מֹדַ֫עַת
mo.da.at (H4130)
kinsman
AI Word Study
# H4130: מֹדַעַת (moda'at) The Hebrew word *moda'at* designates a "kinsman"—a person related by blood or family ties. According to the lexical data provided, this term appears only once in the biblical text, which severely limits our ability to establish its typical usage patterns or semantic range. The single occurrence prevents us from determining whether the word carried specialized connotations or was used interchangeably with other Hebrew kinship terms. The rarity of this word in biblical literature raises questions about its actual frequency in spoken Hebrew versus its preservation in written texts. Whether *moda'at* represented a common everyday term that happened to be recorded only once, or a more formal or regional variant of kinship terminology, cannot be determined from the available data. Its singular appearance means we cannot assess how ancient speakers distinguished it from related words for family members, nor can we discern its precise relationship or social significance. For biblical readers and scholars, *moda'at* remains a hapax legomenon—a word whose meaning must be inferred largely from its morphological structure and context rather than from comparative usage patterns. This limits our confidence in understanding all the nuances this kinship term may have carried in ancient Hebrew communication.
AI synthesis uses only provided lexicon data -- never training knowledge.
Now isn’t Boaz our kinsman, with whose maidens you were? Behold, he will be winnowing barley tonight on the threshing floor.