4146. mowcadah
Lexical Summary
mowcadah: Foundation, base, support

Original Word: מוֹסָדָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: mowcadah
Pronunciation: mo-saw-DAW
Phonetic Spelling: (mo-saw-daw')
KJV: foundation
Word Origin: [feminine of H4144 (מוֹסָד - foundations)]

1. a foundation

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
foundation

Or mocadah {mo-saw-daw'}; feminine of mowcad; a foundation -- foundation.

see HEBREW mowcad

Topical Lexicon
Semantic Field and Symbolism

מֹוסָדָה consistently pictures the stable base upon which something greater rests—whether the mountains, the heavens, the earth, or man-made structures. As such it serves as an emblem of both created order and covenant security.

Occurrences and Literary Settings

Deuteronomy 32:22 places the “foundations of the mountains” within the Song of Moses, portraying God’s fiery wrath reaching to the very bedrock of creation.
2 Samuel 22:8 (parallel Psalm 18:7) presents David’s battlefield praise: when the Lord intervenes, even “the foundations of the heavens trembled.”
2 Samuel 22:16 and Psalm 18:15 move from seismic imagery to hydrologic: God’s rebuke exposes “the foundations of the world,” revealing His sovereignty over both land and sea.
Isaiah 24:18 depicts eschatological judgment: “the foundations of the earth shake,” shattering any illusion of human autonomy.
Isaiah 40:21 appeals to the same word in a rhetorical question: the people should “understand from the foundations of the earth” that the Creator alone is supreme.
Isaiah 58:12 shifts to restoration: the faithful will “raise up the foundations of many generations,” equipping a ruined society for covenantal renewal.
Jeremiah 31:37 uses celestial–terrestrial hyperbole: only if the “foundations of the earth” can be searched out will God cast off Israel—an impossibility securing the permanence of His promises.
Jeremiah 51:26 proclaims Babylon’s demolition; not even a stone will be taken “for foundations,” underscoring total desolation.
Micah 6:2 summons the “foundations of the earth” as courtroom witnesses against covenant breach, invoking the most enduring elements of creation to hear God’s case.

Creation and Providential Order

By locating מֹוסָדָה beneath earth, mountain, and heaven, Scripture testifies that the visible cosmos rests on a God-given base. This aligns with Genesis 1, where creation is structured, not chaotic. The word therefore encourages confidence that reality is neither random nor self-existent; it is established by the Lord who “laid the foundation of the earth” (cf. Job 38:4).

Divine Judgment: Shaken Foundations

When sin escalates, the very structures that normally signify stability are portrayed as trembling or burning. This imagery intensifies prophetic warnings: no realm—terrestrial, celestial, political—remains untouched when the Holy One judges. Such texts anticipate New Testament assertions that God will yet “remove what can be shaken” so that the unshakable may remain (Hebrews 12:27).

Covenant Faithfulness and Restoration

Conversely, Isaiah 58:12 re-imagines מֹוסָדָה as the solid base upon which renewed communities arise. Post-exilic builders could take courage: God not only tears down corrupt systems but also roots future blessing in steadfast foundations. The word thereby functions pastorally, calling leaders to build ministries that outlast their own generation.

Eschatological Assurance

Jeremiah 31:37 weds the term to God’s everlasting commitment to Israel. The impossibility of probing earth’s foundations parallels the impossibility of God forsaking His covenant. This anticipates Paul’s declaration that “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29).

Christological Fulfillment

Although מֹוסָדָה itself does not appear in the New Testament, its theology prepares for Christ as both Cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20) and immovable Rock (Matthew 7:24-25). The same God who shakes ancient foundations provides an unshakable one in His Son, on whom the church is built.

Ministry Implications

1. Preaching: Use the trembling of foundations to illustrate the seriousness of sin and the certainty of judgment.
2. Counseling: Point penitent believers to the steadfast foundation God lays through redemption; past ruins can become “foundations of many generations.”
3. Missions: Just as the earth’s foundations are global, so is the scope of the gospel. God intends a worldwide, enduring work that cannot be uprooted.
4. Worship: Songs and prayers may echo David’s awe when created foundations moved at God’s intervention, fostering reverence and hope.

Devotional Reflection

When cultural or personal circumstances feel unstable, meditate on Isaiah 40:21—“Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?” The God who undergirds creation also undergirds His people. The believer’s security rests not on shifting sands but on the eternal foundation laid by the Sovereign Lord.

Forms and Transliterations
וּמוֹסְדֵ֣י ומוסדי לְמֽוֹסָד֑וֹת למוסדות מ֥וֹסְדֵי מֹ֣סְדֵי מֹסְד֣וֹת מֽוֹסְדֵי־ מוֹסְד֖וֹת מוֹסְד֥וֹת מוֹסְד֪וֹת מוֹסְדֵ֥י מוסדות מוסדי מוסדי־ מסדות מסדי lə·mō·w·sā·ḏō·wṯ lemosaDot ləmōwsāḏōwṯ mō·sə·ḏê mō·sə·ḏō·wṯ mō·ws·ḏê mō·ws·ḏê- mō·ws·ḏō·wṯ mosDei mosDot mōsəḏê Mosedei moseDot mōsəḏōwṯ mōwsḏê mōwsḏê- mōwsḏōwṯ ū·mō·ws·ḏê umosDei ūmōwsḏê
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Englishman's Concordance
Deuteronomy 32:22
HEB: וִֽיבֻלָ֔הּ וַתְּלַהֵ֖ט מוֹסְדֵ֥י הָרִֽים׃
INT: yield and sets foundation of the mountains

2 Samuel 22:8
HEB: וַתִּרְעַשׁ֙ הָאָ֔רֶץ מוֹסְד֥וֹת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם יִרְגָּ֑זוּ
KJV: and trembled; the foundations of heaven
INT: and quaked the earth the foundations of heaven were trembling

2 Samuel 22:16
HEB: יָ֔ם יִגָּל֖וּ מֹסְד֣וֹת תֵּבֵ֑ל בְּגַעֲרַ֣ת
KJV: appeared, the foundations of the world
INT: of the sea were laid the foundations of the world the rebuke

Psalm 18:7
HEB: וַתִּרְעַ֨שׁ ׀ הָאָ֗רֶץ וּמוֹסְדֵ֣י הָרִ֣ים יִרְגָּ֑זוּ
KJV: and trembled; the foundations also of the hills
INT: and quaked the earth the foundations of the mountains were trembling

Psalm 18:15
HEB: מַ֗יִם וַֽיִּגָּלוּ֮ מוֹסְד֪וֹת תֵּ֫בֵ֥ל מִגַּעֲרָ֣תְךָ֣
KJV: were seen, and the foundations of the world
INT: of water were laid and the foundations of the world your rebuke

Isaiah 24:18
HEB: נִפְתָּ֔חוּ וַֽיִּרְעֲשׁ֖וּ מ֥וֹסְדֵי אָֽרֶץ׃
KJV: are open, and the foundations of the earth
INT: are opened shake and the foundations of the earth

Isaiah 40:21
HEB: הֲלוֹא֙ הֲבִ֣ינֹתֶ֔ם מוֹסְד֖וֹת הָאָֽרֶץ׃
KJV: have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
INT: not attend the foundations who

Isaiah 58:12
HEB: חָרְב֣וֹת עוֹלָ֔ם מוֹסְדֵ֥י דוֹר־ וָד֖וֹר
KJV: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many
INT: ruins the ancient the foundations the age-old the age-old

Jeremiah 31:37
HEB: מִלְמַ֔עְלָה וְיֵחָקְר֥וּ מֽוֹסְדֵי־ אֶ֖רֶץ לְמָ֑טָּה
KJV: can be measured, and the foundations of the earth
INT: above searched and the foundations of the earth below

Jeremiah 51:26
HEB: לְפִנָּ֔ה וְאֶ֖בֶן לְמֽוֹסָד֑וֹת כִּֽי־ שִׁמְמ֥וֹת
KJV: nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate
INT: A corner A stone foundations for will be desolate

Micah 6:2
HEB: יְהוָ֔ה וְהָאֵתָנִ֖ים מֹ֣סְדֵי אָ֑רֶץ כִּ֣י
KJV: and ye strong foundations of the earth:
INT: God enduring foundations of the earth Because

11 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 4146
11 Occurrences


lə·mō·w·sā·ḏō·wṯ — 1 Occ.
mō·ws·ḏê — 4 Occ.
mō·ws·ḏō·wṯ — 3 Occ.
mō·sə·ḏê — 1 Occ.
mō·sə·ḏō·wṯ — 1 Occ.
ū·mō·ws·ḏê — 1 Occ.

4145
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