This term describes physical breaks or cracks in structures, used both literally and metaphorically. Isaiah speaks of Jerusalem's many 'breaches'—defensive gaps in the walls that left the city vulnerable. Amos uses it of houses being struck into 'splinters' or 'cracks' as divine judgment. The word captures the concept of structural failure, whether in fortifications or buildings, that requires repair or portends collapse. The language of breaches in walls naturally became metaphorical for any vulnerability or weakness requiring attention.