Original Word: מְחָא
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: mcha'
Pronunciation: meh-khah'
Phonetic Spelling: (mekh-aw')
KJV: hang, smite, stay
NASB: struck, ward off
Word Origin: [(Aramaic) corresponding to H4222 (מָחָא - clap)]

1. to strike in pieces
2. also to arrest
3. specifically to impale

hang, smite, stay

(Aramaic) corresponding to macha'; to strike in pieces; also to arrest; specifically to impale -- hang, smite, stay.

see HEBREW macha'

Word Origin
(Aramaic) corresponding to macha
Definition
to smite
NASB Translation
impaled* (1), struck (2), ward off (1).

[מְחָא] verb smite (see Biblical Hebrew II. מָחָה); —

Pe`al Perfect3feminine singular מְחַת, ל of thing, Daniel 2:34,35 (+ עַל).

Pa`el Imperfect3masculine singular ימַחֵא בִידֵהּ Daniel 4:32, i.e. hinder him (compare Ecclesiastes 8:4 ᵑ7; D^{Aramaic Dialektproben. p. 5}; Talmud: Levy^{NHWB under the word} ).

Hithpa. Imperfect3masculine singular יִתְמְחֵא Ezra 6:11 let him be smitten (nailed) עֲלֹ֑הִי.

[מַחְלְקָה] see חלק.

Concept Summary

The term conveys a decisive blow that disrupts, overwhelms, or renders powerless. Whether the blow is literal, judicial, or metaphorical, it always signals the triumph of a higher power over whatever is struck.

Biblical Occurrences

Ezra 6:11 records a royal decree threatening anyone who would tamper with the temple-building edict: “a beam is to be pulled from his house, and he is to be impaled on it.” The blow envisioned is a public, humiliating execution that warns against resisting the restoration of God’s worship.

Daniel 2:34 and 2:35 twice describe the messianic stone that “struck the statue,” shattering human empires. The same verb depicts an unopposed impact that pulverizes worldly power and ushers in an eternal kingdom.

Daniel 4:35 declares that no one can “restrain His hand” when the Most High acts. Here the hand that might smite cannot even be stayed; resistance is futile before divine sovereignty.

Historical and Cultural Context

All four occurrences arise in Aramaic sections written during or just after the Babylonian exile. The Persian and Babylonian monarchies knew the spectacle of impalement and the irresistible force of imperial decrees. Scripture adopts their courtroom and battlefield imagery but redirects it: the ultimate imperial strike belongs to God, not to earthly kings.

Themes of Judgment and Sovereignty

1. Divine retribution—Ezra 6:11 portrays a king enforcing God’s priority, illustrating Romans 13:4 long before Paul wrote it.
2. Eschatological victory—Daniel’s stone is cut “not by human hands,” stressing that salvation and judgment are entirely God’s work. The blow is final, comprehensive, and transformative, prefiguring Revelation 11:15.
3. Irresistible authority—Daniel 4:35 places the word on Nebuchadnezzar’s lips after his humiliation; the world’s greatest monarch concedes that no one can block the Almighty’s strike.

Implications for Worship and Obedience

• Tampering with God’s worship brings severe repercussions. The Ezra decree warns that how one treats God’s house affects one’s own house.
• Kingdoms and careers built on iron, clay, bronze, silver, or gold will fall before the Rock of Ages. Personal allegiance must shift from the passing statue to the eternal stone.
• Prayer and proclamation should carry holy confidence. If no hand can restrain His, believers may intercede boldly and evangelize fearlessly.

Ministry Applications

Pastoral exhortation: contrast the fragile idol of self-rule with the unbreakable reign of Christ; call for repentance before the striking stone arrives.

Counseling: comfort oppressed believers that every tyrant’s hand will ultimately be struck down.

Public theology: stress God’s right to judge nations, encouraging civic righteousness while warning against idolatrous nationalism.

Christological Foreshadowing

The stone “cut out, but not by human hands” anticipates the incarnation—supernatural in origin, human in presence, decisive in conquest (Luke 20:17-18). The blow that crushes the statue also becomes a mountain filling the earth, mirroring the Great Commission’s spread of the gospel. At the cross Christ endured the stroke of justice (Isaiah 53:10), so that all who trust Him are spared the coming blow and instead built into “living stones” (1 Peter 2:5).

Summary Insight

Across exile narrative, imperial edict, prophetic vision, and royal confession, מְחָא depicts a single reality: when God strikes, nothing stands. Recognizing that certainty leads to reverent fear, steadfast hope, and joyful submission to the King whose hand is both mighty to smite and mighty to save.

וּמְחָ֤ת ומחת יְמַחֵ֣א יִתְמְחֵ֣א ימחא יתמחא מְחָ֣ת מחת mə·ḥāṯ meChat məḥāṯ ū·mə·ḥāṯ umeChat ūməḥāṯ yə·ma·ḥê yemaChe yəmaḥê yiṯ·mə·ḥê yitmeChe yiṯməḥêInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts