H4991 H4991
Gift, present — something bestowed freely, whether a divine blessing, a human reward, or a promised but unfulfilled offering.
A feminine noun denoting a gift or present, appearing in both construct and absolute forms. It covers a range of gift-giving contexts: a royal reward offered to a prophet (1 Kgs 13:7), what one's hand is able to give as a freewill offering (Ezek 46:5, 11), the gift of God enabling humans to enjoy life's blessings (Eccl 3:13; 5:19), and a deceptive gift that is promised but never delivered (Prov 25:14). The construct phrase 'gift of his hand' in Ezekiel beautifully captures the idea of giving according to one's means — a concept the Spanish 'don-de' and French 'don' elegantly preserve.
Senses
1. gift, present — A gift or present bestowed from one party to another, encompassing divine gifts, human rewards, and voluntary offerings. The construct 'gift of his hand' (Ezek 46:5, 11) expresses giving according to ability, while 'gift of God' (Eccl 3:13; 5:19) frames life's enjoyments as divine blessings. Proverbs 25:14 introduces an ironic twist — a 'gift of falsehood,' one boasted of but never given, like clouds without rain. The multilingual evidence (Spanish don, French don, English gift) consistently renders this as a freely bestowed present. 6×
AR["بِ-عَطِيَّةِ-", "عَطِيَّةُ", "عَمَلِهِ", "هَدِيَّةً"]·ben["-উপহারে-", "উপহার", "দান"]·DE["Gabe", "[מתת]", "ein-gift"]·EN["a-gift", "gift-of", "in-gift-of"]·FR["dans-don", "don", "un-gift"]·heb["ב-מתת-", "מתת"]·HI["उपहार", "दान", "भेंट-में-"]·ID["dalam-pemberian", "hadiah", "pemberian"]·IT["[מתת]", "gift-of", "in-in-gift-di", "un-dono"]·jav["ing-pisungsung-saking", "paringaning", "paweh", "pisungsung"]·KO["선물", "선물-로-", "선물을", "선물의"]·PT["dádiva-de", "em-dádiva-de-", "presente", "é-dom-de"]·RU["дар", "даром-"]·ES["don-de", "en-don-de-", "un-regalo"]·SW["kwa-zawadi-ya", "ni-zawadi-ya", "zawadi", "zawadi-ya"]·TR["armağanı", "hediye", "hediyesiyle-"]·urd["تحفہ", "تحفے-کے-", "عطیہ"]
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
† [מַתַּת] n.f. gift;—abs. מַתָּ֑ת 1 K 13:7; cstr. מַתַּת Pr 25:14 + 4 times;—gift = reward 1 K 13:7; מַתַּת יָדוֹ the gift of his hand, i.e. of his power, what he is able to give Ez 46:5, 11 (cf. מַתָּנָה and יָד 2); מ׳ אֱלֹהִים Ec 3:13 the gift of God (of the enjoyment of man), so 5:18; מ׳ שָׁ֑קֶר Pr 25:14 a gift of falsity, i.e. one promised and not given.