Abarim Publications' online Biblical Hebrew Dictionary
מדד
The verb מדד (madad) means to measure. This verb commonly refers to establishing length or distance, but on occasion it is used figuratively. God sizes up the nations for judgment (Habakkuk 3:6), or measures out land for folks to live in (Psalm 60:6). Some sizes or quantities go beyond the scope of man but not that of God, such as that of the ocean (Isaiah 40:12) or all the descendants of Abraham (Hosea 1:10).
The derivatives of this verb are:
- The masculine noun מד (mad) meaning measure or portion (Jeremiah 13:25), or a "stretch" of cloth to sit on (Judges 5:10) or even to wear (Leviticus 6:3, Judges 3:16, 1 Samuel 17:38).
- The feminine equivalent מדה (midda), also meaning measurement (Ezekiel 41:17), or a certain length of cloth (Exodus 26:2) or garment (Psalm 133:2). An identical noun מדה (midda) occurs in Nehemiah 5:4. This particular word is assumed to be an Akkadian loan-word, meaning tribute.
- The masculine noun ממד (memad), meaning measurement. This noun occurs only in Job 38:5.
- The masculine noun מדון (madon), meaning stature. This noun occurs only in 2 Samuel 20:21. Note that it is identical to the noun מדון (madon) meaning strife or contention, from the root דין (dyn), meaning to judge.
מוד
A by-form of the previous, the verb מוד (mwd) isn't used in the Bible but appears in Arabic with the meaning of to stretch or extend and thus to continue or perpetuate. From this verb comes:
- The masculine noun תמיד (tamid), meaning continuity. This word is most frequently used to describe perpetually continued votives and offerings: the bread of the Presence (Exodus 25:30), the Menorah (27:20), the breastpiece of judgment (28:29) and the Urim and Thummim (28:30) and the priestly turban (28:38), the morning-and-evening offering (29:38), the burning incense (30:8), the fire on the altar (Leviticus 6:13), the grain offering (Leviticus 6:20), and so on. But this word not simply means "perpetual," it much rather means "measured" and refers to the Bible's strong emphasis on a governance by ratio and science (i.e. algorithmic or "lawful" thought) as opposed to a governance by one's foolish and natural heart and emotions (i.e. feelings or "lawless" thought). One of the purposes of the Sabbath had been to wean mankind off dependency on natural cycles and onto a measured and rational calendar ("teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom"; Psalm 90:12), and the "light" of science and ration was to do the very same thing: wean people off their dependence on their own private emotions and make them accept a governance from rules that are the same always to everybody. When in 165 BC the Maccabees cleaned the Temple of YHWH from the desecrations of the tyrannical Seleucid Persians, the first thing they did was to rekindle its synthetic and technological light: the technological light that allowed mankind to live independent from the rising and setting of the sun. In modern times, the feast of Hanukkah also serves to contrast the pagan veneration of the natural cycles and the glorification of ignorance, sensual pleasures and commerce. An important part of that festival is the rekindling of the Ner Tamid, or Eternal Light, which is a synthetic and technological lamp that symbolizes the light of science and technology.
מדה
The assumed root מדה (mdh) is also a by-form of מדד (madad), and yields the masculine nouns מדו (maddu) and מדוה (madweh), both meaning garment. These words occur in 2 Samuel 10:4 and 1 Chronicles 19:4. Note that the noun מדוה (madweh) meaning garment is identical to the noun מדוה (madweh), meaning disease, from the verb דוה (dawa), meaning to be ill.