matseva · standing stone

What it means

matseva (מַצֵּבָה) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “standing stone”.

A stone set upright as a memorial of something, of a meeting with God or of a covenant. Later laws forbid the standing stones of Canaanite worship, which were objects of worship.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. A stone set up as a memorial, or for false worship.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• standing stones ×17
• standing stone ×15

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Genesis×9
• Exodus×3
• Leviticus×1
• Deuteronomy×3
• 1 Kings×1
• 2 Kings×6
• 2 Chronicles×2
• Isaiah×1
• Jeremiah×1
• Ezekiel×1
• Hosea×3
• Micah×1

• Genesis 28:18

  Jacob rose early in the morning, took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a standing stone, and poured oil on its top.

• Genesis 28:22

  and this stone, which I have set up as a standing stone, will be the house of Elohim; and of all that you give me I will surely give a tenth of it to you.”

• Genesis 31:13

  I am El of Bethel, where you anointed a standing stone, where you made to me a vow. Now get up, leave this land and return to the land of your kindred.’”

• Genesis 31:45

  So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a standing stone.

• Genesis 31:51

  Laban said to Jacob, “Look at this heap, and look at the standing stone that I have set up between me and you.

• Genesis 31:52

  This heap is a witness, and the standing stone is a witness, that I will not pass beyond this heap to you, and you will not pass beyond this heap and this standing stone to me, for harm.

• Genesis 35:14

  Jacob set up a standing stone in the place where he had spoken with him, a standing stone of stone; he poured out a libation on it and poured oil on it.

• Genesis 35:20

  Jacob set up a standing stone on her grave; it is the standing stone of Rachel’s grave to this day.

• Exodus 23:24

  You shall not bow down to their gods or serve them, or do according to their works, but you shall utterly tear them down and smash their standing stones.

• Exodus 24:4

  Moses wrote all the words of YHWH. He rose early in the morning and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve standing stones for the twelve tribes of Israel.

• Exodus 34:13

  But their altars you shall tear down, and their standing stones you shall break, and their Asherahs you shall cut down.

• Leviticus 26:1

  You shall not make idols for yourselves, and you shall not set up for yourselves a carved image or a standing stone, and you shall not put a sculpted stone in your land to bow down on it; for I am YHWH your Elohim.

• Deuteronomy 7:5

  But thus you shall do to them: their altars you shall tear down, their standing stones you shall break, their Asherahs you shall cut down, and their carved images you shall burn with fire.

• Deuteronomy 12:3

  You shall tear down their altars, smash their standing stones, burn their Asherahs with fire, cut down the carved images of their gods, and wipe out their name from that place.

• Deuteronomy 16:22

  And you shall not set up for yourself a standing stone, which YHWH your Elohim hates.

• 1 Kings 14:23

  They also built for themselves high places and standing stones and Asherahs on every high hill and under every leafy tree.

• 2 Kings 3:2

  He did what was evil in the eyes of YHWH, only not like his father and like his mother; he removed the standing stone of Baal that his father had made.

• 2 Kings 10:26

  They brought out the standing stones of the house of Baal and burned it.

• 2 Kings 10:27

  They tore down the standing stone of Baal, and they tore down the house of Baal and made it into latrines to this day.

• 2 Kings 17:10

  They set up for themselves standing stones and Asherahs on every high hill and under every leafy tree.

• 2 Kings 18:4

  He removed the high places, broke the standing stones, and cut down the Asherah; and he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the sons of Israel had been burning incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan.

• 2 Kings 23:14

  He broke the standing stones, cut down the Asherahs, and filled their places with human bones.

• 2 Chronicles 14:3

  He removed the foreign altars and the high places, broke the standing stones, and cut down the Asherahs.

• 2 Chronicles 31:1

  When all this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah and broke the standing stones, cut down the Asherahs, and tore down the high places and the altars from all Judah and Benjamin, and in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had finished. Then all the sons of Israel returned, each to his possession, to their cities.

• Isaiah 19:19

  On that day there will be an altar to YHWH in the middle of the land of Egypt, and a standing stone beside its border to YHWH.

• Jeremiah 43:13

  And he will break the standing stones of Beth-shemesh that is in the land of Egypt, and the houses of the gods of Egypt he will burn with fire.’”

• Ezekiel 26:11

  With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets; your people he will kill by the sword, and the standing stones of your strength to the ground will go down.

• Hosea 3:4

  For many days the children of Israel will stay with no king and no prince, and no sacrifice and no standing stone, and no ephod or teraphim.

• Hosea 10:1

  Israel is a luxuriant vine; he produces fruit for himself; according to the abundance of his fruit, he has multiplied the altars; according to the goodness of his land, they have improved the standing stones.

• Hosea 10:2

  Their heart is divided; now they will be found guilty; he will break the neck of their altars, he will destroy their standing stones.

• Micah 5:13

  And I will cut off your carved images and your standing stones from among you, and you will not bow down anymore to the work of your hands.

And 1 more times.