:20), and the crushing load of iniquity (Ps 38:5). The Sabbath prohibition on carrying loads (Jer 17:21-27; Neh 13:15, 19) shows its everyday concreteness. Spanish 'carga' and French 'charge/fardeau' consistently render this sense. 30×
AR["الْحِمْلَ", "الْحِمْلُ", "حِمْلًا", "حِمْلٌ", "حِمْلٍ", "حِمْلَ", "حِمْلُ", "حِمْلِهِ", "حِمْلِهِمْ"]·ben["-ভার", "তাদের-বোঝা", "তার-বোঝা", "বোঝা", "ভার", "ভারকে"]·DE["Last", "[משא]", "burden-von", "der-Last", "ein-load-von", "ihr-burden", "load-von", "sein-burden"]·EN["a-burden", "a-load-of", "burden", "burden-of", "his-burden", "load-of", "the-burden", "the-load", "their-burden"]·FR["burden-de", "charge", "fardeau", "leur-burden", "load-de", "son-burden", "un-load-de"]·heb["ה-משא", "משא", "משאו", "משאם"]·HI["उनके-भारों", "उनके-भारों-का", "उनके-भारों-के", "उसके-भार", "बोझ", "बोझ-को", "भार", "मस्सा"]·ID["beban", "beban-mereka", "bebannya", "muatan"]·IT["burden-di", "carico", "load-di", "loro-burden", "peso", "suo-burden", "un-load-di"]·jav["beban", "lan-mlebet", "momotan", "mòmpotan", "pikul", "pikul-ipun"]·KO["그-짐이", "그들의-짐", "그의-짐", "짐", "짐-의", "짐을", "짐이", "짐이니"]·PT["a-carga", "carga", "carga-de", "carga-dele", "carga-deles", "fardo", "o-fardo"]·RU["груз", "ноша", "ноши", "ноши-их", "ношу", "ношу-его", "ношу-их"]·ES["carga", "carga-de", "carga-de-ellos", "carga-de-él", "la-carga"]·SW["mashaּ", "mizigo-yao-yote", "mzigo", "mzigo-wa", "mzigo-wake", "mzigo-wao", "yao"]·TR["yuk", "yuku", "yük", "yüklerini", "yüklerinin", "yükü", "yüküne", "yükünü"]·urd["اُس-کے-بوجھ", "اُن-کے-بوجھ", "اُن-کے-بوجھ-کی", "اُن-کے-بوجھ-کے", "بوجھ", "بوجھ-کو"]
2. act of carrying or transport — The verbal-noun sense emphasizing the act of carrying or transporting rather than the object carried. This appears in specialized liturgical contexts: 1 Chronicles 15:22, 27 describe the 'carrying' (or possibly 'lifting up' of song) during the procession of the Ark, and 2 Chronicles 20:25 describes carrying away spoil. The Spanish translations interestingly split between 'carga' (burden) and 'canto' (song) in the Chronicles passages, reflecting an ancient ambiguity about whether the Levitical מַשָּׂא refers to bearing the Ark or leading the singing. 4×
AR["الْحَمْلِ", "حَمْلٍ", "فِي-الْحَمْلِ"]·ben["-মধ্যে", "প্রধান", "বহন-যোগ্য-না", "শিক্ষা-দিতেন"]·DE["[במשא]", "[המשא]", "[משא]"]·EN["carrying", "in-the-carrying", "the-carrying"]·FR["charge", "der-charge", "in-charge"]·heb["ב-ה-משא", "ב-משא", "ה-משא", "משא"]·HI["उठाना", "उठाने-का", "उठाने-में", "उठावनेके"]·ID["dalam-mengangkat", "mengangkut", "pengangkat"]·IT["carico", "il-carico", "in-carico"]·jav["bekta", "ing-bèkta", "saged-mbeta"]·KO["그-운반-의", "나르는-것이", "에-그-운반", "에-운반"]·PT["carregar", "do-transporte", "no-transporte"]·RU["в-несении", "несения", "ноши"]·ES["carga", "del-canto", "en-el-canto"]·SW["katika-kubeba", "kubeba", "kwa-kubeba"]·TR["taşımada", "taşımanın", "taşınabilme"]·urd["اُٹھانے-میں", "اُٹھانے-کا", "اُٹھانے-کے"]
