Lexical Summary mesillah: Highway, road, path, way Original Word: מְסִלָּה Strong's Exhaustive Concordance causeway, course, highway, path, terrace From calal; a thoroughfare (as turnpiked), literally or figuratively; specifically a viaduct, a staircase -- causeway, course, highway, path, terrace. see HEBREW calal NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom salal Definition a highway NASB Translation courses (1), highway (17), highways (7), path (1), steps (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs מְסִלָּה noun feminine highway; — ׳מ Isaiah 11:16 12t.; construct מְסִלַּת Isaiah 7:3 3t.; suffix מְסִלָּתוֺ Joel 2:8; plural מְסִלּוֺת Isaiah 33:8 5t.; suffix מְסִלֹּתַי Isaiah 49:11; מְסִלּוֺתָם Judges 5:20; Isaiah 59:7; — raised way, highway, public road (never of street in city) Numbers 20:19; Judges 20:31,32,45; Judges 21:19; 1 Samuel 6:12; 2 Samuel 20:12 (twice in verse); 2 Samuel 20:13; 2 Kings 18:17 = Isaiah 36:2; 1 Chronicles 26:16,18; Isaiah 7:3; Isaiah 11:16; Isaiah 19:23; Isaiah 33:8; Isaiah 49:11; Isaiah 59:7; Jeremiah 31:21; ׳ישּׁר מ Isaiah 40:3; ׳סלל מ Isaiah 62:10; in a figurative sense, of the courses of the stars Judges 5:20; the march of locusts Joel 2:8; the conduct of the upright Proverbs 16:17; of the ascents to Zion in the mind of the pious Psalm 84:6 (ᵐ5: Bae reads מַעֲלוֺת). — In 2 Chronicles 9:11 מסלות is error for מִסְעָד (ותׅ of "" 1 Kings 10:12. Topical Lexicon Overview מְסִלָּה (mesillah) denotes a built-up roadway or raised causeway. In Scripture it moves from the realm of civil engineering to the arena of redemption, becoming a vivid emblem of accessibility to God, covenant faithfulness, and practical holiness. Literal Highways and Public Works Ancient Israel knew true roads only where commerce or royal travel demanded them. Mesillah appears for such engineered routes: the approach to Jerusalem’s Upper Pool (Isaiah 7:3; 2 Kings 18:17), the thoroughfare where Amasa fell (2 Samuel 20:12-13), and the prepared roads to the cities of refuge (Deuteronomy 19:3). These texts remind us that ordered society requires forethought and labor; God’s Law even legislated road maintenance for the protection of life. Royal and Military Contexts Kings marched and messengers sped along mesillot. The Assyrian delegation used one to reach King Hezekiah, signaling the might of empire pressing against Zion. In Judges 5:20 the stars fight “in their courses,” portraying cosmic allies traveling God’s celestial highways. Warfare on earth and in the heavens unfolds on roads He ultimately owns. Covenantal and Redemptive Motifs Isaiah employs mesillah to proclaim restoration: Each oracle envisions former enemies linked in worship, anticipatory of the Gospel uniting Jew and Gentile in Christ. Messianic and Eschatological Outlook “A voice of one calling: ‘Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert’” (Isaiah 40:3). John the Baptist took this task literally, leveling spiritual obstacles so hearts might receive the Messiah. Isaiah 35:8 looks still farther: “There will be a highway