Definition
a primitive root; properly, to come forth to, i.e. appear or exist; transitively, to attain, i.e. find or acquire; figuratively, to occur, meet or be present
Traditional renderings: be able, befall, being, catch, × certainly, (cause to) come (on, to, to hand), deliver, be enough (cause to) find(-ing, occasion, out), get (hold upon), × have (here), be here, hit, be left, light (up-) on, meet (with), × occasion serve, (be) present, ready, speed, suffice, take hold on.
Traditional renderings: be able, befall, being, catch, × certainly, (cause to) come (on, to, to hand), deliver, be enough (cause to) find(-ing, occasion, out), get (hold upon), × have (here), be here, hit, be left, light (up-) on, meet (with), × occasion serve, (be) present, ready, speed, suffice, take hold on.
In the Greek Old Testament
How the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament renders מָצָא:
- εὑρίσκωehuriskō“to find/meet”91%
- καίkai“and”1%
- καταλαμβάνωkatalambanō“to grasp”1%
- προσφέρωprospherō“to bring to”1%
- ἀρκέωarkeō“be sufficient”1%
Usage patterns
Occurrences
455 total
- Genesis 2:20מָצָ֥א · was foundThe man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
- Genesis 4:14מֹצְאִ֖י · finds meBehold, this day You have driven me from the face of the earth, and from Your face I will be hidden; I will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
- Genesis 4:15מֹצְאֽוֹ׃ · who found him“Not so!” replied the LORD. “If anyone slays Cain, then Cain will be avenged sevenfold.” And the LORD placed a mark on Cain, so that no one who found him would kill him.
- Genesis 6:8מָ֥צָא · foundNoah, however, found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
- Genesis 8:9מָצְאָה֩ · foundBut the dove found no place to rest her foot, and she returned to him in the ark, because the waters were still covering the surface of all the earth. So he reached out his hand and brought her back inside the ark.
- Genesis 11:2וַֽיִּמְצְא֥וּ · they foundAnd as people journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
- Genesis 16:7וַֽיִּמְצָאָ֞הּ · foundNow the angel of the LORD found Hagar by a spring of water in the desert—the spring along the road to Shur.
- Genesis 18:3מָצָ֤אתִי · I have found“My lord,” said Abraham, “if I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by.
- Genesis 18:26אֶמְצָ֥א · I findSo the LORD replied, “If I find fifty righteous ones within the city of Sodom, on their account I will spare the whole place.”
- Genesis 18:28אֶמְצָ֣א · I find…suppose the fifty righteous ones lack five. Will You destroy the whole city for the lack of five?” He replied, “If I find forty-five there, I will not destroy it.”
- Genesis 18:29יִמָּצְא֥וּן · are foundOnce again Abraham spoke to the LORD, “Suppose forty are found there?” He answered, “On account of the forty, I will not do it.”
- Genesis 18:30יִמָּצְא֥וּן · are found; אֶמְצָ֥א · I findThen Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak further. Suppose thirty are found there?” He replied, “If I find thirty there, I will not do it.”
- Genesis 18:31יִמָּצְא֥וּן · are foundAnd Abraham said, “Now that I have ventured to speak to the Lord, suppose twenty are found there?” He answered, “On account of the twenty, I will not destroy it.”
- Genesis 18:32יִמָּצְא֥וּן · are foundFinally, Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak once more. Suppose ten are found there?” And He answered, “On account of the ten, I will not destroy it.”
- Genesis 19:11לִמְצֹ֥א · [trying] to findAnd they struck the men at the entrance, young and old, with blindness, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the door.
- Genesis 19:15הַנִּמְצָאֹ֔ת · who are hereAt daybreak the angels hurried Lot along, saying, “Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.”
- Genesis 19:19מָצָ֨א · foundYour servant has indeed found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness by sparing my life. But I cannot run to the mountains; the disaster will overtake me, and I will die.
- Genesis 26:12וַיִּמְצָ֛א · he reapedNow Isaac sowed seed in the land, and that very year he reaped a hundredfold. And the LORD blessed him,
- Genesis 26:19וַיִּ֨מְצְאוּ־ · and foundThen Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a well of fresh water there.
- Genesis 26:32מָצָ֥אנוּ · We have foundOn that same day, Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We have found water!” they told him.
- Genesis 27:20לִמְצֹ֖א · did you ever findBut Isaac asked his son, “How did you ever find it so quickly, my son?” “Because the LORD your God brought it to me,” he replied.