3. prophetic oracle or utterance — A prophetic 'oracle' or solemn utterance, appearing in Proverbs 30:1 and 31:1 to introduce the words of Agur and King Lemuel's mother. English uniformly renders 'oracle'; Spanish uses 'profecia.' The semantic link to 'burden' may be that the prophetic word is 'laid upon' or 'lifted up by' the speaker — a weighty message from God that presses upon the prophet. This sense is far more common in the related entry I. מַשָּׂא (the prophetic formula), but these two Proverbs occurrences belong here under II. מַשָּׂא. 2×
AR["الْمَسَّا", "مَسَّا"]·ben["-বার্তা"]·DE["[המשא]", "[משא]"]·EN["an-oracle", "the-oracle"]·FR["le-המשא", "משא"]·heb["ה-משא", "משא"]·HI["भारी-वचन"]·ID["ucapan-ilahi"]·IT["an-oracle", "il-il-oracle"]·jav["pawarta"]·KO["예언이다"]·PT["o-oráculo", "oráculo"]·RU["пророчество"]·ES["la-profecía", "profecía"]·SW["unabii"]·TR["yükü"]·urd["پیغام"]
4. tribute or imposed obligation — A compulsory levy or tribute — the 'load' imposed on subject peoples. In 2 Chronicles 17:11, the Philistines and Arabians bring tribute to Jehoshaphat. The metaphor is transparent: taxation is a burden placed upon the shoulders of the obligated. All four sampled languages render this with their standard burden word (English 'load,' Spanish 'carga,' French 'charge'), showing no special lexicalization for the fiscal extension. 1×
AR["جِزْيَةً"]·ben["ভার"]·DE["[משא]"]·EN["load"]·FR["charge"]·heb["משא"]·HI["भार"]·ID["upeti"]·IT["carico"]·jav["pajeg"]·KO["조공을"]·PT["carga"]·RU["ношу"]·ES["carga"]·SW["ushuru"]·TR["vergi"]·urd["خراج"]
5. yearning or lifting of desire — A rare sense denoting the yearning or 'lifting up' of the soul's desire. In Ezekiel 24:25, God describes the temple as 'the lifting up of their soul' — the object toward which their whole being strains. English renders 'yearning'; Spanish 'elevacion' (elevation) captures the vertical metaphor of the root נָשָׂא. This sense bridges physical lifting and emotional aspiration, a poignant extension found only here. 1×
AR["شَوْقَ"]·ben["বোঝা"]·DE["[משא]"]·EN["yearning-of-"]·FR["de-porte!"]·heb["משא"]·ID["kerinduan"]·IT["[משא]"]·jav["tanggel-jawab"]·KO["짐을"]·PT["desejo-de"]·RU["их"]·ES["elevación-de"]·SW["mzigo-wa"]·TR["yükünü"]·urd["بوجھ"]
Related Senses
H0559 1. say, speak, tell (5297×)H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H0935 1. come, arrive (Qal) (2413×)G3004 1. say, tell, speak (2226×)G1473 1. first person singular pronoun (2084×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H1696 1. speak, say, tell (Piel) (1105×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)H3318 1. Qal: go out, depart, come forth (891×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H7725 1. to return, come/go back (Qal) (874×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)H5927 1. go up, ascend (Qal) (779×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† II. מַשָּׂא n.m. ψ 38:5 load, burden, lifting, bearing, tribute;—מ׳ abs. Ne 13:19 +; cstr. 2 K 5:17 +; sf. מַשָּׂאוֹ Ex 23:5 + 2 times; מַשַּׂאֲכֶם Dt 1:12; מַשָּׂאָם Nu 4:27 + 2 times;— 1. load, burden of ass Ex 23:5 (E), mules 2 K 5:17, camels 8:9, cf. Is 46:1, 2; hanging on a peg Is 22:25 (fig.); forbidden on Sabbath Je 17:21, 22, 24, 27 Ne 13:15, 19; fig. of people as burden Nu 11:11, 17…