H3714 H3714
rafter, beam
This noun likely denotes a rafter or beam in construction, appearing in Habakkuk 2:11. The prophet declares that stones will cry out from the wall, and the beam from the timberwork will answer them—even the inanimate materials of houses built through violence and injustice testify against their builders. The exact technical meaning is uncertain (suggestions include rafter, girder, or other structural timber), but clearly it refers to wooden components in building construction. The image personifies the building materials themselves as witnesses to crime.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A construction term for a wooden structural element, probably a rafter or beam, used in prophetic poetry. The Spanish 'viga' (beam) and French 'suffisance' (which seems to take a different angle) reflect uncertainty about the precise technical term. The context in Habakkuk creates a powerful image: even stones and timbers become accusers, crying out against houses built with blood money. The building itself becomes a prosecuting witness, its very materials animated to testify against injustice and ill-gotten wealth. 1×
AR["وَ-عارِضَةٌ"]·ben["এবং-কড়িকাঠ"]·DE["[וכפיס]"]·EN["and-a-beam"]·FR["et-suffisance"]·heb["ו-כפיס"]·HI["और-शहतीर"]·ID["dan-balok"]·IT["[וכפיס]"]·jav["lan-balok"]·KO["그리고-서까래-가"]·PT["e-viga"]·RU["и-балка"]·ES["y-la-viga"]·SW["na-boriti"]·TR["ve-kiriş"]·urd["اور-شہتیر"]
Related Senses
H1129 1. Qal: build, construct (316×)H2691a 1. court, courtyard, enclosure (142×)G4864 1. synagogue, place of Jewish assembly (56×)G5438 1. prison, place of confinement (41×)H4013 1. fortress, stronghold (37×)H0875 1. well, cistern (dug water source) (35×)H0352b 1. pillar or jamb of gateway (32×)H2474 1. window, opening in wall (32×)H1406 1. roof / rooftop (31×)H4609b 1. steps, stairs, stairway (31×)H1129 2. Nifal: be built, be established (30×)H0361 1. portico, porch (architectural structure) (27×)H1129 3. Qal participle: builder (27×)H1219 1. fortified, inaccessible (25×)H4581 1. fortress, stronghold (25×)H3805 1. capital of a pillar (24×)H4350 1. stand, base, pedestal (24×)H0759 1. palace, royal residence (21×)H4692 1. siege, besiegement (20×)G3618 1. build or construct physically (19×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† כָּפִיס n.m. appar. (si vera l.) term. techn. for some beam in a house, perhaps rafter, or girder (NH id., Levy, Jastrow, but according to HoffmZAW ii. 1881, 71 it is changed from oblong block of wood (O. textual) to a building-stone, or brick in Mish.);—only Hb 2:11 for a stone out of the wall crieth out, וְכ׳ מֵעֵץ יַעֲנֶנָּה and a rafter out of the timber-work answereth it.