ma.cha.zeh denotes a visionary experience, whether presented as divine communication or denounced as empty and false.

The attested use describes a visionary experience: in Numbers 24:4 and Numbers 24:16 it is associated with seeing in the context of hearing God's words, while Genesis 15:1 places the LORD's word to Abram in such an experience. Ezekiel 13:7 applies the term within a rebuke of a vain vision and lying divination.

1. Visionary experience in divine communication · dominant

   In Numbers 24:4 and Numbers 24:16, the construct form occurs in clauses describing one who hears God's words and sees the vision of the Almighty; the APB renders these clauses with “sees the vision.” In Genesis 15:1, the absolute form occurs as the setting in which the word of the LORD came to Abram; the APB renders “in a vision.”

   Numbers 24:4Numbers 24:16Genesis 15:1
2. A vision condemned as vain · rare

   In Ezekiel 13:7, the construct singular occurs in the charge that people saw a vision of vanity and spoke a lying divination; the APB renders the clause “see a vision of vanity.”

   Ezekiel 13:7

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB presents the term with “vision” in all four verses, including “in a vision,” “the vision of the Almighty,” and “a vision of vanity.” These phrases confirm the clauses' presentation without fixing every nuance of the Hebrew term.