H1817a H1817a
A door or gate, used figuratively for the opening of the lips
While this word typically means 'door' in physical contexts, its sole occurrence as this homonym appears in Psalm 141 where the psalmist asks God to guard the door of his lips. This figurative use treats the mouth as a house with a door that needs divine guarding. The image powerfully captures the need for restraint in speech—doors control access, and the tongue needs similar regulation. Phoenician cognates confirm the basic meaning 'door,' making the metaphorical application all the more vivid.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Psalm 141:3 contains the famous prayer: 'Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.' This architectural metaphor treats speech as a space requiring controlled entry and exit. The 'door' image suggests that words, like visitors, should be screened before admission or departure. The psalmist's request for divine help acknowledges that self-control in speech requires more than human willpower—it needs God's active guardianship. 1×
AR["بَابِ"]·ben["দরজা-"]·DE["door-of"]·EN["door-of"]·FR["porte"]·heb["דל"]·HI["द्वार"]·ID["pintu"]·IT["[דל]"]·jav["kori"]·KO["문-의"]·PT["a-porta"]·RU["дверь-"]·ES["puerta-de"]·SW["mlango-wa"]·TR["kapısının"]·urd["دروازے"]
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
† [דָּל] n.[m.] door (Ph. דל) only fig. cstr. דַּל שְׂפָתָ֑י ψ 141:3.