Meaning
Massa mas'-a (massa', "burden"): Descendant of Abraham through Ishmael (Gen 25:14, 1Ch 1:30). His people may be the Masani of Ptolemy, having Eastern Arabia near Babylon as their habitat. The marginal reading of the heading to Pro 31 mentions Lemuel as king of Massa. If that reading is accepted, it would seem that a tribe and probably a place were named from Ishmael's descendant. The reading is doubtful, however, for where the phrase recurs in Pro 30 (Revised Version (British and American)) it appears to be a gloss.
