Original Word: מָחַץ
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: machats
Pronunciation: mah-KHATS
Phonetic Spelling: (maw-khats')
KJV: dip, pierce (through), smite (through), strike through, wound
NASB: shatter, shattered, crush through, struck, wounded, wounds
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to dash asunder
2. (by implication) to crush, smash or violently plunge
3. (figuratively) to subdue or destroy

dip, pierce through, smite through, strike through, wound

A primitive root; to dash asunder; by implication, to crush, smash or violently plunge; figuratively, to subdue or destroy -- dip, pierce (through), smite (through), strike through, wound.

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to smite through, wound severely, shatter
NASB Translation
crush through (1), shatter (6), shattered (4), struck (1), wounded (1), wounds (1).

מָחַץ verb smite through, wound severely, shatter (poetry) (Assyrian ma—âƒu, smite, wound, Dl^{HWB 398}; Arabic churn; beat or agitate the milk, etc.; Sabean מחֿץֿ DHM^{ZXG xxx. 1876, 684; xxxvii. 1883, 338; Burgen u. Schlösser (SB. xcvii. 1881), 965} (of stone-cutter's work), Hom^{Chrestom. 127}; Ethiopic ); —

Qal Perfect3masculine singular ׳מ Job 26:12 3t.; וּ˜מחֲצָה Judges 5:26 etc.; Imperfect יִמְחַץ Job 5:18; Psalm 68:22; 1singular suffix אֶמְחָצֵם Psalm 18:39; ׳וָא 2 Samuel 22:39; — smite through, followed by ראֹשׁוֺ, of Jael, Judges 5:26 ("" הָלַם, מָחַק, חָלַף); of Israel, shattering enemies, ׳חִצָּיו יִמ Numbers 24:8 (object omitted; "" עַצְמֹתֵיהֶם יְגָרֵם) compare Numbers 24:17 (object ַ˜מּאֲתֵי מוֺאָב); compare Psalm 18:39 = 2 Samuel 22:39; of ׳י,smiting through or shattering his foes, Psalm 110:5; their heads Psalm 110:6; Psalm 68:22; Habakkuk 3:13, loins Deuteronomy 33:1; compare Job 26:12 object רַהַב, q. v.; absolute, Deuteronomy 32:39 (opposed to רָפָא; "" clause אָמִית וַאֲחַיֶּה) compare Job 5:18 (opposed to רָפָא, "" clause יַכְאִיב וְיֶחְבָּ֑שׁ). For תִּמְחַץ רגלך בְּדָם Psalm 68:24, read תִּרְחַץ (Psalm 58:11), Ol Br Che Bae We.

Key Idea

מָחַץ portrays decisive, often violent, breaking or shattering. In Scripture the verb is applied to bones, heads, nations, weapons, and wicked men, but always with the deeper intent of displaying the LORD’s incomparable power to save, judge, and reign.

Occurrences and Literary Settings

• Pentateuch (Numbers 24:8, 17; Deuteronomy 32:39; 33:11) – oracles of Balaam and songs of Moses establish the theme: Israel’s God crushes hostile powers and exalts His covenant people.
• Historical Books (Judges 5:26; 2 Samuel 22:39) – battlefield scenes emphasize God-empowered warriors who finish the enemy.
• Wisdom Literature (Job 5:18; 26:12) – Job’s trials and cosmology interpret crushing both in personal affliction and cosmic victory over chaos.
• Psalms (18:38; 68:21, 23; 110:5-6) – royal and liturgical psalms celebrate the King’s triumph over rebels.
• Prophets (Habakkuk 3:13) – theophanic vision of the LORD marching to crush wicked leadership and save His anointed.

Total occurrences: 14

Divine Warrior and Covenant Faithfulness

From Balaam’s prophecy to Habakkuk’s lament, מָחַץ underscores that the LORD Himself fights for His people. Numbers 24:8 declares, “He devours nations that are hostile and crushes their bones.” The covenant formula “I will be your God” assumes that He will also be Israel’s shield; crushing is the ultimate defense of His holiness and promises.

Judgment of Idolatrous Nations

The verb frequently targets oppressive nations or arrogant leaders—Moab (Numbers 24:17), the serpent-like “heads over the vast land” (Psalm 110:6), and Habakkuk’s “house of the wicked” (Habakkuk 3:13). In every case the action is retributive: the nations that resist God’s reign experience total ruin. Deuteronomy 33:11 prays, “Strike the loins of those who rise up against him,” intertwining priestly blessing with militant petition.

