H3417 H3417
spit (in someone's face), expectorate as sign of contempt or humiliation
A verb meaning to spit, specifically in someone's face as an act of contempt or shaming. Both occurrences involve ritual or legal humiliation: Numbers 12:14 (twice) describes the principle that if a father spat in his daughter's face, she would bear shame for seven days—Moses applies this to Miriam's punishment for challenging his authority. Deuteronomy 25:9 prescribes that a widow whose brother-in-law refuses levirate marriage shall spit in his face publicly as part of the shaming ritual. The act communicated profound contempt and social disgrace, making the offender ritually unclean or socially diminished.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The act of spitting in someone's face as a ritual or legal expression of contempt and shame. Far from casual rudeness, biblical face-spitting marked formal disgrace—whether divine judgment (Miriam) or communal enforcement of family obligations (levirate refusal). The cross-linguistic glosses uniformly capture the spitting action ('escupir', 'spit', 'spat'), recognizing this as a deliberate, meaningful act. The doubling in Numbers 12:14 (infinitive absolute + finite verb) intensifies the sense: 'if her father had but spit...' 3×
AR["بَصَقَ", "بَصْقًا", "وَتَبْصُقُ"]·ben["এবং-থুতু-দেবে", "থুথু-দিতেন", "থুথু-দিয়ে"]·DE["spat", "spitting", "und-soll-spit"]·EN["and-shall-spit", "spat", "spitting"]·FR["et-devra-spit", "spat", "spitting"]·heb["ו-ירקה", "ירק"]·HI["और-थूकेगी", "थूकना", "थूका-होता"]·ID["dan-meludahi", "meludah", "telah-meludah"]·IT["e-dovra-spit", "spat", "spitting"]·jav["lan-ngidoni", "ngidul", "piyambakipun-ngidul"]·KO["그리고-침을-뱉을지니", "침-뱉기를", "침-뱉었다면"]·PT["cuspir", "cuspisse", "e-cuspirá"]·RU["и-плюнет", "плюнул-бы", "плюющий"]·ES["escupiera", "escupir", "y-escupirá"]·SW["angemtemea-mate", "kutema-mate", "na-atamtemea"]·TR["tükürmek", "tükürseydi", "ve-tükürecek"]·urd["اور-تھوکے", "تھوک-کر", "تھوکا-ہوتا"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)H2416e 1. life, lifespan, lifetime (145×)G2198 1. be alive, have life (133×)H8193 1. lip, lips (body part) (123×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† II. יָרַק vb. spit (Ethiopic ወረቀ id.; according to LagBN 200 ii. ירק is not separate √; cf. יֵרָקֹן, and Arabic يَرَقَانٌ robigo)— Qal Pf. and Inf. abs. יָרֹק יָרַק בְּפָנֶיהָ Nu 12:14; 3 fs. consec. וְיָֽרְקָה בְּפָנָיו Dt 25:9; both, as token of contempt. Cf. רָקַק" dir="rtl" >רָקַק, רֹק²" dir="rtl" >רֹק.