Original Word: מֻטֶּה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: muttah
Pronunciation: moot-taw'
Phonetic Spelling: (moot-taw')
KJV: stretching out
NASB: spread
Word Origin: [from H5186 (נָטָה - stretched)]

1. expansion

stretching out

From natah; expansion -- stretching out.

see HEBREW natah

Word Origin
from natah
Definition
spreading, outspreading
NASB Translation
spread (1).

[מֻטָּה] noun feminine spreading, outspreading; — only plural construct מֻטּוֺת כְּנָפָיו Isaiah 8:8 the outspreading of his wings (compare Ges^{§ 147}, 7a Kö^{ii, 1, 192, 399}), figurative of invading Assyrian army.

Imagery and Semantic Range

The word portrays something stretched out or extended, whether the tips of a bough or, in Isaiah, the far reach of a gigantic wing. It evokes width, encroachment, and the sense of being over-shadowed.

Historical Setting

Isaiah ministered during the Syro-Ephraimite crisis. King Ahaz courted Assyrian aid, and the prophet warned that Assyria would “overflow” Judah. The single use of מֻטֶּה paints the advancing empire as a bird of prey whose wingspan blankets the covenant land.

“...it will pass through and reach up to the neck; its spreading wings will cover the breadth of your land, O Immanuel!” (Isaiah 8:8).

Theological Significance

1. Divine discipline. The outspread wings symbolize a tool wielded by the Lord of Hosts (Isaiah 10:5-6).
2. Covenant limits. The flood rises only to the “neck,” showing judgment bounded by mercy (Isaiah 10:24-27).
3. Immanuel assurance. Even under foreign wings, the land remains “your land, O Immanuel,” grounding hope in God-with-us.

Christological Echoes

Matthew 1:23 applies Immanuel to Jesus Christ. The hostile wings of Assyria prefigure the reach of later oppressive powers, yet all meet their limit at the cross (Colossians 2:15). Christ Himself contrasts the predatory spread with protective wings: “How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings” (Matthew 23:37).

Canonical Parallels

• Refuge under divine wings: Ruth 2:12; Psalm 91:4.
• Wings of judgment: Deuteronomy 28:49; Habakkuk 1:8.
• Extended branches of rule: Ezekiel 17:3-6; John 15:5.

Ministry Applications

• Guard against misplaced alliances; human help may turn oppressive (Psalm 146:3).
• Trust God’s set boundaries on adversity (1 Corinthians 10:13).
• Intercede by naming endangered places “Immanuel,” affirming divine ownership amid crisis.

Related Motifs

natâ – to stretch or extend; kānāp – wing; sukkāh – sheltering booth. Together they frame both danger and deliverance.

Summary

In a single, vivid appearance, מֻטֶּה captures the breadth of invading power and the greater breadth of God’s sovereign care. Judgment may sweep in, but it does so upon land that still belongs to Immanuel, pointing ultimately to Jesus Christ, whose arms outstretched on the cross forever shelter those who trust in Him.

מֻטּ֣וֹת מטות muṭ·ṭō·wṯ mutTot muṭṭōwṯInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts