מוֹת (mot)
mot
death
A:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- A:N-M
Word Overview
The Aramaic noun mot means death, functioning as a direct cognate of the Hebrew mawet (H4194). Its usage is extremely rare in the biblical text, appearing only once in Ezra 7:26 within the decree of King Artaxerxes.
In this specific context, the word describes the penalty for disobeying the king’s command or the law of God. The verse outlines that those who fail to comply should face execution, using mot to denote the finality of capital punishment. This singular occurrence highlights the legal weight of the term in official imperial correspondence.
Translators typically render this word as "death" or "execute," preserving its stark, literal sense. The rarity of the form underscores the distinct linguistic shift between Hebrew and Aramaic sections of Ezra, where the Aramaic portions reflect the administrative language of the Persian Empire rather than the liturgical Hebrew of earlier texts.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word mot appears in Ezra 7:26 as part of King Artaxerxes’ decree regarding those who disobey God’s law and the king’s command. In this historical context, it signifies a severe legal penalty—death—emphasizing the seriousness of adhering to divine instruction within the Persian Empire’s administrative framework.
For your faith today, this rare occurrence reminds us that obedience to God carries weight and consequence. While we do not face such imperial judgments, the underlying principle remains: honoring God is vital. This verse encourages us to take our commitment to His ways seriously, knowing that our actions reflect our reverence for Him.
Though mot itself is uncommon in Scripture, its presence here underscores how deeply intertwined faith and responsibility are. Let this inspire you to live faithfully, trusting that your devotion to God matters profoundly, even when the stakes feel high or distant.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- to/ death1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- לְ/מוֹת֙1×
Key Verses
-
Ezra 7:26
Whoever will not do the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be executed on him with all diligence, whether it is to death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.
This verse uses mot to specify death as a penalty for disobeying both divine and royal law, highlighting the gravity of obedience in Ezra's historical setting.