What does מִצְוָה (mitsvah) mean in the Bible?
מִצְוָה (mitsvah) is a commandment, precept, or charge. It names an authoritative instruction to be obeyed, often one of the LORD's commands within Israel's covenant.
Hebrew · H4687
מִצְוָה
A command , whether human or divine (collectively, the Law )
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מִצְוָה H4687
Pronunciation mitsvah
What does מִצְוָה (mitsvah) mean in the Bible?
מִצְוָה (mitsvah) is a commandment, precept, or charge. It names an authoritative instruction to be obeyed, often one of the LORD's commands within Israel's covenant.
Reader summary
Full entry for מִצְוָה (H4687) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H4687?
The BSB source-word alignment has 181 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include the commandments (31), His commandments (21), My commandments (20), Your commandments (18), commandments (15).
Where does מִצְוָה (mitsvah) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 26:5. Its strongest book concentrations include Deuteronomy (43), Psalms (26), 2 Chronicles (19), Nehemiah (14).
Are there verse guides for מִצְוָה (mitsvah)?
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
What This Word Actually Means
מִצְוָה (mitsvah) is a commandment, precept, or charge. It names an authoritative instruction to be obeyed, often one of the Lord's commands within Israel's covenant. Exodus 20:6 joins love for God with keeping his commandments, Numbers 15:39 calls Israel to remember and do them, and Deuteronomy repeatedly places them alongside statutes and rules. Those neighboring terms overlap but should not be treated as exact synonyms in every context.
Deuteronomy 6:25 says it will be righteousness for Israel to be careful to do the whole command before the Lord as commanded. In context, this is covenant obedience by a people whom God has already delivered from Egypt, not a claim that sinners earn redemption through flawless performance. The same chapter frames teaching and obedience within love for the Lord and remembrance of his saving action.
Psalm 119 delights in God's commandments and asks for help to walk in them. Its posture is neither contempt for instruction nor confidence in autonomous moral achievement. The psalmist loves God's word, confesses dependence, seeks understanding, and pleads for mercy. Christian canonical synthesis can connect obedience and love to Jesus' teaching, but a Hebrew occurrence should not be assigned to a New Testament verse.
Lexical sourcePassage contextCanonical synthesis
How the Bible Uses It
Mitsvah names authoritative instruction within covenant, wisdom, worship, royal administration, and ordinary command settings. Its theological center is the Lord's right to command a redeemed people and their calling to hear, remember, love, and obey.
- Exod.20.6
Covenant love and commandment keeping appear together in the Decalogue's warning and promise.
- Num.15.39
The tassels are to remind Israel to remember and do all the Lord's commandments rather than follow wandering desires.
- Deut.6.25
Israel's careful covenant obedience is called righteousness within the exodus-shaped instruction of Deuteronomy 6.
- Ps.119.35
The psalmist asks God to lead him in the path of the commandments because he delights in it.
- Prov.6.23
The commandment is described as a lamp within parental wisdom instruction that warns and guides.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It the commandments 31× Leviticus 4:22, Numbers 15:39, Deuteronomy 4:2, Deuteronomy 5:31
His commandments 21× Deuteronomy 7:9, Deuteronomy 8:2, Deuteronomy 8:11, Deuteronomy 13:4
My commandments 20× Genesis 26:5, Exodus 16:28, Exodus 20:6, Leviticus 22:31
Your commandments 18× Deuteronomy 26:13, 1 Chronicles 29:19, Ezra 9:14, Nehemiah 9:16
commandments 15× Leviticus 4:2, Leviticus 4:13, Leviticus 4:27, Leviticus 5:17
and commandments 10× Exodus 24:12, Deuteronomy 4:40, Deuteronomy 6:2, Deuteronomy 26:17
the command 8× 1 Samuel 13:13, 1 Kings 2:43, 2 Chronicles 29:25, 2 Chronicles 30:12
