Genesis 25:14 — Word Study
WLCוּמִשְׁמָ֥ע וְדוּמָ֖ה וּמַשָּֽׂא׃
BSAMishmaMishmâʻ [a hearing, son of Ishmael] DumahDûwmâh [silence, a region in Arabia] MassaMassâʼ [burden, a son of Ishmael]
| Greek | English | Parsing |
|---|---|---|
| וּמִשְׁמָ֥ע | and Mishma | Conjunction, noun proper masculine |
| וְדוּמָ֖ה | and Dumah | Conjunction, noun proper masculine |
| וּמַשָּֽׂא׃ | and Massa | Conjunction, noun proper masculine |
Every word in the verse. Click a row to open it in the panel on the left.
| BSB | Mishma, Dumah, Massa, |
| KJV | And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, |
| ASV | and Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, |
| YLT | and Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, |
| WEB | Mishma, Dumah, Massa, |
| BBE | And Mishma and Dumah and Massa, |
There are no significant differences in how the translations render the names listed in this verse.
The verse consists of a single main clause listing the names of Ishmael's sons.
7 commentators on this verse
Gill, Jamieson, Poole, Trapp & more — read them ›
clause
The sentence as the grammar sees it Open the tree ›
Every word here is used elsewhere in the Old Testament.
Bars are logarithmic — אֵת, the commonest word in the Hebrew Bible, stands about 11,000 times, so a linear scale would leave everything else invisible. Click a row to open that word.
Deep Study — Genesis 25:14
Sections marked generated are written from the data on this page rather than by a named author. Everything else — the lexicon entries, the cross references, the manuscript readings, the counts — is quoted from its source unchanged.
Context — The Sons of Ishmaelgenerated
Genesis 25:14 lists the names of three sons of Ishmael: Mishma, Dumah, and Massa. This verse is part of a larger genealogy that outlines the descendants of Ishmael, who was the son of Abraham and Hagar. It highlights the lineage of the Ishmaelites and their significance in the biblical narrative, as seen in Isaiah 21:11–16.
Cross References
| Reference | Text (BSB) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Isaiah 21:11–16 | This is the burden against Dumah: One calls to me from Seir, “Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?” |
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — 1 reference, hung on the phrase they belong to
The Key Word — מִשְׁמָע, u.mish.Ma'generated
The name מִשְׁמָע (Mishma) is a proper masculine noun meaning 'a hearing.' It refers to a son of Ishmael, as well as a figure in the tribe of Simeon. The parsing indicates it is a noun used in a genealogical context, emphasizing lineage.
Mishma's name suggests a connection to listening or hearing, which may have implications for his descendants. This name appears in both 1 Chronicles 4:25 and here, linking him to the broader narrative of Ishmael's descendants.
How Translations Differ — measured against the Berean Standard Biblegenerated
Translations generally agree on the names listed in this verse.
Sentence Structuregenerated
The structure of this verse is straightforward, with a main clause listing three names: וּמִשְׁמָ֥ע, וְדוּמָ֖ה, and וּמַשָּֽׂא. Each name is presented in a series, connected by conjunctions.
This simple listing format emphasizes the genealogical nature of the text, allowing the reader to easily identify the sons of Ishmael.
Septuagint Backgroundgenerated
The Septuagint translates מִשְׁמָע as μασμα, דוּמָה as ιδουμα, and מַשָּׂא as μασση. These choices reflect a direct correspondence to the Hebrew names, maintaining their identity while adapting them to Greek phonetics.
The translations indicate a consistent approach to rendering these names, preserving their significance in the context of Ishmael's lineage.
In plain words — the whole versegenerated
Genesis 25:14 lists three sons of Ishmael: Mishma, Dumah, and Massa. Each name has a meaning: Mishma means 'a hearing,' Dumah means 'silence,' and Massa means 'burden.' These names reflect the heritage of Ishmael's descendants.
Frequently Asked Questionsgenerated
The names reflect various meanings: Mishma means 'a hearing,' Dumah means 'silence,' and Massa means 'burden,' which may hint at their roles or characteristics.
Ishmael's lineage is significant as it represents the Arab nations and their historical relationship with Israel.
Mishma appears in 1 Chronicles 4:25, while Dumah is associated with Edom in various contexts.
Genealogy in the Bible serves to establish heritage, identity, and fulfillment of God's promises through specific lineages.
