מַשְׁקֶה
𐤌𐤔𐤒𐤄
mashqeh
H4945 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Someone or something that provides or supplies drink. Primarily denotes a person entrusted with providing beverages, especially in royal contexts, such as a cupbearer or butler responsible for serving drinks. The noun can also refer to the act or result of giving drink, i.e., a drink, or more broadly to a well-watered area—land that receives adequate or abundant water. The term encompasses both the human agent and the thing supplied, ranging from personal service roles to natural abundance.
Semantic Range
cupbearer, butler, one who serves drink, drink, beverage, act of providing drink, well-watered land, irrigated region, abundance of water
Root / Etymology
From the root שָׁקָה (to give to drink, to cause to drink). מַשְׁקֶה is a participial noun form, formed with the mem-prefix (denoting agency or instrumentality), literally 'one who causes to drink' or 'that which provides drink.' It is directly derived from the verb without additional affixation beyond standard participial morphology.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In the monarchic period, מַשְׁקֶה commonly refers to a high-ranking official in a royal court—most notably the cupbearer, an important position associated with responsibility for the ruler's table and, at times, personal safety (cf. Genesis 40; Nehemiah 1–2). In agricultural or poetic contexts (especially in later biblical Hebrew and prose), the word appears in phrases like 'well-watered plain' or 'watered land,' reflecting a shift from personal agent to a state of abundance (e.g., Isaiah 44:3; Ezekiel 34:13–14). English translations sometimes narrow its range to 'butler' or 'cupbearer,' but these do not capture the agricultural or geographical sense. Comparable terms include שׁוֹקֵה (shoqeh, 'a drinker') or מַשְׁקָה (mashqah, 'watering,' possibly a variant spelling in later Hebrew). The use of 'butler' in traditional English Bibles reflects later European court terminology rather than the ancient Near Eastern context, where the cupbearer was a significant and sometimes influential figure.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from שָׁקָה; properly, causing to drink, i.e. a butler; by implication (intransitively), drink (itself); figuratively, a well-watered region; butler(-ship), cupbearer, drink(-ing), fat pasture, watered.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
שקה (š-q-h) — to give to drink, to irrigate, to provide with liquid
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H8248 | שָׁקָה | I will cause to drink |
| H8249 | שִׁקֻּו | my draughts |
| H8250 | שִׁקּוּי | refreshing drink |
| H8268 | שֹׁקֶת | in watering-troughs of |
Word Forms
7 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4945-03 |
מַשְׁקֶ֑ה | masheqeh | HNcmsa |
drinking | drink-provider | 6 |
H4945-02 |
הַ/מַּשְׁקִ֔ים | hamasheqim | HTd/Ncmpa |
cupbearer | the drink-servers | 6 |
H4945-04 |
מַשְׁקֵֽ/הוּ | masheqehu | HNcmsc/Sp3ms |
his cupbearer | his drink-provider | 2 |
H4945-06 |
וּ/מַשְׁקָ֔י/ו | umasheqayv | HC/Ncmpc/Sp3ms |
and his cupbearers | and his drink-providers | 2 |
H4945-01 |
הַ/מַּשְׁקֶ֣ה | hamasheqeh | HTd/Ncmsa |
the cupbearer | the drink-provider | 1 |
H4945-07 |
וּ/מַשְׁקֶ֥ה | umasheqeh | HC/Ncmsa |
and drink | drink-provider | 1 |
H4945-05 |
מִ/מַּשְׁקֵ֣ה | mimasheqeh | HR/Ncmsc |
from-watering-places | drink-provider of | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
19 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4945-03 |
Genesis 13:10 | מַשְׁקֶ֑ה | masheqeh | HNcmsa |
well watered | drink-provider |
H4945-03 |
Genesis 40:1 | מַשְׁקֵ֥ה | masheqeh | HNcmsc |
cupbearer | drink-provider |
H4945-02 |
Genesis 40:2 | הַ/מַּשְׁקִ֔ים | hamasheqim | HTd/Ncmpa |
cupbearer | the drink-servers |
H4945-01 |
Genesis 40:5 | הַ/מַּשְׁקֶ֣ה | hamasheqeh | HTd/Ncmsa |
the cupbearer | the drink-provider |
H4945-02 |
Genesis 40:9 | הַ/מַּשְׁקִ֛ים | hamasheqim | HTd/Ncmpa |
cupbearer | the drink-servers |
H4945-04 |
Genesis 40:13 | מַשְׁקֵֽ/הוּ | masheqehu | HNcmsc/Sp3ms |
his cupbearer | his drink-provider |
H4945-02 |
Genesis 40:20 | הַ/מַּשְׁקִ֗ים | hamasheqim | HTd/Ncmpa |
of the cupbearer | the drink-servers |
H4945-02 |
Genesis 40:21 | הַ/מַּשְׁקִ֖ים | hamasheqim | HTd/Ncmpa |
cupbearer | the drink-servers |
H4945-04 |
Genesis 40:21 | מַשְׁקֵ֑/הוּ | masheqehu | HNcmsc/Sp3ms |
his position | his drink-provider |
H4945-02 |
Genesis 40:23 | הַ/מַּשְׁקִ֛ים | hamasheqim | HTd/Ncmpa |
cupbearer | the drink-servers |