commandment 5× Deuteronomy 8:1, Deuteronomy 11:8, Deuteronomy 30:11, Proverbs 6:20
according to the command 4× 2 Chronicles 29:15, 2 Chronicles 29:25, 2 Chronicles 35:15, 2 Chronicles 35:16
from Your commandments 3× Psalms 119:10, Psalms 119:21, Daniel 9:5
and the commandments 2× 2 Chronicles 14:4, 2 Chronicles 31:21
are the commandments 2× Leviticus 27:34, Numbers 36:13
At the command 2× 2 Chronicles 30:6, Ezra 10:3
command 2× 2 Chronicles 8:15, 2 Chronicles 35:10
had commanded 2× 2 Kings 18:36, Isaiah 36:21
in Your commandments 2× Psalms 119:47, Psalms 119:66
of Your commandments 2× Psalms 119:32, Psalms 119:35
the commandment 2× Joshua 22:5, 1 Kings 13:21
. . . 1× Deuteronomy 31:5
[there was] a command 1× Nehemiah 11:23
a command 1× Proverbs 13:13
a commandment 1× Proverbs 19:16
according to the commandment 1× 2 Chronicles 8:13
and by order 1× 2 Chronicles 24:21
and His commandments 1× Deuteronomy 11:1
as prescribed 1× Nehemiah 12:24
but Your commandment 1× Psalms 119:96
but Your commandments 1× Psalms 119:143
by His commandments 1× 2 Chronicles 17:4
copy with its terms 1× Jeremiah 32:11
decree 1× Malachi 2:1
for Your commandments 1× Psalms 119:131
from the command 1× Job 23:12
from the commandment 1× Deuteronomy 17:20
given you 1× Joshua 22:3
had been the command 1× 2 Chronicles 8:14
had prescribed 1× Nehemiah 12:45
his command 1× Ecclesiastes 8:5
His commandment 1× Numbers 15:31
in His commandments 1× Psalms 112:1
in the commandments 1× Ezra 7:11
my commands 1× Proverbs 4:4
prescribed 1× Nehemiah 13:5
rules 1× Isaiah 29:13
the obligation 1× Nehemiah 10:32
this commandment 1× Proverbs 6:23
to His commands 1× Exodus 15:26
to My commandments 1× Isaiah 48:18
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 26:5 מִצְוֺתַ֖י to My commandments Noun - feminine plural construct | first person common singular Exodus 15:26 לְמִצְוֺתָ֔יו to to His commands Preposition-l | Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine singular Exodus 16:28 מִצְוֺתַ֖י to My commandments Noun - feminine plural construct | first person common singular Exodus 20:6 מִצְוֺתָֽי׃ס to My commandments Noun - feminine plural construct | first person common singular Exodus 24:12 וְהַמִּצְוָ֔ה to and commandments Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - feminine singular Leviticus 4:2 מִצְוֺ֣ת to commandments Noun - feminine plural construct Leviticus 4:13 מִצְוֺ֧ת to commandments Noun - feminine plural construct Leviticus 4:22 מִצְוֺת֩ to the commandments Noun - feminine plural construct Leviticus 4:27 מִמִּצְוֺ֧ת to commandments Preposition-m | Noun - feminine plural construct Leviticus 5:17 מִצְוֺ֣ת to commandments Noun - feminine plural construct
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 26:5
Aligned rows 181
Books represented 23
Genesis 1 Exodus 4 Leviticus 10 Numbers 5 Deuteronomy 43 Joshua 3 Judges 2 1 Samuel 1 1 Kings 12 2 Kings 8 1 Chronicles 3 2 Chronicles 19 Ezra 4 Nehemiah 14 Esther 1 Job 1 Psalms 26 Proverbs 10 Ecclesiastes 2 Isaiah 3 Jeremiah 5 Daniel 2 Malachi 2
Source forms
הַמִּצְוָ֣ה 6x ham·miṣ·wāh Deuteronomy 6:25, Deuteronomy 11:22, Deuteronomy 15:5, Deuteronomy 30:11
מִצְוַ֥ת 6x miṣ·waṯ 2 Chronicles 30:12, Nehemiah 11:23, Esther 3:3, Psalms 19:8
מִצְוֺת֙ 6x miṣ·wōṯ Deuteronomy 4:2, Deuteronomy 11:27, Deuteronomy 11:28, Deuteronomy 28:9
מִצְוֺתֶֽיךָ׃ 6x miṣ·wō·ṯe·ḵā Ezra 9:10, Nehemiah 9:16, Psalms 119:6, Psalms 119:19
מִצְוֺ֣ת 5x miṣ·wōṯ Leviticus 4:2, Leviticus 5:17, Numbers 15:39, Judges 3:4
מִצְוֺתַ֣י 5x miṣ·wō·ṯay Leviticus 26:3, 1 Kings 9:6, 2 Kings 17:13, Proverbs 4:4
מִצְוֺתָ֔יו 5x miṣ·wō·ṯāw Deuteronomy 13:18, Deuteronomy 28:1, Deuteronomy 30:8, 2 Kings 18:6
הַמִּצְוָ֔ה 4x ham·miṣ·wāh Deuteronomy 11:8, Deuteronomy 27:1, Deuteronomy 31:5, 1 Kings 13:21
Parsing patterns
Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine singular 25x Deuteronomy 4:40, Deuteronomy 7:9, Deuteronomy 8:2, Deuteronomy 8:11
Noun - feminine plural construct 24x Leviticus 4:2, Leviticus 4:13, Leviticus 4:22, Leviticus 5:17
