mat.tah marks what is positioned, moving, or reckoned lower in contrast to what is above.

The attested use chiefly marks a physical position or direction below another point, especially in descriptions of structures and vertical orientation. It also describes being lower in status or direction when set against what is above, and once marks a lesser degree of punishment.

1. Lower physical position or direction · dominant

   The adverb locates objects or features at a lower point: in Exodus 27:5 the APB renders the altar net as placed “under the ledge of the altar, from below,” while Exodus 28:27 places the ephod rings “below” its face. In 2 Chronicles 32:30 the waters are directed below the city, and Ezekiel 1:27 describes what is seen from the loins downward.

   Exodus 26:24Exodus 27:5Exodus 28:272 Chronicles 32:30Ezekiel 1:27Jeremiah 31:37
2. Downward direction or lower standing · common

   In directional contrasts, the adverb marks what goes or extends downward: 2 Kings 19:30 says the remnant will take root downward while bearing fruit upward, and Ecclesiastes 3:21 contrasts the human spirit going upward with the beast's spirit going downward. In Deuteronomy 28:13 and Deuteronomy 28:43, the clauses contrast being above with being beneath or sinking lower; 1 Chronicles 27:23 uses it for those twenty years old and under.

   1 Chronicles 27:232 Kings 19:30Deuteronomy 28:13Deuteronomy 28:43Ecclesiastes 3:21Isaiah 37:31
3. Lesser degree · rare

   In Ezra 9:13, the adverb occurs in the statement that God has punished the people less than their iniquities deserve; the APB presents a comparison of punishment with deserved guilt.

   Ezra 9:13

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB variously presents the lower relation with “beneath,” “below,” “downward,” “under,” and “less than,” as in Exodus 27:5, Deuteronomy 28:13, Ecclesiastes 3:21, and Ezra 9:13. These are verse-level renderings rather than fixed word-by-word equivalents.