Strong’s H4290 · Hebrew
מַחְתֶּרֶת
machtereth
makh-teh'-reth
Definition
a burglary; figuratively, unexpected examination
Etymology
from H2864 (חָתַר);
Where the KJV renders it
- breaking up
- secret search
Every distinct English word the King James Version uses to translate this Hebrew term. The variety shows what readers in English receive across many different surface words — the same underlying word, scattered across the English Bible under different names.
What the first audience heard
A deep-dive treatment of this word is in the works. The featured chapter above carries the long form of what this word meant to its first audience.