Reflection Questionsgenerated
- What can I learn from the names of Ishmael's sons about their character or role in history?
- How do the meanings of these names reflect the broader themes of the Bible?
- In what ways do genealogies help us understand God's plan throughout Scripture?
- How can I apply the lessons from Ishmael's lineage to my own understanding of heritage and identity?
Commentators on this verse — 7 expositors, verse by verse
Each of these wrote on Genesis 25:14 itself, not merely on the chapter around it.
John Gill1697–1771Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa. Of Mishma and Massa, and of their posterity, there is not anything said elsewhere, unless the Masani, Ptolemy (p) places near Arabia Felix, came from Massa.
Read John Gill on Genesis 25 →Robert Jamieson1802–1880Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's CommentaryAnd Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa, Mishma - Septuagint, Masma. Ptolemy mentions the Maisaimaneis, whose settlement was on the northeast of Medina, as probably representing the descendants of this son of Ishmael.
Read Robert Jamieson on Genesis 25 →Matthew Poole1624–1679Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy BibleDumah; from him Dumah, , or Dumatha, a place in Arabia, seems to have recieved its name. Others make him the father of the Idumeans.
Read Matthew Poole on Genesis 25 →John Trapp1601–1669Trapp's Complete Commentary on the Old and New TestamentsGenesis 25:14 And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,Ver. 14. And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massah.] Out of these three names - which signify hearing, silence, and suffering - the Masorites gather the three principal duties of man, in common conversation; viz., to hear, to keep silence, and bear: these, say they, make a quiet and good life. Sustine et abstine, is the philosopher’ s counsel. Video, Taceo, "I see, and say nothing," was Queen Elizabeth’ s motto: and "I am for peace," was David’ s; or, as the Hebrew hath it, "I am peace." He "heard the slander of many, fear was on every side"; but he "as a deaf man heard not, and as a dumb man, so he opened not his mouth". Facile est in me dicere, cum…
Read John Trapp on Genesis 25 →AdamClarkeAdam Clarke's Commentary on the BibleVerse 14. Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa] Where the first and last of these settled is not known; but it is probable that Dumah gave his name to a place called Dumah in Arabia. See a prophecy concerning this place, Isaiah 21:11, from which we find that it was in the vicinity of Mount Seir. These three names have passed into a proverb among the Hebrews, because of their signification. משמע mishma signifies HEARING; דומה dumah, SILENCE; and משא massa, PATIENCE. Hence, "Hear much, say little, and bear much," tantamount to the famous maxim of the Stoics, ανεχουκαιαπεχου, "Sustain and abstain," is supposed to be the spirit of the original words.
Read AdamClarke on Genesis 25 →CambridgeThe Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges12–18 (P). The Descendants of Ishmael The genealogy of Ishmael is thus disposed of, before the narrative resumes the history of the Chosen Family in the generations of Isaac (Genesis 25:19). It is to be noticed that the sons of Ishmael are twelve in number, like the sons of Nahor (Genesis 22:21-24) and of Jacob.
Read Cambridge on Genesis 25 →Daniel Denison Whedon1808–1885Whedon's Commentary on the Bible13-15. The names — We find scattered notices of these names in later books.
Read Daniel Denison Whedon on Genesis 25 →The verse in English, compared — 17 translations, and where they part company
Every translation on this page is a decision someone had to make and commit to. Read down a column and you see one translator's judgement; read across a row and you see the range the Greek actually allows. The BSB is the wording the rest of this page is measured against, so it is listed first.
Modern formal
Mishma, Dumah, Massa,
Mishma, Dumah, Massa,
Mishma, Dumah, Massa,
Mishma, Dumah, Massa,
Tyndale line
And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,
and Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,
and Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa;
And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,
And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,
Strictly literal
and Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,
and Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,
and Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,
And Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa,
Mishma, Dumah, Massa,
From the Latin
And Masma, and Duma, and Massa,
Simplified
Mishma, Dumah, Massa,
And Mishma and Dumah and Massa,
Counted from the translations carried on this site, not from a survey of every English Bible. A rendering shared by many versions is usually inherited rather than independently arrived at — the Tyndale line in particular runs through most of them.
The sentence as the grammar sees it — from the MACULA Hebrew treebank
This is not our own analysis: it is the scholarly syntax tree for the verse, showing how the clause actually holds together.