Vindication and Deliverance

For the faithful, God’s crushing of enemies is deliverance. Deborah exults when Jael “crushed his head” (Judges 5:26) because Sisera’s downfall means Israel’s freedom. David echoes the same confidence: “I crushed them so they could not rise” (Psalm 18:38), attributing the victory to divine enablement (2 Samuel 22:39). The verb thus becomes a vocabulary of salvation history.

Suffering and Restoration

Job wrestles with personal affliction: “For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands heal” (Job 5:18). Here מָחַץ expresses the dolorous side of divine sovereignty—God may break a man in order to heal him. The tension between crushing and binding anticipates the gospel pattern of death and resurrection.

Cosmic Sovereignty

Job 26:12 uses the verb cosmically: “By His power He stills the sea, and by His understanding He shatters Rahab.” The crushing of the mythic sea monster proclaims that creation itself rests on God’s victory over chaos; history and nature are secure only because the Creator can smash all resistance.

Messianic and Eschatological Horizon

Numbers 24:17 looks ahead: “A star will come forth from Jacob…He will crush the forehead of Moab.” Psalm 110:5-6 pictures the enthroned Lord executing kings and crushing heads in the day of His wrath. Both passages are pressed into New Testament Christology: Jesus the Messiah is that Star and enthroned Priest-King whose final triumph includes the irreversible defeat of evil (cf. Revelation 19:15). מָחַץ therefore contributes to biblical eschatology, assuring believers of the ultimate abolition of rebellion.

Pastoral and Ministry Implications

1. Assurance in Spiritual Warfare – The certainty that God “crushes the heads of His enemies” (Psalm 68:21) emboldens the church in mission and intercession.
2. Comfort amid Affliction – Job’s testimony legitimizes lament while affirming that the same hand that crushes also heals.
3. Call to Humility – Oppressors are warned: the One who shattered Sisera and Moab will not spare modern arrogance.
4. Hope for Final Restoration – The crushing of evil is not gratuitous violence but the necessary prelude to peace and righteousness.

Worship and Prayer

The Psalms employ מָחַץ liturgically, inviting worshippers to celebrate God’s justice. Psalm 68:23 envisions the righteous “dipping their feet in the blood of their enemies,” a shocking yet doxological image that drives home the cost of holiness. Corporate prayer can echo Deuteronomy 33:11, pleading for God to confound all forces opposing His people.

Intertextual Echoes

Genesis 3:15’s promise that the woman’s seed will bruise the serpent’s head resonates thematically with מָחַץ, though a different Hebrew verb is used. Together they form a canonical thread: the LORD will definitively crush evil through the promised Seed. Paul alludes to this trajectory: “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20), fulfilling the theology of מָחַץ in the church’s experience.

Conclusion

Every occurrence of מָחַץ unveils facets of God’s redemptive might—defending His covenant, humbling the proud, rescuing the oppressed, and pointing forward to Messiah’s consummate victory. It summons believers to trust the Savior who crushes evil yet binds the broken, guaranteeing that no adversary can withstand His holy arm.

אֶ֭מְחָצֵם אמחצם וָאֶמְחָצֵ֖ם וּמָחֲצָ֥ה וּמָחַץ֙ ואמחצם ומחץ ומחצה יִ֝מְחַ֗ץ יִמְחַץ֮ יִמְחָֽץ׃ ימחץ ימחץ׃ מְחַ֨ץ מָ֣חַץ מָ֥חַץ מָחַ֖ץ מָחַ֙צְתִּי֙ מָחַ֤צְתָּ מחץ מחצת מחצתי תִּֽמְחַ֥ץ תמחץ ’em·ḥā·ṣêm ’emḥāṣêm Emchatzem mā·ḥaṣ mā·ḥaṣ·tā mā·ḥaṣ·tî Machatz maChatzta maChatzti māḥaṣ māḥaṣtā māḥaṣtî mə·ḥaṣ meChatz məḥaṣ tim·ḥaṣ timChatz timḥaṣ ū·mā·ḥă·ṣāh ū·mā·ḥaṣ umaChatz umachaTzah ūmāḥaṣ ūmāḥăṣāh vaemchaTzem wā’emḥāṣêm wā·’em·ḥā·ṣêm yim·ḥaṣ yim·ḥāṣ yimChatz yimḥaṣ yimḥāṣInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts