The Hebrew verb male means to fill, to be full, to complete, or to be fulfilled. It carries ideas of physical fullness, numerical completeness, and spiritual fulfillment. The word family appears over 250 times in the Old Testament.
Isaiah 6:3 — 'the whole earth is full of his glory' — uses male to declare that no corner of creation is devoid of divine majesty. The New Testament counterpart: the Spirit who fills believers (Ephesians 5:18) continues this divine-filling motif into the new covenant community.
The fulfillment dimension of male is essential to biblical hermeneutics. When Matthew uses 'that it might be fulfilled' language, the concept is that God's prior words are like a vessel whose shape was always designed to receive what was promised.