H1817c H1817c
Door or gate; the hinged closure of an opening in a building, room, city wall, or sacred structure.
Refers to the physical door or gate that closes an entryway, whether of a house, city, temple, or chamber. In Genesis 19:9-10 the men of Sodom press against Lot's door while the angels pull him inside and shut it, vividly illustrating the door as threshold between safety and danger. The dual form (deletayim) reflects the characteristic double-leaf construction of ancient Near Eastern doors. Cognate Akkadian daltu confirms the same basic sense across Semitic languages. At Jeremiah 36:23 the 'columns' of a scroll likely reflect the word used metaphorically for the panels or leaves of the document, and at 2 Kings 12:9 the door of a chest serves as its lid or opening cover.
Senses
1. door, gate — The primary and overwhelmingly dominant sense: a physical door or gate, the movable barrier that closes an opening in a wall, building, or enclosure. Attested 84 times across diverse contexts—household doors (Gen 19:9-10; Judg 3:23-25), city gates (Deut 3:5; Neh 3:3), and temple doors (1 Kgs 6:34; Ezek 41:24). Multilingual evidence is uniform: Spanish 'puerta,' French 'porte,' German 'Tuer' all translate straightforwardly, confirming no ambiguity in this core meaning. 84×
AR["أَبوابَ","أَبْوابَ","أَبْوابُ","أَبْوَابَ","أَبْوَابِ","الْبَابَ","مِصْرَاعَيْ","مِصْرَاعَيْنِ"]·ben["-দরজা","কপাট","দরজা","দরজাগুলি","দরজাগুলিতে","দরজাগুলো"]·DE["-der-Tueren-von","Tueren","Tueren-von","[דלתות]","die-Tür","doors-von"]·EN["-the-doors-of","The-doors-of","doors-of","the-door"]·FR["-le-portes-de","[דלתות]","la-porte","porte","portes","portes-de"]·heb["דלתות","ה-דלת"]·HI["किवाड़","दरवअज़ोम","दरवज़","दरवाज़े","दरवाज़ों","दरवाज़ों-को","दरवाजों","दरवाजों-को","द्वार"]·ID["Pintu-pintu","daun-daun-pintu","daun-pintu","pintu-itu","pintu-pintu"]·IT["-il-porte-di","[דלתות]","il-porta","porta","porte","porte-di"]·jav["Konten-kontenipun","Lawang-lawang","gondhok","konten","konten-konten","konten-kontenipun","kontenipun-","kori","kori-kori","kori-punika","lawang","lawang-lawang"]·KO["문들","문들-","문들-을","문들은","문들을","문들이","문을","문짝들에","문짝들의"]·PT["Portas-de-","a-porta","as-portas","portas-de"]·RU["двери","дверь","дверях"]·ES["Puertas-de","la-puerta","las-puertas-de","puertas-de"]·SW["milango","milango-ya","miti-ya-misunobari","miti-ya-mzeituni","mlango","wakafunga"]·TR["-kapıyı","Kapılarını","kapilarini","kapı","kapılar","kapıları","kapılarını","kapılarının"]·urd["دروازوں","دروازوں-کو","دروازہ","دروازے"]
Gen 19:9, Gen 19:10, Exod 21:6, Judg 3:23, Judg 3:24, Judg 3:25, Judg 19:22, Judg 19:27, 1 Sam 3:15, 1 Sam 21:14, 1 Sam 23:7, 2 Sam 13:17 (+38 more)
2. sense 2 — At Jeremiah 36:23, the word appears to denote the 'columns' or leaves of a scroll, an extension from the door-leaf concept to the panels of a written document. English renders 'columns,' while Spanish has 'columnas.' French and German leave the Hebrew untranslated, signaling the unusual metaphorical usage. The king cuts the scroll's delot with a scribe's knife—the panels of the scroll are conceptually its 'doors' or foldable sections. 1×
AR["أَعْمِدَةٍ"]·ben["স্তম্ভ"]·DE["[דלתות]"]·EN["columns"]·FR["[דלתות]"]·heb["דלתות"]·HI["पन्ने"]·ID["kolom"]·IT["[דלתות]"]·jav["kolom"]·KO["난들을"]·PT["colunas"]·RU["столбца"]·ES["columnas"]·SW["nguzo"]·TR["sütun"]·urd["کالم"]
3. sense 3 — At 2 Kings 12:9 the word describes the opening or lid of a collection chest—literally 'in its door'—where the priest Jehoiada bored a hole. English 'in its door,' Spanish 'en tapa de ella' (in its lid), and French 'dans son porte' all point to a cover or hatch-like closure, extending the door concept to a container's access panel rather than a room's entryway. 1×
AR["فِي-غِطَائِهِ"]·ben["তার-ঢাকনায়"]·DE["in-sein-Tuer"]·EN["in-its-door"]·FR["dans-son-porte"]·heb["ב-דלתו"]·HI["बदल्तो-उसके-में"]·ID["di-pintunya"]·IT["in-suo-porta"]·jav["wonten-ing-kontennipun"]·KO["그것의-뚫께에"]·PT["em-sua-tampa"]·RU["в-дверце-его"]·ES["en-tapa-de-ella"]·SW["katika-kifuniko-chake"]·TR["kapağında-onun"]·urd["اُس-کے-ڈھکن-میں"]
Related Senses
H5921a 1. upon, on, over (spatial) (5443×)H0413 1. directional: to, toward (5366×)H1121a 1. son, male offspring, descendant (4914×)H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)H4428 1. king, human ruler (2518×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)H6440 1. before, in front of (spatial) (1870×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H3027 1. physical hand (body part) (1596×)H1697 1. word, speech, utterance (1235×)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×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† דֶּ֫לֶת n.f. (? m. Ne 13:19) door (NH id.; Assyrian daltu(m) StrmAV 1843 SchrCOT Gloss.; Ph. pl. דלהת CISi, 7, 3;—according to BaZMG 1887, 607 from √ ידל, Assyrian edilu, to bolt, bar)—דֶּלֶת (always abs., and c. art. except Ct 8:9 + Ez 41:24 but here Co art.) Gn 19:10 + 18 times; דָּ֑לֶת Gn 19:9 Ju 19:22; sf. דַּלְתּוֹ 2 K 12:10; Du דְּלָתַיִם (cf. Ges§ 93 n) Dt 3:5 + 9 times, דְּלָתָ֑יִם Jb…