H1557 H1557
dung, excrement (as contemptible matter)
This stark word appears in prophetic judgment, where God promises to sweep away Jeroboam's dynasty like refuse. The term carries associations of worthlessness and disgust, used to express divine contempt for idolatrous rulers. In ancient Near Eastern culture, comparing something to dung was among the strongest expressions of rejection and humiliation—matter utterly without value.
Senses
1. sense 1 — 1 Kings 14:10 uses this term in a vivid threat: God will burn away Jeroboam's house 'as one burns dung, completely.' The image conveys total eradication without remainder—dung was burned for fuel, leaving nothing. The multilingual glosses (Spanish 'estiércol', English/French 'dung') confirm the crude, contemptuous sense. This isn't polite language but prophetic shock rhetoric, reducing a royal dynasty to waste matter. 1×
AR["الرَّوْثَ"]·ben["গোবর"]·DE["der-dung"]·EN["the-dung"]·FR["le-dung"]·heb["ה-גלל"]·HI["गोबर"]·ID["kotoran"]·IT["il-letame"]·jav["tinja"]·KO["그-똥을"]·PT["o-esterco"]·RU["навоз"]·ES["el-estiércol"]·SW["kinyesi"]·TR["gübre"]·urd["گوبر"]
Related Senses
H4325 1. water, waters (582×)H6965b 1. Qal: to rise, arise, get up (432×)H2091 1. gold (the metal) (389×)H0068 1. stone, rock (material/object) (267×)H5178a 1. bronze/copper as metal (131×)H6083 1. dust, dry earth, soil (108×)H8313 1. burn, set fire to (94×)H2734 1. anger was kindled (82×)G5204 1. water (80×)H2822 1. darkness, absence of light (80×)G5457 1. light (illumination) (71×)G0450 1. rise, stand up (physical) (69×)H6965b 2. Qal: to stand firm, endure, be valid (50×)H6999a 2. burn sacrifice on altar (Hifil) (45×)H5553 1. rock, cliff (physical feature) (43×)H6965b 4. Hifil: to establish, confirm (covenant/kingdom/word) (40×)H1197a 1. burn, be on fire (39×)H4306 1. rain, showers (38×)H1653 1. rain, precipitation (34×)G4655 1. darkness (30×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† II. גָּלָל n.[m.] dung (Arabic جَلَّةٌ ), הַגּ׳ 1 K 14:10; גְּלָלִים Zp. 1:17.—See also [גֵּל].