4198. mazeh
Lexical Summary
mazeh: "What is this?" or "What?"

Original Word: מֶזֶה
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: mazeh
Pronunciation: mah-ZEH
Phonetic Spelling: (maw-zeh')
KJV: burnt
NASB: wasted
Word Origin: [from an unused root meaning to suck out]

1. exhausted

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
burnt

From an unused root meaning to suck out; exhausted -- burnt.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from an unused word
Definition
sucked out, empty
NASB Translation
wasted (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
[מָזֶה] adjective (si vera lectio) sucked out, empty, מְזֵי רָעָב Deuteronomy 32:24 sucked out, empty, front hunger ("" לְחֻמֵי רֶשֶׁף) so Isaiah 5:13 Ew De Che Di Du (for ᵑ0 מְתֵי; ᵐ5 ᵑ9 מֵתֵי).

Topical Lexicon
Definition and Sense

מֶזֶה conveys the idea of wasting or withering away, especially through gnawing hunger that slowly consumes life and strength.

Biblical Usage

The word is found once, in Deuteronomy 32:24, within Moses’ “Song of Witness.” The verse renders:

“I will send wasting famine against them, consuming pestilence and deadly plague; I will send against them the fangs of beasts, with the venom of vipers that crawl in the dust.” (Deuteronomy 32:24)

Here מֶזֶה (“wasting famine”) introduces a triad of escalating judgments—famine, pestilence, and plague—that form part of the covenant curses pronounced on a rebellious Israel.

Context in Deuteronomy 32

1. The Song is Moses’ prophetic summary of Israel’s future history, contrasting God’s faithfulness with Israel’s anticipated unfaithfulness.
2. Verses 23–25 detail physical judgments that would fall when the nation forsook the LORD. מֶזֶה stands at the head of those judgments, highlighting famine as the first and most basic form of divine discipline.
3. The language echoes Leviticus 26:20 and 26:26, where covenant violations invite hunger and wasting.

Theological Significance

1. Covenant Justice

Hunger was promised as a sanction for idolatry and covenant breach. The solitary appearance of מֶזֶה underscores that famine is not random but a measured, purposeful act of God’s justice (Deuteronomy 28:48–51).

2. Dependence on God

Israel’s survival in the land hinged on rain (Deuteronomy 11:13–17). מֶזֶה reminds readers that bread itself is a divine gift. When withheld, the nation is driven back to the Giver (compare Hosea 2:8–9).

3. Progressive Discipline

The sequence “wasting famine… pestilence… deadly plague” shows God’s patience: He begins with deprivation intended to provoke repentance before more lethal judgments follow (Amos 4:6–10).

Historical Background

1. Northern Kingdom: Repeated famines during the reigns of Ahab (1 Kings 17–18) and later Elisha’s ministry (2 Kings 6:25; 8:1) illustrate the fulfillment of the Song’s warnings.
2. Siege Warfare: Assyrian and Babylonian campaigns precipitated starvation that matched the portrait of מֶזֶה (Lamentations 4:9–10).
3. Post-Exilic Reflection: The chroniclers point back to famine as evidence that the curses had fallen (Nehemiah 9:36–37).

Relation to Covenant Blessings and Curses

Blessing: “He will bless your bread and your water” (Exodus 23:25).

Curse: “You will sow much seed… but you will harvest little, because locusts will devour it” (Deuteronomy 28:38).

מֶזֶה stands in stark contrast to the land “flowing with milk and honey,” showing that the same covenant that offers abundance also withholds it when broken.

Ministry Implications

1. Preaching Repentance

מֶזֶה provides a sober text for calling God’s people to examine covenant faithfulness, stressing that physical circumstances can mirror spiritual realities (Haggai 1:5–11).

2. Compassionate Action

While famine may be a divine chastening, believers are still called to mercy (Isaiah 58:7; James 2:15–16). The Church becomes God’s instrument of relief, echoing Joseph’s role in Genesis 41:55.

3. Intercessory Prayer

Moses and the prophets interceded when famine struck (2 Samuel 21:1; Joel 2:17). Modern ministry follows that pattern, seeking God’s mercy for nations under judgment.

Christological and Eschatological Considerations

1. Christ the Bread of Life

מֶזֶה highlights humanity’s inability to sustain itself. Jesus answers the deepest hunger: “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). Where מֶזֶה speaks of wasting, Christ brings fullness (John 10:10).

2. End-Times Judgments

Revelation 6:5–8 portrays famine as one of the seal judgments. Deuteronomy 32 foreshadows this eschatological pattern: famine leads the list, followed by pestilence and sword.

3. Millennial Reversal

Prophets envision a day when “the plowman will overtake the reaper” (Amos 9:13). The curse associated with מֶזֶה will be lifted in the Messianic reign.

Practical Application for Believers

• Gratitude for Provision: Daily bread is neither earned nor guaranteed; it is grace.
• Spiritual Vigilance: Persistent sin can invite divine discipline; repentance restores blessing.
• Hope in Trial: Even covenant curses were designed ultimately to lead God’s people back to Himself (Deuteronomy 30:1–3).

Key Related Texts

Leviticus 26:20; Deuteronomy 28:48–51; 1 Kings 17:1; 2 Kings 6:25; Lamentations 4:9; Amos 4:6; Haggai 1:5–11; Revelation 6:5–8.

Forms and Transliterations
מְזֵ֥י מזי mə·zê məzê meZei
Links
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Englishman's Concordance
Deuteronomy 32:24
HEB: מְזֵ֥י רָעָ֛ב וּלְחֻ֥מֵי
NAS: [They will be] wasted by famine,
KJV: [They shall be] burnt with hunger,
INT: wasted famine and consumed

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 4198
1 Occurrence


mə·zê — 1 Occ.

4197
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