Strong’s H4985 · Hebrew

מָתַק
mâthaq
maw-thak'

Definition

to suck, by implication, to relish, or (intransitively) be sweet

Etymology

a primitive root;

Where the KJV renders it

  • be (made
  • take) sweet

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.