What does מוֹשָׁב mean in the Bible?
This noun can refer to a seat, a place where people dwell, or an assembly. The surrounding scene tells readers which is meant.
Hebrew · H4186
מוֹשָׁב
A seat ; figuratively, a site ; abstractly, a session ; by extension an abode (the place or the time); by implication, population
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מוֹשָׁבH4186
What does מוֹשָׁב mean in the Bible?
This noun can refer to a seat, a place where people dwell, or an assembly. The surrounding scene tells readers which is meant.
Reader summary
Full entry for מוֹשָׁב (H4186) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H4186?
The BSB source-word alignment has 44 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include you live (7), in the seat (2), in which to dwell (2), of your dwellings (2), the seating (2).
Where does מוֹשָׁב appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 10:30. Its strongest book concentrations include Leviticus (9), Ezekiel (7), Psalms (6), Exodus (4).
What This Word Actually Means
This noun can refer to a seat, a place where people dwell, or an assembly. The surrounding scene tells readers which is meant. David's empty seat at a meal in First Samuel 20:18 is not the same kind of place as the city sought by wanderers in Psalm 107:7. Psalm 107:32 uses the word for the gathering of elders in which the Lord is to be praised.
Psalm 1:1 gives a seat moral significance through its occupants: the blessed person does not sit with mockers but delights in the Lord's instruction. The furniture itself is not corrupt, and physical proximity alone does not settle a person's loyalties. Psalm 107, meanwhile, takes the need for a habitable place seriously. Hungry wanderers cry for help and are led toward a city where they can live. This particular testimony of deliverance invites gratitude and attentiveness to people without secure shelter; it does not make housing ownership a test of faith.
source_lexiconPassage contextPastoral application
How the Bible Uses It
A missing place at a royal meal, participation among mockers, a city for wandering people, an assembly of elders, and Zion as God's chosen dwelling give the noun its concrete and relational settings.
- 1Sam.20.18
Then Jonathan said to David, “Tomorrow is the New Moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty.
Jonathan anticipates that David's empty seat will make his absence noticeable. The place at the meal is part of a dangerous relationship with Saul, not a symbol of guaranteed social belonging.
- Ps.1.1
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.
The seat belongs to mockers in a sequence contrasted with delight in the Lord's instruction. The psalm concerns allegiance and conduct rather than declaring every nearby person morally contaminating.
- Ps.107.7
He led them on a straight path to reach a city where they could live.
The Lord leads distressed wanderers toward a city where they can dwell. Their hunger, cry, and deliverance give the settled place its significance in this testimony of steadfast care.
- Ps.107.32
Let them exalt Him in the assembly of the people and praise Him in the council of the elders.
The redeemed are called to praise God in the congregation and the assembly of elders. Here the word points to a gathered community, not merely a physical chair.
- Ps.132.13
For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His home:
Zion is named as the Lord's chosen dwelling within the psalm's covenant setting. This particular declaration must not be reduced to a generic promise that every cherished place has the same status.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Ityou live7×Leviticus 3:17, Leviticus 23:3, Leviticus 23:14, Leviticus 23:21
in the seat2×Psalms 1:1, Ezekiel 28:2
in which to dwell2×Psalms 107:4, Psalms 107:36
of your dwellings2×Exodus 35:3, Leviticus 7:26
the seating2×1 Kings 10:5, 2 Chronicles 9:4
your dwelling place2×Genesis 27:39, Numbers 24:21
-1×1 Samuel 20:25
. . .1×Leviticus 25:29
according to their settlements1×Genesis 36:43
and settlements1×1 Chronicles 7:28
as a home1×Numbers 15:2
for houses1×Ezekiel 48:15
for their settlements1×1 Chronicles 6:54
from your dwellings1×Leviticus 23:17
in a place1×Leviticus 13:46
in the council1×Psalms 107:32
in their dwellings1×Exodus 10:23
it for His home1×Psalms 132:13
location1×2 Kings 2:19
my seat1×Job 29:7
Now the duration1×Exodus 12:40
place1×1 Samuel 20:25
the settlements1×Ezekiel 34:13
their apostasies1×Ezekiel 37:23
Their territory1×Genesis 10:30
they live1×Ezekiel 6:14
was seated1×Ezekiel 8:3
were their settlements1×1 Chronicles 4:33
where [the Midianites] had lived1×Numbers 31:10
where they could live1×Psalms 107:7
who dwelt1×2 Samuel 9:12
your homes1×Exodus 12:20
your seat1×1 Samuel 20:18
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 10:30מוֹשָׁבָ֖םtoTheir territoryNoun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine pluralGenesis 27:39מֽוֹשָׁבֶ֔ךָtoyour dwelling placeNoun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singularGenesis 36:43לְמֹֽשְׁבֹתָם֙toaccording to their settlementsPreposition-l | Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine pluralExodus 10:23בְּמוֹשְׁבֹתָֽם׃toin their dwellingsPreposition-b | Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine pluralExodus 12:20מוֹשְׁבֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔םtoyour homesNoun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine pluralExodus 12:40וּמוֹשַׁב֙toNow the durationConjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular constructExodus 35:3מֹשְׁבֹֽתֵיכֶ֑םtoof your dwellingsNoun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine pluralLeviticus 3:17מֽוֹשְׁבֹתֵיכֶ֑םtoyou liveNoun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine pluralLeviticus 7:26מוֹשְׁבֹתֵיכֶ֑םtoof your dwellingsNoun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine pluralLeviticus 13:46מוֹשָׁבֽוֹ׃סtoin a placeNoun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 10:30
