Bible word study

Mathay (Strong’s H4970): Meaning in the Bible

Mathay (מָתַי) is the Hebrew word numbered H4970 in Strong’s concordance of the Bible. Strong’s defines it as properly, extent (of time); but used only adverbially (especially with other particle prefixes), when (either relative or interrogative). In the King James Bible it is translated long, when..

• Original wordמָתַי
• Transliterationmâthay
• Pronunciationmaw-thah'ee
• Part of speechadverb (adv)
• Strong’s numberH4970
• LanguageHebrew

The full Strong’s definition

Derivation. from an unused root meaning to extend;

How the King James Bible translates it

Where Mathay appears in the Bible

In the King James Bible’s text tagged with Strong’s numbers, Mathay (H4970) stands behind 3 English renderings in 3 verses across 2 of the 66 books. It is most frequent in Exodus (2), Genesis (1).

How the King James Bible renders Mathay, by count

• when2 of 3 (67 percent)
• long1 of 3 (33 percent)

Three places to read Mathay

• Genesis 30:30 For it was little which thou hadst before I came, and it is now increased unto a multitude; and the LORD hath blessed thee since my coming: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?
• Exodus 8:9 And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only?
• Exodus 10:3 And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me.

Counts are made at build time from the King James text tagged with Strong’s numbers (eBible.org, public domain). Verses are read from the stored King James text, never typed.

Why the word matters

Every word the biblical writers chose carries weight. Studying Mathay in the original Hebrew lets you read the passages where it appears more carefully, closer to what the first hearers understood, so the meaning is drawn from the text itself rather than from the English alone.

The lexical data on this page comes from the public-domain Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890), a Hebrew and Greek dictionary keyed to the King James Bible. It is a reference tool, not a settled verdict: no single word decides a doctrine, and meaning is finally shaped by how a word is used in its sentences. Read the passages themselves, prayerfully, and in full.

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