Properly, to come forth to, i.e. appear or exist ; transitively, to attain , i.e. find or acquire ; figuratively, to occur , meet or be present
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מָצָא (matsa) is the common Hebrew verb for finding, discovering, encountering, attaining, or being found. It can describe locating a person or object, coming upon something unexpectedly, obtaining what is sought, or finding favor in someone's eyes.
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Full entry for מָצָא (H4672) · Open the biblical lexicon
מָצָא (matsa) is the common Hebrew verb for finding, discovering, encountering, attaining, or being found. It can describe locating a person or object, coming upon something unexpectedly, obtaining what is sought, or finding favor in someone's eyes.
The BSB source-word alignment has 455 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include found (22), I have found (22), . . . (13), find (10), and found (9).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 2:20. Its strongest book concentrations include Genesis (56), 1 Samuel (39), 2 Chronicles (28), Proverbs (27).
מָצָא (matsa) is the common Hebrew verb for finding, discovering, encountering, attaining, or being found. It can describe locating a person or object, coming upon something unexpectedly, obtaining what is sought, or finding favor in someone's eyes. Genesis 2:20 says no suitable helper was found for the man, while Ruth 2:10 asks why Ruth has found favor with Boaz.
Covenant texts use the verb in promises about seeking and finding God. Deuteronomy 4:29 says exiled Israel will find the Lord when seeking him with the whole heart and soul, and Jeremiah 29:13 repeats that pattern within its own exile promise. The verb does not portray God as an impersonal object discovered by technique; the surrounding passages emphasize covenant mercy, divine promise, repentance, and wholehearted seeking.
Wisdom texts also use matsa for outcomes. Proverbs 8:35 says the one who finds wisdom finds life and obtains favor from the Lord. That statement belongs to Wisdom's appeal and should not be reduced to success advice or a guarantee of easy circumstances. Across its range, matsa names the finding; context explains whether it results from search, grace, providence, judgment, or encounter.
Matsa is a high-frequency verb whose theological force comes from its objects and settings. People find things, people, favor, wisdom, guilt, rest, trouble, and occasion; God also finds or causes people and conditions to be found.
Noah finds favor in the eyes of the Lord before the narrative describes his righteousness and obedience.
Israel is promised that it will find the Lord when it seeks him wholeheartedly from exile.
Ruth marvels that she, a foreigner, has found favor in Boaz's eyes.
Wisdom declares that whoever finds her finds life and obtains favor from the Lord.
The exiles are promised that wholehearted seeking will find the Lord within God's announced restoration purpose.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Hebrew word. From existence or appearance to discovery: finding what comes forth or becomes present to the seeker.
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 457 lexical occurrence verses.
מָצָא is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Matsa can help a congregation distinguish biblical finding from spiritual technique. The verb is ordinary enough to describe locating an object or encountering a person, yet its objects can carry profound weight: Noah finds favor, Ruth finds favor, the seeker finds wisdom, and exiled Israel is promised that wholehearted seeking will find the Lord. The surrounding story or covenant promise explains each result.
A sermon should therefore avoid turning find into a mechanism by which human effort controls God. Deuteronomy 4 and Jeremiah 29 speak to covenant people under exile and restoration promises; Proverbs 8 speaks in Wisdom's appeal; Ruth 2 unfolds through providential kindness and protection. Together they encourage earnest seeking and grateful recognition of grace while preserving God's initiative, the particular audience of each promise, and the possibility that faithful life still includes waiting and suffering.
Deut.4.29
Matsa is semantically broad. English translations may use find, discover, encounter, obtain, attain, reach, or be found; syntax and object determine the most natural sense.
Jesus' sayings about seeking and finding echo a broad scriptural theme, but their Greek wording and immediate contexts must be studied directly. The Hebrew verb supplies background, not a universal promise that every desired outcome will be obtained.
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