מוֹסָד (mo.sad)
mo.sad
foundation
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 7 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Definition
Definition
Brown-Driver-Briggs
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The Hebrew word mosad refers to a foundation, the deep-set base that holds a structure in place. In Scripture, this term often describes the earth itself, reminding us that creation rests on God’s steady hand. When the biblical writers speak of foundations being shaken or established, they are pointing to the stability—or instability—of our world and our lives.
For your faith, this word offers a quiet reassurance. While circumstances may feel like the ground is trembling, as seen in Psalms 82:5, God’s purposes remain fixed. Isaiah 58:12 invites us to participate in this stability by rebuilding what has been broken in our communities. We are called to be repairers, helping to restore order and hope where chaos has taken hold.
Ultimately, mosad points to the reliability of God’s covenant. Just as Jeremiah 31:37 declares that casting off Israel is as impossible as measuring the earth’s foundations, we can trust that God’s promises are deeply rooted. This stability is not something we create, but something we rest in and help maintain through acts of love and restoration.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 7 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- [the] foundations of7×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- מוֹסְדֵ֥י2×
- מ֥וֹסְדֵי2×
- מֽוֹסְדֵי\־1×
- מֹ֣סְדֵי1×
- מ֣וֹסְדֵי1×
Key Verses
-
Psalms 82:5
They don’t know, neither do they understand. They walk back and forth in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are shaken.
This verse uses the plural form to describe cosmic instability, showing how human injustice can make even the earth's foundations feel shaken.
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Isaiah 58:12
Those who will be of you will build the old waste places. You will raise up the foundations of many generations. You will be called Repairer of the Breach, Restorer of Paths with Dwellings.
Here the word shifts from natural creation to social restoration, identifying believers as those who raise up the foundations of past generations by rebuilding broken communities.
-
Jeremiah 31:37
Yahweh says: “If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done,” says Yahweh.
God uses the unmeasurable depth of the earth's foundations as a metaphor for the permanence and immovability of His covenant with Israel.