H4136 H4136
Front, opposite, in front of — a substantive and preposition indicating spatial position directly facing something
Functions primarily as a preposition meaning 'opposite' or 'in front of,' derived from a root suggesting the front or face of something. It appears frequently in architectural and geographical descriptions: the placement of tabernacle clasps 'opposite' one another (Exod 26:9), the positioning of priestly garment attachments 'in front of' the ephod (Exod 28:25, 27), and geographical directions like 'opposite Beth-peor' (Deut 3:29; 34:6). Spanish 'frente a/de' and French 'en face de/devant' capture its spatial precision. One unique occurrence in Nehemiah 12:38 uses a variant form (môʾel) to indicate 'the opposite direction,' possibly a textual corruption of 'to the left.'
Senses
1. opposite, facing, in front of — Spatial preposition meaning 'opposite,' 'facing,' or 'in front of' — the dominant usage across 35 occurrences. Employed in cultic instructions for the tabernacle (Exod 26:9; 28:25, 27, 37), geographical orientation (Deut 1:1; 3:29 'opposite Beth-peor'), and architectural descriptions (1 Kgs 7:5). French 'en face de' and German 'Vorderseite von' reflect the directional precision, while Spanish 'frente a' captures the facing relationship. Often appears with prefixed prepositions: mimmûl ('from opposite'), lĕmûl ('toward the front of'). 35×
AR["قُبَالَةَ", "مُقابِلَ", "مُقابِلِ", "مُقَابِلَ", "مُقَابِلِ"]·ben["মুখে", "মুখোমুখি", "সামনে"]·DE["Vorderseite-von", "der-Vorderseite-von", "front-von", "in-Vorderseite-von", "opposite", "von-opposite-von"]·EN["from-opposite-of", "front-of", "in-front-of", "opposite", "the-front-of"]·FR["dans-front-de", "de-en-face-de", "devant-de", "en-face", "en-face-de", "front-de", "le-front-de", "opposite"]·heb["מ-מול", "מול"]·HI["मूल", "सअमने", "सामने", "सामने-की-ओर", "सामने-से", "साम्हने"]·ID["arah", "bagian-depan", "depan", "di-depan", "di-hadapan", "menghadap", "muka"]·IT["da-di-fronte-a-di", "di-fronte", "di-fronte-a", "dirimpetto", "front-di", "il-front-di", "in-front-di"]·jav["ing-ngajeng", "madep", "ngadhep", "ngadhepi-", "ngajeng"]·KO["마주보는-쪽으로", "맞은편", "맞은편에", "앞", "앞에"]·PT["defronte-de", "defronte-de-", "diante-de", "em-frente-de", "frente-de"]·RU["лица", "напротив", "против"]·ES["frente-a", "frente-de"]·SW["kuelekea", "mbele-ya", "mkabala-na"]·TR["karşı", "karşısına", "karşısında"]·urd["سامنے", "سامنے-"]
Exod 18:19, Exod 26:9, Exod 28:25, Exod 28:27, Exod 28:37, Exod 34:3, Exod 39:18, Exod 39:20, Lev 5:8, Lev 8:9, Num 8:2, Num 8:3 (+23 more)
2. on the opposite side, across — Directional use indicating 'on the opposite side' or 'across,' occurring in Nehemiah 12:38 in the variant form môʾel (לְמוֹאֵל). This may describe the second thanksgiving procession going in the contrary direction along the wall. BDB suggests the reading may be corrupt for liśmôʾl ('to the left'), and the multilingual evidence reflects this uncertainty — French and German leave the Hebrew in brackets rather than attempting translation. 1×
AR["إِلى-اليَسارِ"]·ben["-বিপরীতে"]·DE["[למואל]"]·EN["opposite"]·FR["[למואל]"]·heb["ל-מואל"]·HI["विपरीत-दिशा-में"]·ID["ke-sebelah-kiri"]·IT["[למואל]"]·jav["dhateng-kiwa"]·KO["에-맞은편으로"]·PT["para-em-frente"]·RU["налево"]·ES["al-frente"]·SW["upande-wa-kushoto"]·TR["sola"]·urd["بائیں-طرف"]
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×)H8033 1. There (locative adverb) (835×)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×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† I. מוּל, מוֹל (†Dt 1:1), מוֹאל (†Ne 12:38) subst. and prep. front, in front of (deriv. dub.; according to Ol § 223 c Sta§ 378 a, for מְאוֹל from אוּל to be in front: v. further Köii. 300 f. HptBAS i. 172):— 1. subst. only 1 K 7:5 (si vera l.: v. Sta ZAW 1883, 151) וּמוּל מֶחֱזָה אֶל־מֶחֱזָה and the front of (one) window was towards (the other) window, and Ne 12:38 לְמוֹאל = in the opposite…