H4539 — מָסָךְ (macak)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H4539
Original: מָסָךְ
Transliteration: macak
Pronunciation: maw-sawk
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: From H5526 cakak — to cover, screen, shut off
Occurrences: 25 unique verses in OT
First Occurrence: Exo 26:36 — "And thou shalt make an hanging for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From H5526 (cakak); a cover, i.e. veil: — covering, curtain, hanging.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
the hanging	9	36.0%
an hanging	3	12.0%
of the covering	3	12.0%
and the hanging	2	8.0%
the covering	2	8.0%
And the hanging	1	4.0%
a covering	1	4.0%
for a covering	1	4.0%
for the hanging	1	4.0%
hanging	1	4.0%
the curtain	1	4.0%

KJV translates macak predominantly as "hanging" (68% of occurrences) and secondarily as "covering" (28%). A single instance uses "curtain" (Num 3:26).

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Exodus	16	1.3
Numbers	6	0.5
2 Samuel	1	0.1
Psalms	1	0.0
Isaiah	1	0.1

Overwhelmingly concentrated in the Pentateuch (22 of 25 occurrences, 88%). Exodus alone accounts for 64% of all uses, spanning construction instructions (ch. 26–27), execution accounts (ch. 35–36, 38), and installation narratives (ch. 39–40). Numbers records Levitical transport duties. The two non-Pentateuchal uses are figurative: a woman's practical concealment (2 Sam 17:19) and God's providential cloud-covering (Psa 105:39). Isaiah 22:8 uses it for Judah's defensive covering.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Screen for the Tabernacle Entrance¶

Exo 26:36 — "thou shalt make an hanging for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework"
Exo 36:37 — "he made an hanging for the tabernacle door of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, of needlework"
Exo 40:28 — "he set up the hanging at the door of the tabernacle"
Exo 39:38 — "the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the tabernacle door"

2. Screen for the Court Gate¶

Exo 27:16 — "for the gate of the court shall be an hanging of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework"
Exo 38:18 — "the hanging for the gate of the court was needlework, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen"
Exo 40:8 — "thou shalt set up the court round about, and hang up the hanging at the court gate"
Exo 40:33 — "he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate"

3. Covering/Shield for the Ark (in transit or in place)¶

Exo 35:12 — "The ark, and the staves thereof, with the mercy seat, and the vail of the covering"
Exo 39:34 — "the covering of rams' skins dyed red, and the covering of badgers' skins, and the vail of the covering"
Exo 40:21 — "he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the vail of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony"
Num 4:5 — "when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering vail"

4. Levitical Transport Responsibility¶

Num 3:25 — "the charge of the sons of Gershon in the tabernacle of the congregation shall be the tabernacle, and the tent, the covering thereof"
Num 3:26 — "the hangings of the court, and the curtain for the door of the court, which is by the tabernacle"
Num 4:25 — "they shall bear the curtains of the tabernacle, and the tabernacle of the congregation, his covering"

5. Non-Cultic / Figurative Use¶

2 Sam 17:19 — "the woman took and spread a covering over the well's mouth, and spread ground corn thereon"
Psa 105:39 — "He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light in the night"
Isa 22:8 — "he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
מִשְׁכָּן (mishkan)	H4908	10x (40%)	"the tabernacle... the hanging" — tabernacle context
פֶּתַח (pethach)	H6607	10x (40%)	"hanging for the door" — entrance of tabernacle or court
חָצֵר (chatser)	H2691	8x (32%)	"the court... the hanging" — court gate screen
מִזְבֵּחַ (mizbeach)	H4196	7x (28%)	"altar... the hanging" — altar positioned near the screen
שַׁעַר (shaar)	H8179	7x (28%)	"the gate... the hanging" — the court gate screen
אֹהֶל (ohel)	H168	6x (24%)	"tent... the hanging" — tent entrance screen
אָרוֹן (arown)	H727	5x (20%)	"the ark... the covering" — macak shields the ark
קֶלַע (qela)	H7050	5x (20%)	"hangings... the hanging" — qela = court side-hangings, macak = gate screen
פֹּרֶכֶת (poreketh)	H6532	4x (16%)	"the vail... the screen" — inner veil distinguished from outer screen
אַרְגָּמָן (argaman)	H713	4x (16%)	"purple" — construction material for the screen
רָקַם (raqam)	H7551	4x (16%)	"needlework" — macak is made by embroidery (raqam), not weaving (chosheb)

Word Family / Cognates¶

H5526 סָכַךְ (cakak) — root verb: to cover, overshadow, screen, hedge in

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
פֹּרֶכֶת (poreketh)	H6532	—	The inner veil separating Holy Place from Most Holy Place; macak is the outer screen at entrances (tabernacle door, court gate)
מִכְסֶה (mikseh)	H4372	"covering"	A weatherproof covering/lid (e.g., ram skins over the tabernacle); macak is a fabric screen at an opening
לוֹט (lot)	H3875	"covering"	A wrapping/veil (appears once, Isa 25:7); macak is a hanging screen
כָּסוּי (kacuwy)	H3681	"covering"	A physical covering over something; macak specifically hangs at an entrance or over the ark
צִפּוּי (tsippuwy)	H6826	"covering"	A metal overlay/plating; macak is always fabric

Semantic Domain¶

Furnishings [001002008001008]
Other words in domain: גָּג (gag H1406), גָּלִיל (galiyl H1550), גֶּנֶז (genez H1595), הֲדֹם (hadom H1916)

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
καταπέτασμα (katapetasma)	G2665	8	8.06	Primary — the LXX uses the same Greek word for both macak and poreketh
κάλυμα (kalyma)	G2571	5	8.52	Secondary — "a cover, veil"; used when macak means "covering"
σκηνή (skene)	G4633	10	4.97	Contextual — "tent/tabernacle"; co-occurs but translates the surrounding structure
μαρτύριον (martyrion)	G3142	9	5.29	Contextual — "testimony"; co-occurs in testimony-related verses

The LXX's use of katapetasma for both macak and poreketh collapses a distinction the Hebrew preserves: macak = outer entrance screen, poreketh = inner dividing veil. This conflation matters for NT interpretation, since the Gospels' "veil of the temple was rent" (katapetasma, Matt 27:51) could in principle refer to either curtain, though context and Hebrews 6:19, 9:3, 10:20 identify the inner veil (poreketh).