Aligned rows44
Books represented13
Genesis3Exodus4Leviticus9Numbers41 Samuel32 Samuel11 Kings12 Kings11 Chronicles32 Chronicles1Job1Psalms6Ezekiel7
Source forms
וּמוֹשַׁ֣ב2xū·mō·wō·šaḇ1 Kings 10:5, 2 Chronicles 9:4
מוֹשַׁב֙2xmō·wō·šaḇLeviticus 25:29, 1 Samuel 20:25
מוֹשָֽׁב׃2xmō·wō·šāḇPsalms 107:7, Psalms 107:36
מֽוֹשָׁבֶ֔ךָ2xmō·wō·šā·ḇe·ḵāGenesis 27:39, Numbers 24:21
מוֹשְׁבֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם2xmō·wō·šə·ḇō·ṯê·ḵemExodus 12:20, Numbers 15:2
בְּמ֣וֹשְׁבֹתָ֔ם1xbə·mō·wō·šə·ḇō·ṯāmNumbers 31:10
בְּמוֹשְׁבֹתָֽם׃1xbə·mō·wō·šə·ḇō·ṯāmExodus 10:23
וּבְמוֹשַׁ֥ב1xū·ḇə·mō·wō·šaḇPsalms 1:1
Parsing patterns
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine plural11xExodus 12:20, Exodus 35:3, Leviticus 3:17, Leviticus 7:26
Noun - masculine singular construct6xLeviticus 25:29, 1 Samuel 20:25, 2 Samuel 9:12, 2 Kings 2:19
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural4x1 Chronicles 4:33, 1 Chronicles 6:54, Ezekiel 6:14, Ezekiel 37:23
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct3xExodus 12:40, 1 Kings 10:5, 2 Chronicles 9:4
Noun - masculine singular3xPsalms 107:4, Psalms 107:7, Psalms 107:36
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular3xGenesis 27:39, Numbers 24:21, 1 Samuel 20:18
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct2xPsalms 1:1, Psalms 107:32
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular2xLeviticus 13:46, 1 Samuel 20:25
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Listen to people experiencing displacement without offering property ownership as proof that their faith has finally succeeded.
- Encourage hospitality through the actual needs of neighbors rather than treating precarious housing as an illustrative prop.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that the noun promises permanent property to every believer; the selected passages describe different places and relationships.
- Do not claim that sitting near a mocker necessarily adopts the mocker's ways; Psalm 1 contrasts patterns of allegiance and conduct.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. a seat ; figuratively, a site ; abstractly, a session ; by extension an abode (the place or the time); by implication, population
Source Gloss
a seat ; figuratively, a site ; abstractly, a session ; by extension an abode (the place or the time); by implication, population
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
a seat; figuratively, a site; abstractly, a session; by extension an abode (the place or the time); by implication, population BDB: seat Usage: assembly, dwell in, dwelling(-place), wherein (that) dwelt (in), inhabited place, seat, sitting, situation, sojourning.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Word Origins
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
The wanderers in Psalm 107 need more than directions. They are hungry and thirsty, and their lives are ebbing away. When they cry to the Lord, He leads them on a straight way toward a city in which they can dwell. The destination belongs to the substance of the rescue: a place where wandering need not continue in the same way.
Thanksgiving for such deliverance can deepen a congregation's attention to the need for shelter and stable community. It should not divide people into those whose secure housing proves blessing and those whose instability proves failure. The psalm recounts the Lord's goodness and calls for praise; it does not authorize observers to explain every present housing situation. Let the testimony encourage gratitude, hospitality, and practical concern while allowing those still seeking a place to speak truthfully about their need.
Anchor passage
Ps.107.7
Doctrinal connections
- Psalm 107:4-9 joins the wanderers' hunger and cry with God's guidance and satisfaction of their need.
- Psalm 107:31-32 carries thanksgiving into the gathered community, making praise a shared response to the Lord's works.
- Psalm 1:1-3 contrasts the mockers' company with delight in God's instruction and the fruitfulness pictured by a planted tree.
- First Samuel 20:18 locates an empty seat within David's danger, preventing a simplistic equation of prominent place with safety.
- Psalm 132:13-14 names Zion in a specific declaration of divine choice and dwelling that should retain its covenant setting.
- Hebrews 13:14 directs believers toward the coming city, giving hope beyond present settlements without making present needs unimportant.
Seat, dwelling place, and assembly are related uses of this noun, but the chosen translation depends on the scene. A shared connection with sitting or dwelling does not make every occurrence a technical statement about membership, spiritual authority, or permanent possession.
From Old to New Testament
Hebrews 13:14 says that believers do not have an enduring city here but seek the city to come. Read alongside Psalm 107's gratitude for a dwelling place, it allows present shelter to be valued without making any earthly settlement the final horizon of hope.
Passage contextPastoral application