מְחוּגָה (me.chu.gah)
me.chu.gah
compass
H:N-FQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-F
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun mechugah refers to a circle-drawing instrument, essentially a pair of compasses used by craftsmen. It appears only once in the Hebrew Bible, in Isaiah 44:13, where it describes the tools of an idol maker shaping wood.
This rare word highlights the precision involved in carving idols. The text depicts a craftsman measuring and marking timber with this specific tool before cutting out a statue. Its singular use underscores the deliberate, skilled effort put into creating false gods, contrasting sharply with the formless nature of the true God who does not need such instruments to define His being.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
In Isaiah 44:13, the word mechugah refers to the compasses used by an idol maker to draw perfect circles on wood. This image highlights the intense human effort required to create something artificial. The craftsman measures, marks, and shapes timber with precision, striving to give form to a god that does not exist.
For your faith, this serves as a gentle reminder of the difference between human craftsmanship and divine nature. We often try to define God using our own standards or limits, much like the carpenter marking out a shape. Yet Scripture invites us to rest in the truth that God is beyond such boundaries. He is not confined by lines we can draw.
When you feel the pressure to control your circumstances or force outcomes, remember this contrast. The true Creator does not need tools to define His being. You are invited to trust in a God who is free, limitless, and sovereign over all things without needing any human instrument.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- and/ with <the>/ compass1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- וּ/בַ/מְּחוּגָ֖ה1×
Key Verses
-
Isaiah 44:13
The carpenter stretches out a line. He marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes. He marks it out with compasses, and shapes it like the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to reside in a house.
This verse uniquely identifies the mechugah as the tool used to mark out the shape of an idol, emphasizing the deliberate human effort in creating false gods.