called the Way of Holiness,” reserved for the ransomed who will “enter Zion with singing” (Isaiah 35:10). Revelation mirrors the theme with the glassy “street of the city” (Revelation 21:21), a perfected mesillah. Wisdom Literature and Personal Holiness Proverbs converts the public road into a moral principle: Righteousness clears obstacles; sin clutters the route. Psalms and Pilgrimage “Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage” (Psalm 84:5). Even when no physical road exists, a mesillah can run through a believer’s heart, directing every affection Zion-ward. Prophetic Calls to Repentance and Return Jeremiah pleads with exiles: “Set up road markers for yourself… set your mind on the highway” (Jeremiah 31:21). Forgetting God is pictured as abandoning the well-built road for treacherous by-paths (Jeremiah 18:15). Repentance means remembering and retracing the mesillah that leads home. Ministry Implications 1. Gospel proclamation still involves “road work.” Like Isaiah’s herald and John the Baptist, believers remove stumbling stones—ignorance, prejudice, despair—so others may meet Christ. Key References (representative) Deuteronomy 19:3; 2 Samuel 20:12-13; 2 Kings 18:17; Psalm 84:5; Proverbs 15:19; Proverbs 16:17; Isaiah 7:3; Isaiah 11:16; Isaiah 19:23; Isaiah 35:8; Isaiah 40:3; Isaiah 57:14; Isaiah 62:10; Jeremiah 18:15; Jeremiah 31:21. Forms and Transliterations בִּמְסִלַּ֖ת בִּמְסִלָּ֣ה בִּמְסִלָּת֖וֹ בִּמְסִלּוֹתָֽם׃ בַּֽמְסִלָּ֖ה בַּֽמְסִלָּ֣ה בַּֽמְסִלּ֔וֹת בַּֽמְסִלּוֹת֙ במסלה במסלות במסלותם׃ במסלת במסלתו הַֽמְּסִלָּ֑ה הַֽמְסִלָּ֑ה הַֽמְסִלָּ֤ה הַֽמְסִלָּה֙ הַֽמְסִלּֽוֹת׃ המסלה המסלות׃ וּמְסִלֹּתַ֖י ומסלתי לִמְסִלָּ֔ה לַֽמְסִלָּ֔ה לַֽמְסִלָּ֖ה למסלה מְ֝סִלּ֗וֹת מְסִלַּ֖ת מְסִלַּ֣ת מְסִלָּ֔ה מְסִלָּ֖ה מְסִלָּ֤ה מְסִלּ֔וֹת מְסִלּ֤וֹת מִמְּסִלּוֹתָ֔ם ממסלותם מסלה מסלות מסלת bam·sil·lāh bam·sil·lō·wṯ bamsilLah bamsillāh bamsillOt bamsillōwṯ bim·sil·lā·ṯōw bim·sil·lāh bim·sil·laṯ bim·sil·lō·w·ṯām bimsilLah bimsillāh bimsilLat bimsillaṯ bimsillaTo bimsillāṯōw bimsilloTam bimsillōwṯām ham·mə·sil·lāh ham·sil·lāh ham·sil·lō·wṯ hammesilLah hamməsillāh hamsilLah hamsillāh HamsilLot hamsillōwṯ lam·sil·lāh lamsilLah lamsillāh lim·sil·lāh limsilLah limsillāh mə·sil·lāh mə·sil·laṯ mə·sil·lō·wṯ mesilLah məsillāh mesilLat məsillaṯ mesilLot məsillōwṯ mim·mə·sil·lō·w·ṯām mimesilloTam mimməsillōwṯām ū·mə·sil·lō·ṯay umesilloTai ūməsillōṯayLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Numbers 20:19 HEB: בְּנֵֽי־ יִשְׂרָאֵל֮ בַּֽמְסִלָּ֣ה נַעֲלֶה֒ וְאִם־ NAS: to him, We will go up by the highway, and if KJV: unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle INT: the sons of Israel the highway will go and if Judges 5:20 Judges 20:31 Judges 20:32 Judges 20:45 Judges 21:19 1 Samuel 6:12 2 Samuel 20:12 2 Samuel 20:12 2 Samuel 20:13 2 Kings 18:17 1 Chronicles 26:16 1 Chronicles 26:18 2 Chronicles 9:11 Psalm 84:5 Proverbs 16:17 Isaiah 7:3 Isaiah 11:16 Isaiah 19:23 Isaiah 33:8 Isaiah 36:2 Isaiah 40:3 Isaiah 49:11 Isaiah 59:7 Isaiah 62:10 27 Occurrences |
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