Original Word: מְשׂוּכָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: msuwkah
Pronunciation: meh-soo-KAH
Phonetic Spelling: (mes-oo-kaw')
KJV: hedge
NASB: hedge
Word Origin: [from H7753 (שׂוּך - hedge)]

1. a hedge

hedge

Or msukah {mes-oo-kaw'}; from suwk; a hedge -- hedge.

see HEBREW suwk

Word Origin
from suk
Definition
a hedge
NASB Translation
hedge (1).

[מְשֻׂכָֿה] noun feminine hedge (= מְסוּכָה); — construct מְשֻׂכַֿת חָ֑דֶק Proverbs 15:19 (in simile). — מְשׂוּכֶּתוֺ see III. שׂכך.

II. שׂוך (? "" II. שׂכך: compare Late Hebrew סוֺכָה; Aramaic סוֺכָא, (masculine singular), סוֺכְתָא, , — all branch).

[מְשֻׂכָּה] noun feminine hedge; — suffix מְשׂוּכָּתו Isaiah 5:5 (if כּ right); perhaps read מְשֻׂכָה see below I. שׂוך.

Term and Concept

מְשׂוּכָה denotes a woven thorn–hedge or fence. In Scripture it pictures either (1) an intentional barrier erected for protection or (2) an obstructive growth that impedes progress.

Agricultural Background

In ancient Palestine, vineyard owners interlaced thorn-branches to form living fences. These hedges kept out wild animals, trespassers, and wind-blown debris while concentrating moisture around the roots. To neglect the hedge invited ruin; to remove it was an act of judgment that exposed the crop to devastation (compare Ecclesiastes 10:8).

Proverbs 15:19—Spiritual Impediments

“The way of the slacker is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway.” Proverbs contrasts two life-roads:
• The slacker meets continual snags of his own making. His excuses, procrastination, and disorder sprout into prickly obstacles, wounding him and deterring others.
• The upright enjoy an unobstructed “highway.” Diligence, integrity, and foresight clear the path and invite God’s favor (see Proverbs 3:6).

The verse trains disciples to recognize that moral character, not circumstances, determines whether their daily walk feels tangled or free.

Isaiah 5:5—Divine Hedge of Protection

“Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be consumed.” In the Song of the Vineyard (Isaiah 5:1-7), the LORD indicts Judah for covenant breach. Removing the hedge is the climactic signal that the nation will lose its privileged security. Assyrian and Babylonian invasions would soon trample the land. The passage teaches:

1. Privilege requires fruit. A hedged vineyard is expected to yield righteousness (Isaiah 5:7).
2. Protection is conditional. Persistent sin forfeits the barrier God lovingly wove.
3. Judgment aims at restoration. The hedge can be replanted once repentance produces true grapes (Isaiah 27:2-6).

Theological Threads: Protection, Discipline, Responsibility

• Protection: Job 1:10 shows Satan acknowledging a divine hedge around the righteous. God delights to shield His people.
• Discipline: Hosea 2:6 describes a hedge set not for safety but to block errant Israel from chasing lovers—discipline through frustration.
• Responsibility: Believers cooperate with God’s hedge by sober watchfulness (1 Peter 5:8) and communal accountability (Hebrews 13:17).

Practical Ministry Applications

1. Spiritual Formation: Encourage saints to remove “thorn-bush habits” (laziness, bitterness) so pathways to service remain clear.
2. Intercessory Prayer: Pastors frequently plead for a hedge around families, missions, and youth, recognizing the biblical precedent.
3. Church Discipline: A congregation occasionally withdraws protective fellowship so that sin’s thorns may awaken repentance (1 Corinthians 5:5).

Related Passages

Job 1:10; Hosea 2:6; Ecclesiastes 10:8; Zechariah 2:5; Psalm 80:12-13; Matthew 21:33-41.

Christological Reflection

Jesus adopts the vineyard imagery in His parables (Matthew 21:33). By His atoning death He secures an everlasting hedge—Himself as the Good Shepherd and the Door (John 10:7-11). Abiding in the True Vine (John 15:1-5), the church enjoys both protection and productivity, fulfilling what Israel’s thorn-hedged vineyard prefigured.

כִּמְשֻׂ֣כַת כמשכת מְשׂוּכָּתוֹ֙ משוכתו kim·śu·ḵaṯ kimSuchat kimśuḵaṯ mə·śū·kā·ṯōw mesukaTo məśūkāṯōwInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts