society
staff and tribe
At a glance
In short
Mateh is a staff of office, the stick of a dignitary or a man in authority (Malbim, Rabbi Shlomo Aharon Wertheimer), and it also means tribe, almost exclusively in Bamidbar and Yehoshua. Shevet is a rod whose blow must be wound up with energy to be felt (the Vilna Gaon). It denotes authority and the responsibility that goes with it (Rashi), in law it is the instrument of flogging, and it too means tribe. Mishenes is a cane, something to lean on. Makel is a rod for striking, in Tanach generally the shepherd's stick. Sharvit is the royal scepter. Choter is probably a Hebraized form of Aramaic chutra, staff. The two words for tribe are explained in several ways. Citing Shadal, Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg holds that shevet first named the tribe's leader and mateh its members. Malbim reads shevet as a branch, each tribe being a branch of Yaakov's family tree. Rabbi Zev HaKohen Hoberman says the tribes of Yisrael are called shevatim for their authority and responsibility over the nations, and matos because they serve as Yaakov Avinu's cane, the support he leans on to carry on his legacy. Against every one of these distinctions, of stick and of tribe alike, Rabbi Shlomo of Urbino's Ohel Moed writes twice that shevet is mateh.
Distinctions
Mateh (מטה)
- Malbim (Yirmiyahu 1:11): the stick a dignitary holds, displaying the honor owed to his exalted station.
- Rabbi Shlomo Aharon Wertheimer (1866 to 1935), similarly: a stick held by one in authority, which is why, of all the people in Tanach who carried a stick, only Moshe Rabbeinu's is called a mateh, his authority as prophet and king together being unparalleled. He relates the word to mateh, inclined, after the curve at the top by which it is gripped, and holds that a mateh (like a makel) is made only of wood.
- Radak (Sefer HaShorashim) relates mateh to natah: a staff is something one leans on.
- Rabbi Yehuda ibn Kuraish (a ninth-century Spanish grammarian) writes that a mateh is specifically a stick of dry wood, though rabbinic tradition teaches that Moshe's mateh was made of blue rock, either sapphire or lapis lazuli.
- On the naming of the tribe, Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg (1785 to 1865), citing Shadal, holds that mateh first meant the members of a tribe, as against its leader, and as a stick the bottom part, mateh being seemingly related to lematah, underneath, as the tribesmen live under their chief.
- Kedushas Levi (to Bereishis 29:30): the tribes are called matos, a downward incline, because they are the channel through which Hashem's influence pours down into this world. At Shemos 1:1 he gives two explanations of why the tribes are called mateh.
- Shadal (to Bamidbar 17:17): part of the miracle of Aharon's staff was the play of words, the chosen tribe appointed by way of sticks, since stick and tribe are both mateh.
Shevet (שבט)
- Rashi (Sanhedrin 5a): shevet denotes authority and the responsibility that comes with it.
- In a legal context the shevet or shotim is the instrument of flogging for those whose offenses deserve it. Wertheimer: such terms first named a stick for hitting animals, and their use for hitting people is borrowed.
- The Vilna Gaon (1720 to 1797): mateh and shevet are both for hitting but differ slightly; with a mateh one need only raise one's hand a bit for the impact to be felt, while with a shevet one must wind up the blow with energy.
- Wertheimer adds that a shevet may be wood or metal, as in the iron shevet of Tehillim 2:9, whereas mateh and makel are wood only.
- Malbim (Bereishis 49:28): shevet does not literally mean stick but branch, the commonest thing used as a stick, and so it means tribe because each tribe is a branch of the family tree of Yaakov's descendants.
- Mecklenburg, citing Shadal: shevet and mateh have different meanings but became interchangeable because they are conceptually related. Shevet first named the tribe's leader, like a mast on which a flag is mounted, since the tribe rallies around him; it came to cover the tribesmen because the leader embodies the tribe. As sticks, both can name the same stick, shevet its top (as the leader sits atop the tribe) and mateh its bottom.
- Ohel Moed writes twice that shevet is mateh.
Mishenes (משענת)
A walking stick on which an elderly person can lean (mishan means "lean" or "rely"): a cane.
- Wertheimer: also of wood, and necessarily an especially thick branch, since a mere twig cannot support a walker.
- Rabbi Shlomo Pappenheim derives mishan from the biliteral ש-ע, enjoyment and pleasure, mishan being the satisfaction one achieves when supported by another, and relates the mishenes to the same root because elderly people who have trouble walking receive much satisfaction from having something to lean on.
Makel (מקל)
A rod used for hitting, which in Tanach generally appears with a shepherd who hits the animals in his charge; probably related to malkos / makkos, lashes.
Sharvit (שרביט)
The royal scepter held by the Persian king Achashverosh in Megillas Esther. Some explain that shevet and sharvit are the same object, Tanach sometimes adding an extra r-sound, as it generally calls Damascus Damesek but sometimes Darmesek.
Choter (חוטר)
Probably a Hebraized form of the Aramaic chutra, which is what the Targumim use for both mateh and shevet.
Where the authorities disagree
Whether mateh and shevet differ.
- Malbim, Rabbi Shlomo Aharon Wertheimer, the Vilna Gaon and Rashi set them apart as sticks: mateh the staff of office, shevet the rod wound up to strike, the instrument of authority.
- As tribes, Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg, citing Shadal, makes shevet first the tribe's leader and mateh its members; Malbim makes shevet a branch of Yaakov's family tree.
- Rabbi Shlomo of Urbino (Ohel Moed) writes twice that shevet is mateh.
The connotations
Wertheimer in the name of Rabbi Yaakov Lorberbaum of Lissa (1760 to 1832): the three words carry different connotations. Makel is negative, generally tied to meting out punishment; mishenes is positive, supporting the elderly in walking; mateh is neutral. On that basis Wertheimer explains why the staff with which Moshe worked the wonders in Mitzrayim and at the sea is a mateh: its effects were good for Klal Yisrael and bad for the Egyptians, so the word that implies neither fits.
Rabbi Zev HaKohen Hoberman (1930 to 2012) uses the synonyms to sum up the dual, paradoxical role of the tribes of Yisrael: they are shevatim because Hashem granted them certain forms of authority and responsibility over the nations of the world, and matos (which he equates with mishenes and chutra) because they serve as Yaakov Avinu's "cane" in death, on whom he "leans" to carry on his legacy; in that way they follow their forefather's tradition.
Also discussed in
Radak on these roots
Sefer HaShorashim
ח-ט-ר
A rod, the word the Targum gives for מַטֶּה, a staff; and in Mishlei the rod of pride in the fool's mouth, which he and Rabbi Yonah read differently.
A rod
וְיָצָא חֹטֶר מִגֶּזַע יִשָׁי (Yeshayahu 11:1), a rod shall come out of the stock of Yishai. The Targum renders מַטֶּה (Shemos 4:2), a staff, as חוּטְרָא.
The rod of pride
בְּפִי אֱוִיל חֹטֶר גַּאֲוָה (Mishlei 14:3) he reads as the rod of pride in the fool's mouth, since the fool speaks proud and lofty words against men. Rabbi Yonah takes it the other way about: on account of the words the fool speaks, a rod of pride comes upon him. Radak explains this to mean that the fool is struck great blows for what he said.
וְיָצָא חֹטֶר מִגֶּזַע יִשָׁי (ישעיה יא, א), בְּֽפִי־אֱוִיל חֹטֶר גַּֽאֲוָה (משלי יד, ג), תרגום מַטֶּֽה (שמות ד, ב) חוּטְרָא. ופירוש חֹטֶר גַּֽאֲוָה אומר כי בפי האויל מטה הגאוה שמדבר גאוה וגדולות על האנשים. ורבי יונה פירש בעבור דברים שידבר האויל יבוא עליו חֹטֶר גַּֽאֲוָה, כלומר שיכוהו מכות גדולות על דבריו.
מ-ק-ל
A rod or stick.
Where it appears
מַקֵּל שָׁקֵד (Yirmiyahu 1:11), a rod of almond; מַקֵּל תִּפְאָרָה (Yirmiyahu 48:17), a rod of beauty; וּבְמַקֵּל יָד (Yechezkel 39:9), a hand staff; מַקַּל לִבְנֶה (Bereishis 30:37), a rod of livneh; כִּי בְמַקְלִי עָבַרְתִּי (Bereishis 32:11), with my staff I crossed over; וּמַקְלוֹ יַגִּיד לוֹ (Hoshea 4:12), his stick tells him.
How it is pointed
The first three carry a tzeirei and מַקַּל לִבְנֶה a patach; with a suffix and in the plural the dagesh falls away, as at כִּי בְמַקְלִי עָבַרְתִּי and וַיַּצֵּג אֶת הַמַּקְלוֹת (Bereishis 30:38), he set up the rods. He allows that the word may belong with the roots whose first letter is a nun, the mem being added.
מַקֵּל שָׁקֵד (ירמיה א, יב), מַקֵּל תִּפְאָרָֽה (ירמיה מח, יז), וּבְמַקֵּל יָד (יחזקאל לט, ט). אלה בצרי. בפתח מַקַּל לִבְנֶה (בראשית ל, לז). ובכינוי ובקבוץ נפל הדגש כִּי בְמַקְלִי עָבַרְתִּי (בראשית לב, יא), וּמַקְלוֹ יַגִּיד לוֹ (הושע ד, יב), וַיַּצֵּג אֶת־הַמַּקְלוֹת (בראשית ל, לח). ואפשר שתהיה המלה הזאת מבעלי הנו"ן והמ"ם נוספת.
נ-ט-ה
To turn aside; to turn a thing aside and bring it to something; and, near to that, to spread and stretch, from which come מִטָּה, a bed, and מַטֶּה, a staff and a tribe.
Whom Yoav followed
כִּי יוֹאָב נָטָה אַחֲרֵי אֲדֹנִיָּה וְאַֽחֲרֵי אַבְשָׁלוֹם לֹא נָטָה (Melachim I 2:25 in his edition), Yoav had leaned after Adoniyah and after Avshalom he had not leaned. Both of them rebelled, he says, and the pasuk tells us that Yoav was not party to Avshalom's rebellion but was party to Adoniyah's, leaning after him to hold the kingdom in his hand, since David was old and Yoav did not fear him. Rabbi Yonah read the אַבְשָׁלוֹם of that pasuk as standing for Shlomo; Radak answers that no such exchange is found, one man named in place of another, and likewise in זֶרַע יַעֲקוֹב וְדָוִד (Yirmiyahu 33:26), the seed of Yaakov and David, Yaakov is not Aharon but Yaakov himself: that is, I will not reject the seed of Yaakov and the seed of David, for though David is of Yaakov's seed, once he was chosen king, he and his seed after him are the head of his whole family. The pasuk says that rulers over Yisrael will come of David's seed, and of the rest of Yaakov's seed as well great men and many, ruling over the seed of Yisrael, the kohanim it mentions and the other princes of Yisrael among them; meaning that they will no longer be under the rule of the nations but under that of their own kings and princes, as it says וְאָשִׁיבָה שֹֽׁפְטַיִךְ (Yeshayahu 1:26), and I will restore your judges. So too בְּנֵי־יַֽעֲקֹב וְיוֹסֵף סֶֽלָה (Tehillim 77:16), the sons of Yaakov and Yosef, Selah, means the rest of Yaakov's sons, and Yosef is named because he was the head. Ibn Ezra explains the pasuk in Yirmiyahu: how should I reject one who is of Yaakov's seed? For the Torah said no king should rule Yisrael but from Yaakov, and this one is of David's family besides, so that there are two distinctions in him.
Also under מטט
Two words are written up under the root מטט as well: מִטָּה, a bed, and מַטָּה, which Radak says may also be of this root; he gives it no meaning here.
Turning aside
These and their like, he says, are intransitive verbs: וּכְאֹרֵחַ נָטָה לָלוּן (Yirmiyahu 14:8), like a traveller who turns aside to lodge; נְטֵה לְךָ עַל־יְמִינְךָ (Shmuel II 2:21), turn aside to your right; נְטוֹת הַיּוֹם (Shoftim 19:8), the turning of the day; אִם תִּטֶּה אַשֻּׁרִי מִנִי הַדָּרֶךְ (Iyov 31:7), if my step has turned from the way; וַיִּטּוּ אַחֲרֵי הַבָּצַע (Shmuel I 8:3), they turned after gain; and אַל־תֵּט יָמִין וּשְׂמֹאול (Mishlei 4:27), turn neither right nor left.
The transitive verbs
Those he calls transitive: וַיֵּט שָׁמַיִם וַיֵּרַד (Tehillim 18:10), He bent the heavens and came down; וַיֵּט מֹשֶׁה אֶת־יָדוֹ (Shemos 10:22), Moshe stretched out his hand; וַיֵּט אָהֳלֹה בֵּית־אֵל (Bereishis 12:8), he pitched his tent by Beis El; וּבִזְרוֹעַ נְטוּיָה (Devarim 4:34), with an outstretched arm; כְּקִיר נָטוּי (Tehillim 62:4), a leaning wall; יָמַי כְּצֵל נָטוּי (Tehillim 102:12), my days like a lengthening shadow; and נָטִיתִי לִבִּי לַעֲשׂוֹת חֻקֶּיךָ (Tehillim 119:112), I have turned my heart to perform Your statutes.
Turning a thing aside
Of the heavy form he says ענינם ענין ההסיה וההגעה אל הדבר, that its sense is turning a thing aside and bringing it to something: לֹא־תַטֶּה מִשְׁפָּט (Devarim 16:19), do not turn judgment aside, with וְהָעִיר מָלְאָה מֻטֶּה (Yechezkel 9:9), and the city is full of מֻטֶּה, which he explains as turned judgment; הַטֵּה אֱלֹהַי אָזְנְךָ (Daniel 9:18), turn Your ear, my God; וַיַּט אֶת־לְבַב כָּל־אִישׁ־יְהוּדָה (Shmuel II 19:15), he turned the heart of every man of Yehudah; and וְעָלַי הִטָּה־חֶסֶד (Ezra 7:28), and He turned kindness to me. Of this root and this sense is וְאַט אֵלָיו אוֹכִיל (Hoshea 11:4), which he explains ואטה אליו מאכל, and I held food out to him. Likewise סוּרוּ מִנֵּי־דֶרֶךְ הַטּוּ מִנֵּי־אֹרַח (Yeshayahu 30:11), turn from the way, turn us aside from the path: though the second verb looks intransitive like סוּרוּ, it is transitive, turn us aside from Hashem's way to another, as the pasuk says after it השביתו מפנינו את קדוש ישראל, put the Holy One of Yisrael away from before us.
Spreading and stretching
A sense near to this is ענין פשיטה ומתיחה, spreading and stretching: נוֹטֶה שָׁמַיִם (Tehillim 104:2), spreading out the heavens; כִּנְחָלִים נִטָּיוּ (Bamidbar 24:6), spread out like streams; and וְקָו יִנָּטֶה (Zechariah 1:16), and a line shall be stretched out.
Two readings of Rabbi Yonah's
Rabbi Yonah puts וְעַל־בְּגָדִים חֲבֻלִים יַטּוּ אֵצֶל כָּל־מִזְבֵּחַ (Amos 2:8), and on garments taken in pledge they stretch out beside every altar, in that sense of spreading, which Radak spells out as their stretching themselves and leaning beside every altar. Or it is of the first sense, and that, Radak says, is the correct one. צָץ הַמַּטֶּה (Yechezkel 7:10), the מַטֶּה has sprouted, Rabbi Yonah explains of the first sense, and Radak says he explained it well, since the pasuk says with it פָּרַח הַזָּדוֹן, insolence has blossomed.
The bed, the staff and the tribe
From this sense the bed is called מִטָּה, as הַשֹּׁכְבִים עַל־מִטּוֹת שֵׁן (Amos 6:4), those who lie on beds of ivory; it is called so because a man lies on it, stretches himself out and leans on it, and its proper form, he says, would be מִנְטָה. From this too is said מַטֶּה, a staff, אֶת־מַטֵּה הָאֱלֹהִים בְּיָדוֹ (Shemos 4:20), the staff of Hashem in his hand, called so because a man leans on it. The tribe is called מַטֶּה as well, אֶלֶף לַמַּטֶּה (Bamidbar 31:5), a thousand to a tribe, since שבט and מטה are one in sense, all of them the sense of support. So too בְּשִׁבְרִי לָכֶם מַטֵּה־לֶחֶם (Vayikra 26:26), when I break for you the staff of bread, that is, its support and strength.
כִּי יוֹאָב נָטָה אַֽחֲרֵי אֲדֹֽנִיָּה וְאַֽחֲרֵי אַבְשָׁלוֹם לֹא נָטָה (מלכים א' ב, כה), אמר זה לפי שמרדו שניהם אבשלום ואדניה אמר כי יואב לא היה נסכם במרד אבשלום אבל במרד אדניה היה נסכם ונטה אחריו להחזיק הממלכה בידו כי דוד היה זקן ולא פחד ממנו. ואין אבשלום שלמה כאשר כתב רבי יונה, כי לא נמצא זה ההפך שיזכור אדם במקום חבירו. וגם כן זֶרַע יַֽעֲקוֹב וְדָוִד (ירמיה לג, כו) אין יעקב אהרן כי אם יעקב עצמו, כלומר לא אמאס זרע יעקב וזרע דוד, כי אף על פי שדוד מזרע יעקב אחר שנבחר למלך וזרעו אחריו הוא ראש למשפחתו כלה. ואמר כי מזרע דוד יהיו מושלים בישראל וכן משאר זרע יעקב יחיו גדולים ורבים מושלים על זרע ישראל ובכללם הכהנים שזכר ושאר נסיכי ישראל, רוצה לומר שלא יהיו עוד בממשלת האומות אלא בממשלת מלכיהם ונסיכיהם כמו שאמר וְאָשִׁיבָה שֹֽׁפְטַיִךְ (ישעיה א, כו). וכן בְּנֵי־יַֽעֲקֹב וְיוֹסֵף סֶֽלָה (תהלים עז, טז), רוצה לומר שאר בני יעקב. וזכר יוסף לפי שהיה ראש. והחכם רבי אברהם אבן עזרא ז"ל פירש איך מי שהוא מזרע יעקב אמאס? בעבור שאמרה תורה שלא יהיה מלך מושל בישראל כי אם מיעקב, ועוד שהוא ממשפחת דוד והנה הם שתי מעלות. וּכְאֹרֵחַ נָטָה לָלֽוּן (ירמיה יד, ח), נְטֵה לְךָ עַל־יְמִֽינְךָ (שמואל ב' ב, כא), כִּמְעַט נָטָוֻי [נָטָיוּ] רַגְלָי (תהלים עג, ב), עַד־נְטוֹת הַיּוֹם (שופטים יט, ח), אִם תִּטֶּה אַשֻּׁרִי מִנִי הַדָּרֶךְ (איוב לא, ז), וַיִּטּוּ אַֽחֲרֵי הַבָּצַע (שמואל א' ח, ג), אַל־תֵּט יָמִין וּשְׂמֹאול (משלי ד, כז), אלו והדומים להם הם פעלים עומדים. ואשר הם פעלים יוצאים הִנְנִי נֹטֶֽה־אֵלֶיהָ כְּנָהָר שָׁלוֹם (ישעיה סו, יב), וַיֵּט שָׁמַיִם וַיֵּרַד (תהלים יח, י), וַיֵּט מֹשֶׁה אֶת־יָדוֹ (שמות י, כב), וַיֵּט אָֽהֳלֹה בֵּית־אֵל (בראשית יב, ח), נָטִיתִי לִבִּי לַֽעֲשׂוֹת חֻקֶּיךָ (תהלים קיט, קיב), כְּקִיר נָטוּי (תהלים סב, ד), יָמַי כְּצֵל נָטוּי (תהלים קב, יב), וּבִזְרוֹעַ נְטוּיָה (דברים ד, לד), נְטוּוֹת [נְטוּיוֹת] גָּרוֹן (ישעיה ג, טז). והנפעל כִּי יִנָּטוּ צִלְלֵי־עָֽרֶב (ירמיה ו, ד). והפעל הכבד [הִפְעִיל] וְעָלַי הִטָּה־חֶסֶד (עזרא ז, כח), לֹֽא־תַטֶּה מִשְׁפָּט (דברים טז, יט), הַטֵּה אֱלֹהַי אָזְנְךָ (דניאל ט, יח). וְהָעִיר מָֽלְאָה מֻטֶּה (יחזקאל ט, ט), פירוש דין מטה. אַל־תַּט לִבִּי לְדָבָר רָע (תהלים קמא, ד), דַּרְכּוֹ שָׁמַרְתִּי וְלֹֽא־אָֽט (איוב כג, יא), וַיַּט אֶת־לְבַב כָּל־אִֽישׁ־יְהוּדָה (שמואל ב' יט, טו), וַיַּט־עָלֵינוּ חֶסֶד (עזרא ט, ט), ענינם ענין ההסיה וההגעה אל הדבר. ומזה השרש והענין וְאַט אֵלָיו אוֹכִֽיל (הושע יא, ד), פירוש ואטה אליו מאכל. וכן סוּרוּ מִנֵּי־דֶרֶךְ הַטּוּ מִנֵּי־אֹרַח (ישעיה ל, יא), אף על פי שידמה פעל עומד כמו סוּרוּ אינו אלא פעל יוצא, ופירושו הטו אותנו מדרך י"י לדרך אחרת כמו שאמר אחריו השביתו מפנינו את קדוש ישראל. וענין קרוב לזה נוֹטֶה שָׁמַיִם (תהלים קד, ב). [וענין קרוב לזה] כִּנְחָלִים נִטָּיוּ (במדבר כד, ו), וְקָוה [וְקָו] יִנָּטֶה (זכריה א, טז), ענין פשיטה ומתיחה. ופירש רבי יונה מזה הענין וְעַל־בְּגָדִים חֲבֻלִים יַטּוּ אֵצֶל כָּל־מִזְבֵּחַ (עמוס ב, ח), כלומר יפשטו וישענו אצל כל מזבח. או יהיה מהענין הראשון והוא הנכון. ומהענין הזה נקראת מטה וַיִּתְחַזֵּק יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיֵּשֶׁב עַל־הַמִּטָּֽה (בראשית טח, ב), הַשֹּֽׁכְבִים עַל־מִטּוֹת שֵׁן (עמוס ו, ד). והראוי בהן מִנְטָה מִנְטוֹת. ונקראת כן לפי שהאדם שוכב עליה ופושט עצמו ונשען עליה. וכבר כתבנוהו בשרש מָטַט. וכן נאמר מזה מַטֶּה וַיֹּאמֶר מַטֶּֽה (שמות ד, ב), אֶת־מַטֵּה הָֽאֱלֹהִים בְּיָדֽוֹ (שמות ד, כ). והקבוץ בלשון נקבות אֶת־כָּל־הַמַּטֹּת מִלִּפְנֵי י"י (במדבר יז, כד). ובלשון זכרים נקבת בְמַטָּיו רֹאשׁ פְּרָזָו [פְּרָזָיו] (חבקוק ג, יד). ונקרא כן לפי שהאדם נשען עליו. ופירש רבי יונה צָץ הַמַּטֶּה (יחזקאל ז, י), מהענין הראשון. ויפה פירש לפי שאמר פָּרַח הַזָּדֽוֹן (שם) ונקרא השבט מטה אֶלֶף לַמַּטֶּה (במדבר לא, ה), כי ענין שבט ומטה אחד, כלם ענין משען. וכן אמר בְּשִׁבְרִי לָכֶם מַטֵּה־לֶחֶם (ויקרא כו, כו), כָּל־מַטֵּה־לֶחֶם שָׁבָֽר (תהלים קה, טז), כלומר משען וחוזק. ואפשר להיות מן השרש הזה מַטָּה. וכבר כתבנוהו בשרש מָטַט.
ש-ב-ט
A tribe, in sense a family but larger than one; a rod, for striking or for chastening; and, since a ruler holds a rod, the head and ruler himself.
Tribe and family
לְשֵׁבֶט וּלְמִשְׁפָּחָה (Shoftim 18:19), for a tribe and for a family; שְׁבָטִים שִׁבְטֵי יָהּ (Tehillim 122:4), the tribes, the tribes of Hashem; בְּכָל שִׁבְטֵי בִנְיָמִן (Shoftim 20:12), through all the tribes of Binyamin; and הִתְעוּ אֶת מִצְרַיִם פִּנַּת שְׁבָטֶיהָ (Yeshayahu 19:13), they led Mitzrayim astray, the cornerstone of her tribes. The sense of them all is family, but the tribe is larger than the family: מִשְׁפְּחוֹת שִׁבְטֵי בִנְיָמִן (Shmuel I 9:21), the families of the tribes of Binyamin, and וַיַּקְרֵב אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל לִשְׁבָטָיו (Yehoshua 7:16), he brought Yisrael near by its tribes, and afterwards וַיַּקְרֵב אֶת מִשְׁפַּחַת יְהוּדָה, he brought near the family of Yehudah.
One word for all the tribes
וְיִשְׂרָאֵל שֵׁבֶט נַחֲלָתוֹ (Yirmiyahu 10:16), and Yisrael is the tribe of His inheritance, where the one word covers all the tribes together.
The rod
וְכִי יַכֶּה אִישׁ אֶת עַבְדּוֹ אוֹ אֶת אֲמָתוֹ בַּשֵּׁבֶט (Shemos 21:20), and if a man strikes his servant or his maidservant with the rod; תְּרֹעֵם בְּשֵׁבֶט בַּרְזֶל (Tehillim 2:9), You shall break them with a rod of iron; וּפָקַדְתִּי בְשֵׁבֶט פִּשְׁעָם (Tehillim 89:33), I will visit their sin with a rod; שֵׁבֶט מוּסָר יַרְחִיקֶנָּה מִמֶּנּוּ (Mishlei 22:15), the rod of discipline drives it far from him. It is a מטה, a staff, and the family is likewise called a מטה, as he writes at the root נָטָה, since in a family each one is a rod and a staff to his fellow.
Rain as rod or as kindness
אִם לְשֵׁבֶט אִם לְאַרְצוֹ (Iyov 37:13), whether for a rod or for His land, is the rod of chastening: sometimes the rain comes as a rod and a chastisement upon the world, sweeping away the seed and ruining everything, and sometimes לְאַרְצוֹ, for His land, that is, for the world's need, because its people do His will; and אם לחסד, whether for kindness, since sometimes He brings it in kindness though the people of the world are guilty.
The ruler called a rod
Since a ruler carries a rod in his hand, and since the rod for chastening the people is in his hand, the head and the ruler are called שֵׁבֶט: שֵׁבֶט מֹשְׁלִים (Yeshayahu 14:5), the rod of rulers; לֹא יָסוּר שֵׁבֶט מִיהוּדָה (Bereishis 49:10), the sceptre shall not depart from Yehudah; שֵׁבֶט מִישֹׁר שֵׁבֶט מַלְכוּתֶךָ (Tehillim 45:7), a sceptre of uprightness is the sceptre of your kingdom. It is also said together with a scribe: מֹשְׁכִים בְּשֵׁבֶט סֹפֵר (Shoftim 5:14), they that handle the scribe's rod.
Tribes or judges
הֲדָבָר דִּבַּרְתִּי אֶת אַחַד שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל (Shmuel II 7:7), did I speak a word with one of the tribes of Yisrael, means with the heads and the kings; and the parallel pasuk has אֶת אַחַד שֹׁפְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל (Divrei HaYamim I 17:6), one of the judges of Yisrael.
לְשֵׁבֶט וּלְמִשְׁפָּחָה (שופטים יח, יט). בחמש נקודות. שֶׁשָּׁם עָלוּ שְׁבָטִים שִׁבְטֵי־יָהּ (תהלים קכב, ד). בְּכָל־שִׁבְטֵי בִנְיָמִן (שופטים כ, יב). הִתְעוּ אֶת־מִצְרַיִם פִּנַּת שְׁבָטֶֽיהָ (ישעיהו יט, יג), ענינם משפחה. אך השבט גדול מהמשפחה, כמו שאמר מִשְׁפְּחוֹת שִׁבְטֵי בִנְיָמִן (שמואל א ט, כא). וכמו שאמר וַיַּקְרֵב אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל לִשְׁבָטָיו (יהושע ז, טז). ואחר כן וַיַּקְרֵב אֶת־מִשְׁפַּחַת יְהוּדָה. ויהיה שבט כלל לכל השבטים וְיִשְׂרָאֵל שֵׁבֶט נַֽחֲלָתוֹ (ירמיהו י, טז). וענין אחר וְכִֽי־יַכֶּה אִישׁ אֶת־עַבְדּוֹ אוֹ אֶת־אֲמָתוֹ בַּשֵּׁבֶט (שמות כא, כ). תְּרֹעֵֽם בְּשֵׁבֶט בַּרְזֶל (תהלים ב, ט). וּפָקַדְתִּי בְשֵׁבֶט פִּשְׁעָם (תהלים פט, לג). שֵׁבֶט מוּסָר יַרְחִיקֶנָּה מִמֶּֽנּוּ (משלי כב, טו). הוא מטה. וכן נקראת המשפחה מטה כמו שכתבנו בשרש נָטָה זה כי המשפחה שבט ומטה כל אחד לחבירו מבני המשפחה. וכן אִם־לְשֵׁבֶט אִם־לְאַרְצוֹ (איוב לז, יג). שבט המוסר, רוצה לומר פעמים יבא המטר לשבט ולמוסר בעולם שישטוף הזרעים וישחית הכל ופעמים לארצו כלומר לצורך העולם לפי שהם עושים רצונו, ולפיכך אמר לארצו אם לחסד ופעמים לחסד ימציאנו אף על פי שבני העולם חייבים. ונקרא הראש והמושל שבט כי דרך המושל להיות שבט בידו. ועוד כי בידו שבט מוסר העם שֵׁבֶט מֹשְׁלִֽים (ישעיהו יד, ה). לֹֽא־יָסוּר שֵׁבֶט מִֽיהוּדָה (בראשית מט, י). שֵׁבֶט מִישֹׁר שֵׁבֶט מַלְכוּתֶֽךָ (תהלים מה, ז). ונקרא עם סופר שבט מֹֽשְׁכִים בְּשֵׁבֶט סֹפֵֽר (שופטים ה, יד). הֲדָבָר דִּבַּרְתִּי אֶת־אַחַד שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל (שמואל ב' ז, ז). כלומר עם הראשים והמלכים. וכן במקומו בדברי הימים (א' יז, ו) אֶת־אַחַד שֹֽׁפְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.
ש-ע-ן
To lean, on a thing or on Hashem. The nouns are a stay and support, and מִשְׁעֶנֶת, a staff.
Leaning and relying
וְנִשְׁעַן לִגְבוּל מוֹאָב (Bamidbar 21:15), leaning up against the border of Moav; וְהוּא נִשְׁעָן עַל יָדִי (Melachim II 5:18), he leans on my hand; יִשָּׁעֵן עַל בֵּיתוֹ (Iyov 8:15), he leans on his house. The same word is relying on Hashem, at Yeshayahu 10:20 and Divrei HaYamim II 13:18, and so too לְהִשָּׁעֵן עַל מַכֵּהוּ (Yeshayahu 10:20), leaning on the one who strikes him.
The nouns
מַשְׁעֵן וּמַשְׁעֵנָה (Yeshayahu 3:1), stay and support, and in construct in that same pasuk כֹּל מִשְׁעַן לֶחֶם וְכֹל מִשְׁעַן מָיִם, every stay of bread and every stay of water. In another form, לְמִשְׁעָן לִי (Tehillim 18:19), Hashem became a support to me; and Radak allows that כֹּל מִשְׁעַן לֶחֶם may belong to this second form.
The staff
עַל מִשְׁעֶנֶת הַקָּנֶה הָרָצוּץ (Yeshayahu 36:6), on the staff of that crushed reed, and עַל מִשְׁעַנְתּוֹ (Shemos 21:19), on his staff.
וְנִשְׁעַן לִגְבוּל מוֹאָֽב (במדבר כא, טו), וְנִשְׁעַן עַל־י"י (ישעיה י, כ), כִּי נִשְֽׁעֲנוּ עַל־י"י אֱלֹהֵי אֲבֽוֹתֵיהֶֽם (דברי הימים ב' יג, יח), וְהוּא נִשְׁעָן עַל־יָדִי (מלכים ב' ה, יח), יִשָּׁעֵן עַל־בֵּיתוֹ (איוב ח, טו), לְהִשָּׁעֵן עַל־מַכֵּהוּ (ישעיה י, כ). והשם מַשְׁעֵן וּמַשְׁעֵנָה (ישעיה ג, א), ובסמוך כֹּל מִשְׁעַן־לֶחֶם וְכֹל מִשְׁעַן־מָֽיִם (שם). ומשקל אחר וַיְהִי י"י לְמִשְׁעָן לִֽי (תהלים יח, יט), ואפשר שיהיה כֹּל מִשְׁעַן־לֶחֶם מזה המשקל. ומשקל אחר עַל־מִשְׁעֶנֶת הַקָּנֶה הָֽרָצוּץ (ישעיה לו, ו), עַל־מִשְׁעַנְתּוֹ (שמות כא, יט).
ש-ר-ב
Heat; and in one pasuk, the place of desert and drought.
Heat, and the place of drought
וְלֹֽא־יַכֵּם שָׁרָב וָשָׁמֶשׁ (Yeshayahu 49:10), neither heat nor sun shall strike them: its sense, he says, is the heat. At וְהָיָה הַשָּׁרָב לַֽאֲגָם (Yeshayahu 35:7), the sharav shall become a pool, he reads it as the place of desert and drought. The Targum renders אֲכָלַנִי חֹרֶב (Bereishis 31:40), drought consumed me, with this same word, אֲכַלְנִי שַׁרְבָא, the sharav consumed me.
וְלֹֽא־יַכֵּם שָׁרָב וָשָׁמֶשׁ (ישעיה מט, י), ענינו החום. וְהָיָה הַשָּׁרָב לַֽאֲגָם (ישעיה לה, ז), פירוש מקום המדבר והחורב. ותרגום אֲכָלַנִי חֹרֶב (בראשית לא, מ) אֲכַלְנִי שַׁרְבָא.
Radak, Sefer HaShorashim, Berlin 1847. Public domain, digitised by Sefaria from the National Library of Israel.
Sources
Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein, "Tribesmen Stick Together," What's in a Word?, Ohr Somayach, 22 July 2017.
Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein, "Trusting and Relying on G-d," What's in a Word?, Ohr Somayach, 29 August 2020.
Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein, "Trusting and Relying on G-d," What's in a Word?, Ohr Somayach, 10 September 2022.
Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein, "Tribesmen Stick Together," What's in a Word? Synonyms in the Hebrew Language (book manuscript).
Cited in the essay: Bereishis 49:28; Yirmiyahu 1:11; Tehillim 2:9; Megillas Esther (the sharvit of Achashverosh); Sanhedrin 5a; Malbim to Yirmiyahu 1:11 and Bereishis 49:28; Rashi to Sanhedrin 5a; Rabbi Shlomo Aharon Wertheimer, Beiurei Shemos Nirdafim s.v. שבר/קוה/יחל/חכה and קוה/יחל/חכה; the Vilna Gaon; Rabbi Yehuda ibn Kuraish; Rabbi Yaakov Lorberbaum of Lissa; Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg, citing Shadal; Rabbi Zev HaKohen Hoberman; Rabbi Shlomo Pappenheim, Cheshek Shlomo s.v. שע, קו, חס, and Yerios Shlomo (חוברת ד' יריעה ו'); the Targumim; Ohel Moed; Kedushas Levi to Bereishis 29:30 and Shemos 1:1; Shadal to Bamidbar 17:17; Radak, Sefer HaShorashim.