מַחְתָּהmachtah meaning in Biblical Hebrew
firepan (for carrying live coals) · noun, feminine
Also spelled in English: mahtah
Two young priests each grab a pan of live coals, pile on incense nobody asked for, and walk in. The pan is a machtah, and it outlasted them.
וַיִּקְחוּ בְנֵי־אַהֲרֹן נָדָב וַאֲבִיהוּא אִישׁ מַחְתָּתוֹ וַיִּתְּנוּ בָהֵן אֵשׁ וַיָּשִׂימוּ עָלֶיהָ קְטֹרֶת וַיַּקְרִיבוּ לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֵשׁ זָרָה אֲשֶׁר לֹא צִוָּה אֹתָם
“And Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu each took his firepan, put fire in them, laid incense on it, and offered before the LORD strange fire, which He had not commanded them. (Leviticus 10:1)”
Where at home do you scoop up something hot the way a priest used his machtah?