Boxes are the grammarian's groupings — clause, noun phrase, prepositional phrase.
The four witnesses to this verse — Masoretic, Septuagint, Samaritan, Qumran
The Masoretic Text, the Septuagint, and the Samaritan Pentateuch all agree on the wording of this verse. The Samaritan Pentateuch matches the Masoretic Text word for word, confirming the integrity of the names listed.
וּמִשְׁמָ֥ע וְדוּמָ֖ה וּמַשָּֽׂא׃
3 of the 3 words are matched. This is the word-by-word correspondence, not the Septuagint's own sentence — its word order and its articles are its own.
ומשׁמע ודומה ומשׂא
Agrees with the Masoretic Text here, word for word.
Four traditions, not one. “On the leather” means the letters physically survive on the scroll, as against letters an editor has supplied to fill a hole in it — a restoration is a scholar’s reading, not a reading of the manuscript. Words in [square brackets] are supplied; the notes count them apart from what survives.
The map of this verse — what each word keeps company with
This is a map of two things, both counted rather than judged. Company kept: which words stand within three words of each of these, anywhere in the Hebrew Bible — the thicker the line, the more often the pair meet compared with chance. Built from: the words a word is made out of, taken from its own Strong’s entry. It is not a map of meaning: nothing here claims two words mean the same thing. Click any circle to see the numbers behind it.
Lexicons — every word in Genesis 25:14
One dossier per word, with every reference work grouped by kind — Hebrew lexicons, morphology, Bible dictionaries, topical chains and the English of the translators themselves. The verse sits at the head of each block with the word under study lit, so you never lose your place. The panel above gives the short answer; this is the long one, and it is the part of the page worth indexing.
Every entry below is the lexicographer's own text. On the Hebrew: Brown-Driver-Briggs entire and its gloss set, Strong's Hebrew Dictionary, and Tyndale House's Translators Brief lexicon. Where a cell says a work has no entry, that work genuinely has none for this word.
מִשְׁמָע (Mishma) refers to a name associated with two figures in the Old Testament: a son of Ishmael and a descendant of Mibsam from the tribe of Simeon. The name is linked to the meaning 'a hearing.' It appears in Genesis 25:14 and 1 Chronicles 4:25.
מִשְׁמָע n.pr.m.
in Ishmael
in Simeon
base
H4927 מִשְׁמָע . in Ishmael
. in Simeon
4927 Mishma` mish-maw'
the same as 4926; Mishma, the name of a son of Ishmael, and
of an Israelite:--Mishma.
see HEBREW for 04926
מִשְׁמָע (mish.ma) — Mishma.
A man of the Arabs living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.25.14;
son of: Ishmael (H3458);
brother of: Nebaioth (H5032), Kedar (H6938), Adbeel (H0110), Mibsam (H4017), Dumah (H1746), Massa (H4854), Hadad (H2301), Tema (H8485), Jetur (H3195), Naphish (H5305), Kedemah (H6929) and Mahalath (H4258)
§ Mishma = "a hearing"
1) one of the 12 sons of Ishmael
2) son of Mibsam of the family of Simeon
מִשְׁמָע (mish.ma) — Mishma.
A man of the tribe of Simeon living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at 1Ch.4.25;
son of: Mibsam (H4017H);
father of: Hammuel (H2536)
§ Mishma = "a hearing"
1) one of the 12 sons of Ishmael
2) son of Mibsam of the family of Simeon
Conj | N-proper — Conjunction · noun proper masculineHC/Npm
Mishma
Hearing. (1.) One of the sons of Ishmael (Gen. 25:14), and founder of an Arab tribe.
(2.) A Simeonite (1 Chr. 4:25, 26).
(a hearing). A son of Ishmael and brother of Mibsam. (Genesis 25:14; 1 Chronicles 1:30) A son of Simeon, (1 Chronicles 4:25) brother of Mibsam.
hearing; obeying
דּוּמָה (Duwmah) refers to a son of Ishmael, a man associated with the Ishmaelite tribe of Arabia. It also denotes a city in the mountainous region of Judah and serves as a mystical name for Edom, symbolizing death and ruin. The name itself translates to 'silence.'
דּוּמָה n.pr.
m. son of Ishmael
city in mountains of Judah
name of Edom with mystic mng.
base
H1746 דּוּמָה . son of Ishmael
. city in mountains of Judah
. name of Edom with mystic mng.
