מָתַח (ma.tach)
ma.tach
to spread
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb matach means to spread something out, typically a covering or a tent. It appears only once in the Old Testament, in Isaiah 40:22, where it describes how God stretches out the heavens like a curtain. This single usage gives the word a distinctively cosmic scale, moving from domestic imagery to divine majesty.
While the root suggests the physical act of extending fabric or canvas, the context here transforms it into a metaphor for creation. The prophet uses this concrete image to remind Israel that the same power that unfurls a tent is responsible for the vastness of the sky. It emphasizes God’s sovereignty over space and structure.
Translators often render this as "stretches out" or "spreads," capturing the sense of deliberate expansion. The word highlights God’s ability to create order and shelter on a grand scale, reinforcing the theme that the Creator is not distant but actively holds the universe in place through His command.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word matach describes the simple, everyday act of spreading out a tent or a covering. In Isaiah 40:22, this humble image is lifted to describe God stretching out the heavens like a curtain. It reminds us that the same power which unfurls a shelter for rest is responsible for the vastness of the sky.
When you feel small against the weight of your circumstances, this word offers a grounded comfort. The Creator who arranges the cosmos with the ease of setting up a home is attentive to your life. You are held by the same hands that spread out the stars.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- and/ he spread out/ them1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- וַ/יִּמְתָּחֵ֥/ם1×
Key Verses
-
Isaiah 40:22
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in,
This verse uses the verb to depict God stretching out the heavens like a curtain, linking divine majesty with the familiar image of a dwelling place.