- Genesis 30:14וַיִּמְצָ֤א · and foundNow during the wheat harvest, Reuben went out and found some mandrakes in the field. When he brought them to his mother, Rachel begged Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”
- Genesis 30:27מָצָ֥אתִי · I have foundBut Laban replied, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay. I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you.”
- Genesis 31:32תִּמְצָ֣א · If you findIf you find your gods with anyone here, he shall not live! In the presence of our relatives, see for yourself if anything is yours, and take it back.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the idols.
- Genesis 31:33מָצָ֑א · but he foundSo Laban went into Jacob’s tent, then Leah’s tent, and then the tents of the two maidservants, but he found nothing. Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent.
- Genesis 31:34מָצָֽא׃ · but foundNow Rachel had taken Laban’s household idols, put them in the saddlebag of her camel, and was sitting on them. And Laban searched everything in the tent but found nothing.
- Genesis 31:35מָצָ֖א · findRachel said to her father, “Sir, do not be angry that I cannot stand up before you; for I am having my period.” So Laban searched but could not find the household idols.
- Genesis 31:37מָּצָ֙אתָ֙ · Have you foundYou have searched all my goods! Have you found anything that belongs to you? Put it here before my brothers and yours, that they may judge between the two of us.
- Genesis 32:5לִמְצֹא־ · so that I may findI have oxen, donkeys, flocks, menservants, and maidservants. I have sent this message to inform my master, so that I may find favor in your sight.’”
- Genesis 32:19בְּמֹצַאֲכֶ֖ם · When you meetHe also instructed the second, the third, and all those following behind the herds: “When you meet Esau, you are to say the same thing to him.
- Genesis 33:8לִמְצֹא־ · To find“What do you mean by sending this whole company to meet me?” asked Esau. “To find favor in your sight, my lord,” Jacob answered.
- Genesis 33:10מָצָ֤אתִי · I have foundBut Jacob insisted, “No, please! If I have found favor in your sight, then receive this gift from my hand. For indeed, I have seen your face, and it is like seeing the face of God, since you have received me favorably.
- Genesis 33:15אֶמְצָא־ · Let me find“Let me leave some of my people with you,” Esau said. But Jacob replied, “Why do that? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.”
- Genesis 34:11אֶמְצָא־ · Grant me this favorThen Shechem said to Dinah’s father and brothers, “Grant me this favor, and I will give you whatever you ask.
- Genesis 36:24מָצָ֤א · foundThese are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. (This is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness as he was pasturing the donkeys of his father Zibeon.)
- Genesis 37:15וַיִּמְצָאֵ֣הוּ · found him…a man found him wandering in the field and asked, “What are you looking for?”
- Genesis 37:17וַיִּמְצָאֵ֖ם · and found them“They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph set out after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
- Genesis 37:32מָצָ֑אנוּ · We foundThey sent the robe of many colors to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe or not.”
- Genesis 38:20מְצָאָֽהּ׃ · find herNow when Judah sent his friend Hirah the Adullamite with the young goat to collect the items he had left with the woman, he could not find her.
- Genesis 38:22מְצָאתִ֑יהָ · find herSo Hirah returned to Judah and said, “I could not find her, and furthermore, the men of that place said, ‘No shrine prostitute has been here.’”
- Genesis 38:23מְצָאתָֽהּ׃ · find her“Let her keep the items,” Judah replied. “Otherwise we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you could not find her.”
- Genesis 39:4וַיִּמְצָ֨א · foundJoseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household and entrusted him with everything he owned.
- Genesis 41:38הֲנִמְצָ֣א · Can we findSo Pharaoh asked them, “Can we find anyone like this man, in whom the Spirit of God abides?”
- Genesis 44:8מָצָ֙אנוּ֙ · we foundWe even brought back to you from the land of Canaan the silver we found in the mouths of our sacks. Why would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house?
- Genesis 44:9יִמָּצֵ֥א · is foundIf any of your servants is found to have it, he must die, and the rest will become slaves of my lord.”
- Genesis 44:10יִמָּצֵ֤א · is found“As you say,” replied the steward. “But only the one who is found with the cup will be my slave, and the rest of you shall be free of blame.”
- Genesis 44:12וַיִּמָּצֵא֙ · was foundThe steward searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest—and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.
- Genesis 44:16מָצָא֙ · has exposed; נִמְצָ֥א · who was found“What can we say to my lord?” Judah replied. “How can we plead? How can we justify ourselves? God has exposed the iniquity of your servants. We are now my lord’s slaves—both we and the one who was found with the cup.”