a gift or present: something handed over freely, whether a personal present, an offering to God, or a bribe.
TranslatabilityDirectCertaintySettled
At its heart this word simply means a gift, something handed over freely rather than owed. The same word covers a father's parting present to his sons, the portions sent to the poor at a festival, and a grant of land from a ruler.
Because a gift can be aimed in different directions, the word stretches across several settings:
a present passing between people, given out of favor or generosity
an offering carried to God, from the consecrated dues of the priests to the freewill gifts brought at the yearly feasts
a bribe, a gift pressed into a judge's hand to bend a verdict
even people given as a gift, when God hands the Levites and the priesthood over for sacred service
What holds these together is the act of giving, not the thing given or the motive behind it. Whether the gift is generous, sacred, or corrupt depends entirely on who gives it and why. Hebrew has narrower words when it wants to be specific: one that leans toward tribute and the grain offering (מִנְחָה), and a blunt word for a bribe (שֹׁחַד). This word stays general, and lets the setting fill in the rest.
Nuances
1aa present given from one person to another.
Gen 25:62Ch 21:3Est 9:22Psa 68:18(19)*Ezk 46:16Ezk 46:17
reaches from ordinary presents all the way to offerings brought to God and to bribes, so one Hebrew word does what English splits among severalGen 25:6Exo 28:38
Both
both name something handed over freely rather than owedEzk 46:16
Only gift
the English "gift" sounds warm and positive by default, whereas the Hebrew word is neutral and can name a corrupt payment just as easily
is neutral at root and means simply a gift; the corrupt sense comes only from the setting, not from the wordPro 15:27
Both
—
Only bribe
"bribe" is always negative, so it fixes a verdict onto a word that is elsewhere generous and even sacred
How mattanah differs from similar Hebrew words
מִנְחָהa gift that leans toward tribute or homage paid to a superior, and the term for the grain offering brought to God; more loaded than the plain word for a gift.
Names a freely given present that carries no obligation and expects nothing back, such as the parting gifts a father hands to his sons or the portions of food shared with the poor at a festival.Gen 25:6Est 9:22
Names a sacred contribution set apart for God and given to the priests, including the priesthood itself described as something granted by God.Num 18:6Num 18:7Exo 28:38
Both
Both can name money handed to a person to sway a judgment or win favor, and the wisdom writers warn that such a payment quietly corrupts the one who takes it.Pro 15:27Pro 17:8Pro 21:14
Names a payment made to twist a legal decision, condemned in the law and treated as the mark of corrupt judges and rulers who let money decide a case.Exo 23:8Deu 16:19Isa 1:23
Names a price paid to buy off an enemy or secure the favor of a foreign power, handed over out of national treasuries to purchase protection.1Ki 15:192Ki 16:8
תְּרוּמָהa contribution set apart and lifted off as a dedicated portion for God or the priests, a narrower, technical offering-word than the general term for a gift.
Names an ordinary gift passed from one person to another as an act of generosity, with no cultic setting at all: what a father hands his other sons, or what neighbors send each other in celebration.Gen 25:6Est 9:22
Can carry a negative shade the other word never does: a bribe or a gift that buys favor and corrupts a person's judgment.Pro 15:27Ecc 7:7
Can be a grant of property or inheritance that a ruler bestows on his sons or servants.Ezk 46:16Ezk 46:17
Both
Both can name something handed over into the sacred sphere, a portion presented to the LORD or given to His priests.Num 18:29
Covers a formal handover of property or standing, the kind of transfer a family or a ruler makes on purpose: sons of the concubines sent east with a settlement, royal sons endowed with silver and fortified cities, and a prince's grant of land that returns to him at the year of release.Gen 25:62Ch 21:3Ezk 46:16Ezk 46:17
Can name people and an office as the thing given: the Levites handed over to Aaron for the work of the tent, and the priesthood itself held as something granted rather than seized.Num 18:6Num 18:7
Reaches the person who cannot repay, in the festival practice of sending shares to the poor.Est 9:22
Both
Both name what worshippers bring to the sanctuary, the holy things set apart and handed over to the priests.Num 18:11Exo 28:38Num 18:29
Both can name the quiet payment that bends someone's judgment, which the wisdom writings treat with suspicion.Pro 21:14Pro 15:27Ecc 7:7
Names the sum put on the table in a bargain: what one side offers to secure a marriage, set beside the bride price and openly invited to go higher.Gen 34:12
Works as a door opener for the person handing it over, widening his way, setting him in front of powerful people, and gathering friends around him.Pro 18:16Pro 19:6
mattanah in the other biblical languages
δῶρονGreek“gift”the usual Greek word for a gift or offering, covering both presents between people and gifts brought to God.
Covers the corrupt gift, the bribe that bends a judgment or ruins the one who takes it.Pro 15:27Ecc 7:7
Names a formal grant that confers standing or property: the priesthood and the Levites given for service, or a portion of inherited land.Num 18:7Ezk 46:16
Both
Both name an offering brought to God at the altar or sanctuary.Mat 5:23Heb 5:1Exo 28:38Lev 23:38
Both name a gift passed between people as a mark of favor or generosity.Rev 11:10Gen 25:6Est 9:22
Covers sacred gifts set apart for God and the offerings given to the priests and Levites for their service, a religious weight the Greek word never carries.Num 18:6Exo 28:38
Can name a corrupting gift, a bribe that perverts judgment and destroys the one who takes it.Pro 15:27Ecc 7:7
Both
Both simply name a present handed freely from one person to another, whether a father provides for his household or a congregation sends material support.Gen 25:6Php 4:17
The two words meet at the picture of gifts distributed among people: Paul draws on the Psalm of gifts received among the nations and reworks it as the exalted Christ giving gifts to his own.Psa 68:18Eph 4:8
In the Gospels this is the good, everyday present a parent naturally hands a child, held up as the measure of how readily God gives good things to those who ask him.Mat 7:11Luk 11:13
It commonly names ordinary gifts exchanged between people, such as a father providing for his children or presents shared at a festival.Gen 25:62Ch 21:3Est 9:22
It can shade into a bribe, a gift that bends a judge and corrupts the one who takes it.Pro 15:27Ecc 7:7
It covers gifts tied to worship: the offerings brought to God and the priestly service God grants as a gift.Exo 28:38Lev 23:38Num 18:6
Both
Both name a gift, something handed over as a present or grant rather than earned or bought.Gen 25:6Act 8:20
Both can name something God himself grants to his people.Num 18:7Act 10:45
In the New Testament it names God's own free gift to people: the Spirit, grace, and righteousness handed to those who have not earned them.Act 2:38Rom 5:15Eph 4:7
Every New Testament use points back to a divine giver; it never labels an ordinary present passed between people.Jhn 4:102Co 9:15Heb 6:4
What scholars say about mattanah
מַתָּנָה is a feminine noun formed from the common verb "to give" (root ntn), and the standard lexica (BDB; HALOT) treat it as a single item glossed "gift, present." Its range is contextual rather than lexical: within the one gloss they list gifts between people (Genesis 25:6;2 Chronicles 21:3), sacred offerings and dedicated dues (Exodus 28:38;Numbers 18:29), the corrupting gift or bribe (Proverbs 15:27;Ecclesiastes 7:7), and the notable use in Numbers 18:6-7 where the Levites and the priesthood are themselves called "a gift" given for service. The word belongs to a small set of ntn-derivatives with overlapping sense (מַתָּן, מַתָּת) and sits alongside the neighboring offering vocabulary מִנְחָה and תְּרוּמָה. In the Septuagint and New Testament it corresponds to δῶρον, and Psalm 68:18 is cited at Ephesians 4:8 with δόμα.