Original Word: מְחוּגָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: mchuwgah
Pronunciation: meh-shoo-GAH
Phonetic Spelling: (mekk-oo-gaw')
KJV: compass
NASB: compass
Word Origin: [from H2328 (חוּג - inscribed a circle)]

1. an instrument for marking a circle, i.e. compasses

compass

From chuwg; an instrument for marking a circle, i.e. Compasses -- compass.

see HEBREW chuwg

Word Origin
from chug
Definition
a compass
NASB Translation
compass (1).

מְחוּגָה noun feminine circle-instrument, compass, used by carvers of idols וּבַמְּחוּגָה יְתָֽאֳרֵ֑הוּ Isaiah 44:13.

I. חוד (√ of following; Arabic is decline, turn aside, avoid, hence perhaps riddle, as indirect, obscure).

Scriptural Occurrence and Immediate Context

The term מְחוּגָה appears once in the canon, Isaiah 44:13, where the prophet exposes the folly of idolatry by describing a craftsman who “marks it with a compass”. The reference to this drafting tool anchors the scene in the practical world of woodworking while underscoring the deliberate, calculated effort involved in fashioning a false god. Isaiah’s portrait heightens the contrast between the painstaking precision of the idol-maker and the living Creator who alone warrants worship.

Historical Background of Measuring Instruments

Compasses and related instruments were known throughout the Ancient Near East. Artifacts from Egypt and Mesopotamia attest that carpenters, stonemasons, and architects employed wooden or bronze compasses for laying out symmetrical curves on timber or stone. In Israel, the tool served similar practical ends: producing shields, wheels, bowls, doorframes, and decorative work for temple and palace architecture. Isaiah’s audience would readily envision the craftsman bending his hinged arms around the pivot point, inscribing a flawless circle—yet applying that skill to a dead block of wood.

Symbolism of Measurement and Design in Biblical Theology

1. Order versus chaos. Measurement typifies order (Job 38:5; Proverbs 8:27). When builders use a compass, they mirror the divine Architect who “inscribed a circle on the face of the deep” (Proverbs 8:27). Isaiah leverages this association to show that the orderly process, divorced from proper object, becomes vanity.
2. Human limitation. A craftsman’s compass has fixed reach. By contrast, the LORD “measured the waters in the hollow of His hand” (Isaiah 40:12) and “sits enthroned above the circle of the earth” (Isaiah 40:22). The finite instrument highlights human dependence on tools, whereas God creates and sustains without aid.
3. Idolatry’s irony. Precision can conceal idolatry’s emptiness. The idol is proportioned perfectly, yet it cannot speak (Isaiah 44:18). The prophet’s satire warns that even the best of human technique, when aimed at self-made religion, yields spiritual futility.

Comparative Motifs of the Craftsman in Scripture

• Exodus 31:1-5 celebrates Bezalel, who uses his artistic skill to magnify the LORD’s glory in the tabernacle.
• 1 Kings 7:13-22 mentions Hiram of Tyre crafting bronze pillars for Solomon’s temple. His talents serve covenant worship, not idolatry.
• Habakkuk 2:18-19 likewise ridicules the carved image: “Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’” The craftsman motif thus bifurcates into legitimate service or illegitimate idolatry, and מְחוּגָה participates in this theological tension.

Practical Ministry Implications

1. Stewardship of skill. Artisanship has God-honoring purpose when surrendered to Him. Christian vocations involving design—architecture, engineering, graphic arts—can reflect divine beauty and order (Colossians 3:17).
2. Discernment of idols. Precision, technology, and aesthetics can subtly become objects of trust. Isaiah 44:13 urges believers to examine whether their finest talents merely embellish self-crafted idols or exalt the Creator.
3. Teaching object lessons. The solitary occurrence of מְחוּגָה provides a vivid illustration for sermons and Bible studies on idolatry, grounding abstract warnings in tangible imagery familiar to modern life: drafting software, 3-D printers, or CNC routers.

Christological Trajectory

Where the idol-maker traces circles to imprison humanity in false worship, Jesus Christ embodies the true “cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20) around whom the entire structure of redemption is measured and aligned. The compass drawn by human hands fails, but the arc of salvation sketched by the divine Carpenter from Nazareth cannot.

Eschatological Glimpse

Revelation envisions a New Jerusalem architected by God Himself (Revelation 21:15-17). The angel “had a measuring rod of gold,” signifying that final dimensions rest in divine sovereignty, not human drafting. The lonely compass of Isaiah 44:13 finds its antithesis in this consummate city where every measurement radiates the Lamb’s glory.

Key Takeaways for Faith and Practice

• Technical excellence becomes idolatrous when detached from worship of the true God.
• The Bible consistently upholds craftsmanship when it serves covenant purposes.
• Tools of measurement point beyond themselves to the One whose wisdom orders creation. May every circle we draw remind us of His infinite, unbounded worth.

וּבַמְּחוּגָ֖ה ובמחוגה ū·ḇam·mə·ḥū·ḡāh ūḇamməḥūḡāh uvammechuGahInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts