מסה

Learned borrowing from Latin massa.

מָסָה • (mása) f (plural indefinite מָסוֹת, singular construct מָסַת־, plural construct מָסוֹת־)

1. mass, bulk
   • 2022 November 13, Oded Carmeli, “אסטרונומים גילו עצם מסתורי בחלל; ייתכן שהעצם הוא "כוכב קוורקים מוזר"‏ [Astronomers discovered an unusual object in space; it may be a ‘strange quark star’]”, in www.space.gov.il‎^[1]:

     אסטרונומים הצליחו לחשב את המסה של כוכב הנויטרונים J1731-347, המרוחק 8,150 שנות אור מכדור הארץ – ומצאו שמסתו היא רק 0.7 ממסת השמש.

     Astronomers managed to calculate the mass of the neutron star J1731-347, which is 8150 light-years away from Earth—and found that its mass is only 0.7 the mass of the Sun.

The Academy of Hebrew Language prescribes a qamatz as the first vowel of the word. Older dictionaries give a patach instead.

• בִּיּוֹמַסָּה (biyomása)

• Klein, Ernest (1987) A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English‎^[2], Jerusalem: Carta, →ISBN, page 359
• “מסה” in the Hebrew Terms Database of the Academy of Hebrew Language

Root
נ־ס־ה (n-s-h)

The third sense is a calque of French essai (literally “trial”).

מַסָּה • (masá) f (plural indefinite מַסּוֹת, singular construct מַסַּת־, plural construct מַסּוֹת־) [pattern: מַקְטֵל]

1. (Biblical Hebrew) test, trial, temptation
   • Tanach, Job 9:23, with translation of the King James Version:

     אִם־שׁוֹט יָמִית פִּתְאֹם לְמַסַּת נְקִיִּם יִלְעָג׃

     If the scourge slay suddenly, he will laugh at the trial of the innocent.

2. (Biblical Hebrew) miracle
3. (rare) essay
4. (rare, dated) test (exam)

• מַסַּאי (masái, “essayist”)
• מַסָּאִי (masaí, “essayistic”)

מַסָּה • (masá) f (singular construct מַסַּת־) [pattern: מַקְטֵל]

1. (Biblical Hebrew) Massah (a biblical place)
   • Tanach, Exodus 17:7, with translation of the King James Version:

     וַיִּקְרָא שֵׁם הַמָּקוֹם מַסָּה וּמְרִיבָה עַל־רִיב בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַל נַסֹּתָם אֶת־יְהוָה לֵאמֹר הֲיֵשׁ יְהוָה בְּקִרְבֵּנוּ אִם־אָיִן׃

     And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?

• H4531 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Klein, Ernest (1987) A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English‎^[3], Jerusalem: Carta, →ISBN, page 359
• “מסה” in the Hebrew Terms Database of the Academy of Hebrew Language
• Article by the Hebrew Academy about the word's meanings
• H4532 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible

Root
מ־ס־ה (m-s-h)

Cognate to Classical Syriac ܡܣܵܐ (məsāʾ, “to decay”), Aramaic מְסָא (“to melt”). See the root for more.

מָסָה • (masá) (pa'al construction, passive counterpart נִמְסָה)

1. (Medieval Hebrew, intransitive, rare) to melt, dissolve
   • 13th C., Yechiel of Paris, וְאֶת נָוִי חַטָּאתִי:

     זֶה יִסְפּוֹד בְּחִיל לֵבָב יִמְסֶה

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

מיסה / מִסָּה • (misá) (pi'el construction)

1. defective spelling of מיסה (misá, “to melt”)

• “מסה” in Abraham Even-Shoshan (אַבְרָהָם אֶבֶן־שׁוֹשָׁן) et al., הַמִּלּוֹן הֶחָדָשׁ (ha-milón he-khadásh, “The New Dictionary”), Kiryat-Sefer Ltd. (קִרְיַת־סֵפֶר בְּע״ם)‎ (1984), →ISBN, volume 2 of 3 (ל to צ), →ISBN.
• H4529 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Klein, Ernest (1987) A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English‎^[4], Jerusalem: Carta, →ISBN, page 359

מִסָה • (mísa) f

1. Defective spelling of מיסה (mísa, “mass, missa”)

Related to Aramaic מִסַּת and Classical Syriac ܡܸܣܲܬ (messat), both meaning “sufficiency”. According to Gesenius, a contraction of מִכְסָה (mikhsá, “quota”).

מִסָּה • (misá) f (singular construct מִסַּת־)

1. (Biblical Hebrew, hapax) sufficiency, plenty
   • Tanach, Deuteronomy 16:10, with translation of the King James Version:

     וְעָשִׂיתָ חַג שָׁבֻעֹות לַיהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ מִסַּת נִדְבַת יָדְךָ אֲשֶׁר תִּתֵּן כַּאֲשֶׁר יְבָרֶכְךָ יהוה אֱלֹהֶיךָ׃

     And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee.

     (literally, “according to the sufficiency of the freewill offering of thine hand”)

As with its Aramaic and Syriac relatives, it seems that this word is exclusively used in the construct state.

• H4530 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• Klein, Ernest (1987) A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language for Readers of English‎^[5], Jerusalem: Carta, →ISBN, page 359