H4114 H4114
Overthrow, catastrophic destruction; used almost exclusively of divine judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah as a paradigmatic warning.
A feminine noun denoting total, catastrophic overthrow, nearly always evoked in comparison with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The construction 'like the overthrow of Sodom' became a fixed formula for the most extreme form of divine judgment (Deut 29:22; Isa 13:19; Jer 49:18; 50:40; Amos 4:11). In Isaiah 1:7, the phrase is applied to the devastation wrought by foreign invaders, showing the word's capacity to describe any annihilating reversal. The multilingual glosses -- Spanish como destrucción de, French comme le renversement, English like overthrow of -- all preserve the comparative construction, underscoring its formulaic character.
Senses
1. overthrow / destruction (catastrophic) — A catastrophic, total overthrow or destruction, used as a verbal noun from the root הָפַךְ ('to overturn, to overthrow'). Almost invariably it appears in the construct state ('the overthrow of...') within a fixed comparative formula evoking Sodom and Gomorrah's annihilation: 'like the overthrow of Sodom' (Deut 29:22; Jer 49:18; Amos 4:11). When God is the subject, it governs an accusative ('God's overthrowing of Sodom,' Isa 13:19; Jer 50:40). Isaiah 1:7 extends the image to foreign invasion. The Spanish como destrucción and French comme le renversement consistently reflect the simile construction, confirming this is not just destruction but destruction-as-paradigm -- the measuring rod against which all other divine judgments are scaled. 6×
AR["كَ-انْقِلابِ", "كَ-اِنْقِلَابِ", "كَانقِلَابِ", "كَانْقِلَابِ", "كَـ-إِهْلَاكِ"]·ben["উলটানোর-মতো", "উল্টানোর-মতো", "উল্টে-ফেলার-মতো", "যেমন-ধ্বংস"]·DE["[כמהפכת]", "wie-overthrow-von"]·EN["like-overthrow-by", "like-overthrow-of", "like-overthrowing-of", "like-the-overthrow-of"]·FR["comme-le-renversement", "comme-overthrow-de", "renversement"]·heb["כ-מהפכת"]·HI["की-तरह-उलटने", "जैसे-उलटना-", "जैसे-उलटा", "जैसे-उलटावा", "जैसे-उलटी-हुई"]·ID["seperti-kehancuran", "seperti-penghancuran", "seperti-penunggangbalikan"]·IT["[כמהפכת]", "come-il-rovesciamento", "come-overthrow-di"]·jav["kados-anggenipun-ngrebahaken", "kados-karisakan", "kados-ngejur", "kados-pangrisakan"]·KO["같이-뒤엎음(접)", "과-같이-뒤엎음", "뒤집힘-같고", "뒤집힘-같으리라", "전복과-같이"]·PT["Como-destruição-de", "como-a-destruição-de", "como-destruição-de", "como-transtorno-de"]·RU["Как-при-низвержении", "как-ниспровержение", "как-опрокидывал", "как-переворот"]·ES["como-destrucción-de", "como-trastorno-de"]·SW["Kama-kupinduliwa-kwa", "kama-kupindua-kwa", "kama-kupinduliwa-kwa", "kama-maangamizi-ya", "kama-mapinduzi-ya"]·TR["-gibi-yıkımı", "devirilisi-gibi", "gibi-yıkımı", "yıkım-gibi", "yıkımı-gibi"]·urd["الٹ-پلٹ-کی-طرح", "الٹنے-کی-طرح", "جیسے-الٹنا", "جیسے-الٹنے", "جیسے-اُلٹا", "جیسے-اُلٹنا"]
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
† [מַהְפֵּכָה] n.f. overthrow—always cstr. מַהְפֵּכַת; & always of overthrow of Sodom, Gomorrah etc., except Is 1:7 מ׳ זָרִים, where read סְדֹם (Ew Che RSProph. 345 Di al.; also LagSem i. 3); yet even so prob. gloss, cf Stud.JPTh 1877, 714; מ׳ סְדֹם Dt 29:22 Je 49:18; and with force of verbal noun, governing acc., מ׳ אלהים את־סדם Is 13:19 Je 50:40 Am 4:11. Cf. also הָפַךְ 1 b, הֲפֵכָה.