Word Study for H4291 (מְטָא) | Strong's Concordance

mᵉṭâʼ /met-aw'/ Ask about this word

Root(Aramaic) or מְטָה

Meaning(Aramaic), apparently corresponding to מָצָא in the intransitive sense of being found present; to arrive, extend or happen

KJV usagecome, reach.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of mᵉṭâʼ — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Aramaic word mᵉṭâʼ, represented by H4291, means to arrive, extend or happen; come, reach. It appears 8 times in 8 unique verses, exclusively within the book of Daniel. Its usage often carries a sense of finality or fulfillment, describing an object or event reaching its destination or appointed time.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In the biblical narrative, H4291 is used to convey both physical extent and the arrival of a significant moment. It describes the immense scale of King Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom, whose greatness "reacheth unto heaven" Daniel 4:22, a concept mirrored in the king's dream of a great tree whose height also "reached unto heaven" (Daniel 4:11, Daniel 4:20). The word also marks the arrival of divine judgment, as when a decree from the most High "is come upon my lord the king" Daniel 4:24. In a more dramatic physical sense, it is used to describe how Daniel's accusers never "came at the bottom of the den" before the lions attacked them Daniel 6:24.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related Aramaic words provide a fuller context for the concept of arrival and increase:

H858 ʼâthâh (to arrive; (be-) come, bring): This word is used alongside H4291 to describe the arrival of a key figure, as when the Son of man "came" H858 and then "came" H4291 to the Ancient of days Daniel 7:13.
H7236 rᵉbâh (to increase... make a great man, grow): This term often describes the process that leads to the state of "reaching." For instance, King Nebuchadnezzar is told he has "grown" H7236 and become strong, and his greatness "is grown" H7236 and "reacheth" H4291 to heaven Daniel 4:22.
H7127 qᵉrêb (to approach... come (near, nigh), draw near): Similar to arriving, this word signifies drawing near. It is used in the same vision where the Son of man "came" H4291 to the Ancient of days, and "they brought him near" H7127 before him Daniel 7:13.

Theological Significance

The theological weight of H4291 is tied to its use in the prophetic visions of Daniel.

Divine Sovereignty: The word emphasizes that God's plans and judgments "come" to pass at their appointed time. The decree against Nebuchadnezzar Daniel 4:24 and the fulfillment of his downfall Daniel 4:28 both use H4291, showing that divine will ultimately arrives and is executed on earth.
Prophetic Fulfillment: The term marks the arrival of prophesied eras. This is seen clearly when "the time came" H4291 that the saints possessed the kingdom, signaling a major shift in cosmic authority Daniel 7:22.
Messianic Arrival: Its most significant use is in the vision of the Son of man who "came" H4291 to the Ancient of days Daniel 7:13. Here, the word signifies the pivotal arrival of a messianic figure into the presence of God to receive dominion.

Summary

In summary, H4291 is a concise but powerful Aramaic term for arrival and fulfillment. While it can describe physical scale, as with Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom, its primary importance is in the context of Daniel's prophecies. It signals the inevitable arrival of God's judgment, the fulfillment of prophetic time, and the coming of the Son of man to his place of authority, reinforcing the theme of God's ultimate sovereignty over history.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Hebrew Old Testament, this word appears as a verb across 8 occurrences, inflected in 5 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form. Select any form to read what each part of its name means, and to filter the occurrence list to it.

מְטָה
יִמְטֵא
מְטוֹ
מְטָת
מְטָת

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

8 verses, all in Daniel — and none of the other 38 Old Testament books.

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, by grammatical form, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.