Article | Noun - feminine singular 20x Deuteronomy 5:31, Deuteronomy 6:1, Deuteronomy 6:25, Deuteronomy 7:11
Noun - feminine plural construct | first person common singular 19x Genesis 26:5, Exodus 16:28, Exodus 20:6, Leviticus 22:31
Noun - feminine plural construct | second person masculine singular 19x 1 Chronicles 29:19, Ezra 9:10, Ezra 9:14, Nehemiah 9:16
Noun - feminine singular construct 17x Joshua 22:3, 1 Samuel 13:13, 2 Kings 18:36, 2 Chronicles 8:14
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine plural construct | first person common singular 7x 1 Kings 3:14, 1 Kings 11:38, 2 Chronicles 7:19, Psalms 89:31
Preposition-k | Noun - feminine singular construct 6x 2 Chronicles 8:13, 2 Chronicles 29:15, 2 Chronicles 35:10, 2 Chronicles 35:15
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Identify a command's covenant setting before applying it to the church.
- Teach obedience as a response to God's authority and grace, not as a technique for earning salvation or controlling outcomes.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that all biblical commandments apply unchanged to every audience in every covenant setting.
- Do not claim that delight in commandments removes the need for mercy, dependence, or careful interpretation.
Key Verse and Form Guides
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Divine command carrying covenantal weight; OT's primary term for God's binding directives and obligations under the Law.
Source Gloss
a command , whether human or divine (collectively, the Law )
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Divine command carrying covenantal weight; OT's primary term for God's binding directives and obligations under the Law.
a command, whether human or divine (collectively, the Law) BDB: commandment Usage: (which was) commanded(-ment), law, ordinance, precept.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
instruction or command given with authority
a command or directive that guides behavior
instruction or command that directs behavior
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 184 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
מִצְוָה is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Receiving instruction reflects submission to wisdom and ultimately to God. Proverbs 10:8
Instruction functions as a guiding light for moral life. Proverbs 6:20-35
The passage emphasizes preserving divine instruction as a guiding authority. Proverbs 7:1-5
Canonical Themes
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
Mitsvah helps a congregation hear commandment as covenant instruction rather than as either cold legalism or optional advice. The Lord commands Israel as the God who has already rescued the people from Egypt, and Deuteronomy repeatedly joins obedience with remembrance, love, teaching, and communal faithfulness. Psalm 119 adds delight, prayer, dependence, and confession.
These settings correct two opposite errors: imagining that obedience earns God's saving favor, and imagining that grace makes obedience irrelevant. A sermon should identify the named command, its covenant audience, and its place in the surrounding passage before making Christian application. It can then show how Jesus joins love and obedience and how the New Testament interprets the Law, without pretending that a similar English word erases differences among covenants or makes every Mosaic regulation directly binding in the same form.
Anchor passage
Deut.6.25
Doctrinal connections
Mitsvah is a noun for a command or charge. It often appears near torah, statutes, rules, testimonies, or the verb command; lexical overlap does not make all these terms identical.
From Old to New Testament
Jesus' teaching on the great commandments and on love expressed through obedience belongs in the canonical trajectory. New Testament passages should be cited as later teaching, not mislabeled as direct H4687 occurrences.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain