4330. mits
Lexical Summary
mits: Juice, extract

Original Word: מִיץ
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: miyts
Pronunciation: mits
Phonetic Spelling: (meets)
KJV: churning, forcing, wringing
NASB: churning, pressing
Word Origin: [from H4160 (מוּץ - To shake)]

1. pressure

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
churning, forcing, wringing

From muwts; pressure -- churning, forcing, wringing.

see HEBREW muwts

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from an unused word
Definition
squeezing, pressing, wringing
NASB Translation
churning (2), pressing (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
מִיץ noun masculine squeezing, pressing, wringing (3 t.) אַֿף יוֺצִיא דָ֑ם׳מִיץ חָלָב יוֺצִיא חֶמְאָה וּמ אַמַּיִם יוֺצִיא רִיב׃ ׳וּמ Proverbs 30:33 the squeezing of milk produceth curd (see ThomsonLand and Book, Centr. Pal. 456 RobBR i. 485; ii. 418), and the squeezing of the nose produceth blood, and (so) the squeezing of anger (i.e. pressure, insistence) produceth strife.

מִישׁ see מושׁ.

Topical Lexicon
Definition and Literal Imagery

מִיץ (mits) denotes the physical act of pressing, squeezing, or churning so that something hidden within is forced out. Proverbs 30:33 pictures three every-day examples of this principle: milk churned until curds appear, a nose twisted until blood flows, and anger agitated until open strife erupts. All three illustrate an immutable connection between cause and effect.

Biblical Occurrence

Proverbs 30:33 is the sole canonical instance: “For as the churning of milk produces butter, and twisting the nose draws blood, so stirring up anger produces strife” (Berean Standard Bible). Repetition of the same Hebrew term with each clause heightens the parallelism and underscores that the outcomes are as predictable morally as they are physically.

Historical and Cultural Background

Churning milk was a familiar household task in ancient Israel, normally done in a skin bag or clay vessel. Continuous motion separated the fat, yielding thick curds or butter—an image of an inevitable, observable result. Nose-bleeding in the Ancient Near East was commonly provoked in fighting scenarios; twisting someone’s nose in a brawl guaranteed bloodshed. Agur, the sage behind Proverbs 30, selects tangible, agrarian-era illustrations his audience could not miss. The teaching assumes a worldview in which moral order is woven into creation: provoke anger and conflict will follow just as surely as dairy turns to curds under persistent pressure.

Theological Themes

1. Moral Causality. Scripture consistently asserts that actions have consequences (Job 4:8; Galatians 6:7). מִיץ provides a vivid snapshot of that principle in the realm of human relationships.
2. Self-Control versus Wrath. While the milk and nose examples are neutral or negative, only anger lies within human choice. Proverbs presents calm restraint as wisdom (Proverbs 15:18; 16:32), whereas pressed wrath culminates in the “works of the flesh” (Galatians 5:20).
3. Peace as God’s Design. Strife fractures community and opposes the divine intention for shalom. Christ’s peacemaking work (Ephesians 2:14) calls believers to defuse rather than agitate anger.

Intertextual Connections

Proverbs 15:1 “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Proverbs 29:22 “An angry man stirs up strife, and a hot-tempered man abounds in transgression.”
Ecclesiastes 7:9; James 1:19-20; Ephesians 4:26-27 all affirm that unchecked anger yields sin.
• The agricultural motif echoes Isaiah 28:28, where grain is beaten but not ruined, showing divine moderation; by contrast, human wrath pushed too far is destructive.

Practical Ministry Implications

• Conflict Counseling. When tempers flare in homes or congregations, Proverbs 30:33 supplies a concrete object lesson: continued provocation will produce relational “blood.” Leaders can use the verse to press for early reconciliation (Matthew 5:23-24).
• Discipleship and Character Formation. Teaching believers to recognize the first churn of anger equips them to interrupt the process through prayer, confession, and Spirit-enabled self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
• Exposition and Preaching. The text offers a ready outline—illustration, explanation, application—showing that wisdom literature still speaks to modern patterns of agitation, social media outrage, and polarization.
• Personal Examination. The faithful are called to ask: What am I “pressing” in my heart? Will it result in nourishment (like butter) or harm (like blood)?

מִיץ thus serves as a compact but potent proverb: what is relentlessly squeezed will eventually emerge. By heeding that warning, believers pursue peace and display the character of the God who “is slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion” (Psalm 103:8).

Forms and Transliterations
וּֽמִיץ־ וּמִ֥יץ ומיץ ומיץ־ מִ֪יץ מיץ mîṣ mitz ū·mîṣ ū·mîṣ- ūmîṣ ūmîṣ- umitz
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Proverbs 30:33
HEB: כִּ֤י מִ֪יץ חָלָ֡ב י֘וֹצִ֤יא
NAS: For the churning of milk produces
KJV: Surely the churning of milk
INT: For the churning of milk produces

Proverbs 30:33
HEB: י֘וֹצִ֤יא חֶמְאָ֗ה וּֽמִיץ־ אַ֭ף י֣וֹצִיא
NAS: butter, And pressing the nose
KJV: butter, and the wringing of the nose
INT: produces butter and pressing the nose brings

Proverbs 30:33
HEB: י֣וֹצִיא דָ֑ם וּמִ֥יץ אַ֝פַּ֗יִם י֣וֹצִיא
NAS: blood; So the churning of anger
KJV: blood: so the forcing of wrath
INT: brings blood the churning of anger forth

3 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 4330
3 Occurrences


mîṣ — 1 Occ.
ū·mîṣ- — 2 Occ.

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