Properly, a pithy maxim, usually of metaphorical nature; hence, a simile (as an adage, poem, discourse)
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Mashal is a Hebrew noun whose literary range includes proverb, parable, comparison, discourse, oracle, taunt, and byword. Proverbs 1 introduces a collection designed to cultivate wisdom, discipline, discernment, justice, and skill.
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Full entry for מָשָׁל (H4912) · Open the biblical lexicon
Mashal is a Hebrew noun whose literary range includes proverb, parable, comparison, discourse, oracle, taunt, and byword. Proverbs 1 introduces a collection designed to cultivate wisdom, discipline, discernment, justice, and skill.
The BSB source-word alignment has 39 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include an oracle (7), proverb (4), proverbs (3), . . . (2), a proverb (2).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Numbers 23:7. Its strongest book concentrations include Ezekiel (8), Numbers (7), Proverbs (6), Psalms (4).
Mashal is a Hebrew noun whose literary range includes proverb, parable, comparison, discourse, oracle, taunt, and byword. Proverbs 1 introduces a collection designed to cultivate wisdom, discipline, discernment, justice, and skill. Psalm 78 calls its historical teaching a parable that discloses matters from earlier generations. Numbers uses the noun for Balaam's elevated oracle, while Habakkuk uses it for a taunt against a violent, debt-laden oppressor.
This breadth means the term is not a label for one short, universally literal rule. A proverb states wise patterns in memorable form, not an unconditional promise detached from the rest of Scripture. A prophetic taunt exposes arrogant power. An oracle must be read within its narrative speaker and divine governance. A parable draws hearers into comparison and reflection.
Teachers should name the genre, follow its rhetoric, and compare its claims with the book and canon. They should not force every saying into prediction, secret code, simplistic technique, or weaponized slogan against people whose suffering does not fit a neat formula.
Mashal gathers several compact or figurative speech forms, including proverb, parable, oracle, taunt, and byword, so literary setting controls how each saying teaches.
These are the proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel,
The heading names the collection whose following purpose statement concerns wisdom, discipline, justice, discernment, and skillful living before God.
I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the beginning,
The psalm frames Israel's remembered history as teaching that summons a new generation to trust God and not repeat ancestral rebellion.
And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and denounce Israel!’
Balaam's formal oracle begins inside Balak's attempt to purchase a curse, while the narrative shows God governing what Balaam can declare.
Will not all of these take up a taunt against him, speaking with mockery and derision: ‘Woe to him who amasses what is not his and makes himself rich with many loans! How long will this go on?’
The oppressed raise a taunt against imperial greed, using compressed poetic speech to announce reversal and judgment on exploitation.
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. A pointed comparison or saying that embeds wisdom through figurative language, not literal instruction
A pointed comparison or saying that embeds wisdom through figurative language, not literal instruction
properly, a pithy maxim, usually of metaphorical nature; hence, a simile (as an adage, poem, discourse) BDB: proverb Usage: byword, like, parable, proverb.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 39 lexical occurrence verses.
מָשָׁל is built from this root:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Wisdom often travels in memorable speech, but memorable does not mean simplistic. Proverbs gathers observations and instructions that form skillful fear of the Lord; individual sayings describe moral order without eliminating exceptions explored in Job, Ecclesiastes, lament, and the Proverbs collection itself. Psalm 78 turns remembered history into a parable so later generations will set their hope in God.
Balaam's oracle arises in a compromised narrative where a king wants spiritual power for hire, yet God governs the blessing. Habakkuk's taunt gives exploited peoples language for the downfall of predatory wealth. Responsible teaching honors these forms. It does not use a proverb to guarantee wealth, health, marriage, or compliant children, decode a parable through uncontrolled symbolism, or imitate prophetic mockery as personal cruelty.
The mashal calls for patient listening, literary humility, canonical wisdom, and practical obedience. Its compressed language should open reflection and discernment rather than close conversation with a slogan.
Prov.1.1
The noun denotes a compact, elevated, comparative, or figurative saying across several genres. English labels vary because discourse function, not one narrow lexical gloss, determines whether it is a proverb, parable, oracle, taunt, or byword.
Matthew cites Psalm 78 in connection with Jesus' parabolic teaching, while the Gospels and letters continue to use proverbs, comparisons, riddling sayings, and moral patterns. These connections preserve literary attention without making H4912 identical to every Greek parable or proverb term.