מְצֹבָיָה
𐤌𐤑𐤁𐤉𐤄
Metsovayah
H4677 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Proper place name: Metsobayah. The term designates a specific locality, likely in the southern territories associated with returning Israelite families following the Babylonian exile. The lexical formation suggests the meaning 'Yahweh has provided' or 'Yahweh is found,' which may express either commemoration of divine provision or association with Yahweh’s presence. The semantic range is limited to its function as a place name in post-exilic administrative records.
Semantic Range
proper place name, found by Yahweh, Yahweh has provided
Root / Etymology
Formed as a compound from the verb מָצָא (matsa', 'to find, attain, come upon') and the theophoric suffix יָהּ (Yah, an abbreviated form of the divine name Yahweh), yielding the meaning 'found of Yahweh.'
Historical & Contextual Notes
The name מְצֹבָיָה occurs in Nehemiah 11:6 as one of the post-exilic Israelite settlements, likely located in the territory of Judah or Benjamin, inhabited by returning exiles. It appears within lists that reconstruct the settlement patterns during Persian-period repopulation of Jerusalem and its environs. The standard English translations supply 'Mesobaite' or transliterate the name, without further explication. There is no evidence for any ethnic or cultic significance beyond its toponymic use. In later translation traditions (such as the KJV), the rendering often aligns with the context of place-names associated with other post-exilic localities. There is no evidence for ongoing usage or broader semantic development, as the term does not occur outside of onomastic contexts.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
apparently from מָצָא and יָהּ; found of Jah; Metsobajah, a place in Palestine; Mesobaite.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
מצא (m-ṣ-ʾ) — to find, attain, discover
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H4162 | מוֹצָא | and Moza |
| H4672 | מָצָא | in his being found |
| H4681 | מֹצָה | and the Bringing-Forth Place |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4677-01 |
הַ/מְּצֹבָיָֽה | hametsovayah | HTd/Np |
the Mezobaite | the Found-of-Yah | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4677-01 |
1 Chronicles 11:47 | הַ/מְּצֹבָיָֽה | hametsovayah | HTd/Np |
the Mezobaite | the Found-of-Yah |