1746 Duwmah doo-maw'
the same as 1745; Dumah, a tribe and region of
Arabia:--Dumah.
see HEBREW for 01745
דּוּמָה (du.mah) — Dumah.
A man of the Arabs living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.25.14;
son of: Ishmael (H3458);
brother of: Nebaioth (H5032), Kedar (H6938), Adbeel (H0110), Mibsam (H4017), Mishma (H4927), Massa (H4854), Hadad (H2301), Tema (H8485), Jetur (H3195), Naphish (H5305), Kedemah (H6929) and Mahalath (H4258)
§ Dumah = "silence"
1) son of Ishmael and most probably the founder of the Ishmaelite tribe of Arabia
2) a town in the mountainous district of Judah, near Hebron
3) a mystical name of Edom indicating death and ruin
דּוּמָה (du.mah) — Dumah.
§ Dumah = "silence"
a mystical name of Edom indicating death and ruin
Conj | N-proper — Conjunction · noun proper masculineHC/Npm
du'-ma (dumah, "silence"): This word occurs in the Old Testament with the following significations:
(1) the land of silence or death, the grave (Ps 94:17; 115:17);
(2) a town in the highlands of Judah between Hebron and Beersheba, now ed-Daume (Jos 15:52);
(3) an emblematical designation of Edom in the obscure oracle (Isa 21:11,12);
Dumah
Silence, (comp. Ps. 94:17), the fourth son of Ishmael; also the tribe descended from him; and hence also the region in Arabia which they inhabited (Gen. 25:14; 1 Chr. 1:30).
There was also a town of this name in Judah (Josh. 15:52), which has been identified with ed-Domeh, about 10 miles southwest of Hebron. The place mentioned in the “burden” of the prophet Isaiah (21:11) is Edom or Idumea.
(silence). A son of Ishmael, most probably the founder of the Ishmaelite tribe of Arabia, and thence the name of the principal place of district inhabited by that tribe. (Genesis 25:14; 1 Chronicles 1:30; Isaiah 21:11) A city in the mountainous district of Judah, near Hebron, (Joshua 15:52) represented by the ruins of a village called ed-Daumeh , six miles southwest of Hebron.
The Hebrew word מַשָּׂא (massa') refers to a son of Ishmael and is associated with the term 'burden.' It appears in the context of genealogies in the Old Testament, specifically in Genesis 25:14. The entries highlight its identity as a man of the Arabs during the time of the Patriarchs.
מַשָּׂא n.pr.gent. et terr.
‘son’ of Ishmael
realm of king Lemuel
base
H4854 מַשָּׂא . ‘son’ of Ishmael
. realm of king Lemuel
4854 Massa' mas-saw'
the same as 4853; burden; Massa, a son of Ishmael:--Massa.
see HEBREW for 04853
מַשָּׂא (mas.sa) — Massa.
A man of the Arabs living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.25.14;
son of: Ishmael (H3458);
brother of: Nebaioth (H5032), Kedar (H6938), Adbeel (H0110), Mibsam (H4017), Mishma (H4927), Dumah (H1746), Hadad (H2301), Tema (H8485), Jetur (H3195), Naphish (H5305), Kedemah (H6929) and Mahalath (H4258)
§ Massa = "burden"
a son of Ishmael
Conj | N-proper — Conjunction · noun proper masculineHC/Npm
mas'-a (massa', "burden"): Descendant of Abraham through Ishmael (Ge 25:14; 1Ch 1:30). His people may be the Masani of Ptolemy, having Eastern Arabia near Babylon as their habitat. The marginal reading of the heading to Pr 31 mentions Lemuel as king of Massa. If that reading is accepted, it would seem that a tribe and probably a place were named from Ishmael's descendant. The reading is doubtful, however, for where the phrase recurs in Pr 30 (Revised Version (British and American)) it appears to be a gloss.
Massa
A lifting up, gift, one of the sons of Ishmael, the founder of an Arabian tribe (Gen. 25:14); a nomad tribe inhabiting the Arabian desert toward Babylonia.
(burden), a son of Ishmael. (Genesis 26:14; 1 Chronicles 1:30) His descendants were not improbably the Masani , placed by Ptolemy in the east of Arabia, near the borders of Babylonia.
a burden; prophecy