H1458 H1458
the back—the human back, used figuratively for rejection and disregard
This noun for the human back appears only in the phrase 'cast behind the back,' a vivid metaphor for rejection and willful disregard. In 1 Kings 14:9, Jeroboam has cast God himself behind his back. In Ezekiel 23:35, Jerusalem has cast God behind her back. In Nehemiah 9:26, rebellious Israel cast God's law behind their backs. The image is powerful: turning one's back on someone, putting them out of sight and mind, treating them as irrelevant or forgotten. It is the physical expression of spiritual abandonment.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The back of the body, used exclusively in the idiomatic phrase 'cast behind the back' to express rejection or disregard. All three occurrences follow the pattern: 'cast (hishlikh) behind (aḥare) your/their back (gaw).' The objects cast behind the back are: God himself (1 Kgs 14:9, Ezek 23:35) and God's law (Neh 9:26). Cross-linguistic evidence is consistent: English 'your back/their back,' Spanish 'tu espalda/espalda de ellos,' French 'ton en arrière/dos,' German 'dein zurück.' The possessive suffixes (-ka, -m) indicate whose back is turning away. This is figurative language for contemptuous rejection. 3×
AR["ظَهْرِكَ", "ظَهْرِكِ", "ظُهُورِهِمْ"]·ben["তাদের-পিঠ", "তোমার-পিঠের", "পিঠের-তোমার"]·DE["[גוך]", "[גום]", "dein-zurueck"]·EN["their-back", "your-back"]·FR["[גום]", "dos", "ton-en-arrière"]·heb["גווך", "גום-ם"]·HI["अपनी-पीठ", "अपनी-पीठ-के"]·ID["punggung-Mu", "punggung-mereka", "punggungmu"]·IT["[גוך]", "[גום]", "tuo-dietro"]·jav["geger-ipun", "geger-panjenengan", "gegeripun"]·KO["그들의-등", "네-등의"]·PT["costas-deles", "tuas-costas"]·RU["спину", "спину-свою", "спину-твою"]·ES["espalda-de-ellos", "espalda-de-ti", "tu-espalda"]·SW["mgongo-wako", "mgongo-wao"]·TR["sırtlarının", "sırtının"]·urd["اپنی-پیٹھ-کے", "پیٹھ-تیری-کے"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [גַּו] n.[m.] back—only sf. גַּוֶּ֑ךָ 1 K 14:9, גַּוֵּ֑ךְ Ez 23:35, גַּוָּם Ne 9:26;—always הִשְׁלִיךְ אַחֲרֵי ג׳ cast behind the back, i.e. put out of mind, ignore, reject י׳ 1 K 14:9 Ez 23:35, and his law Ne 9:26.