H4346 H4346
netted cloth, coverlet, thick woven fabric (used for smothering)
Second Kings 8:15 describes the gruesome assassination of Ben-hadad: Hazael took 'the covering,' dipped it in water, spread it over the king's face, and suffocated him. The term denotes a thick, netted cloth or coverlet—substantial enough to hold water and block breathing. The use of a household object for murder adds to the horror: a simple bed covering becomes an instrument of regicide. This was not open combat but calculated assassination, fulfilling Elisha's prophecy that Hazael would become king of Aram.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A thick woven cloth, netted coverlet, or textile substantial enough to be soaked with water, used in 2 Kings 8:15 by Hazael to smother King Ben-hadad. The term suggests a porous, net-like weave that could absorb and hold liquid. The assassination method was grimly efficient: the water-soaked fabric held tightly over the face would block air while muffling any struggle. Multilingual renderings ('covering,' 'manta,' 'couvrant') emphasize the cloth's function as something that covers or conceals—here, covering the boundary between life and death in a palace coup. 1×
AR["الْلِبْدَةَ"]·ben["কম্বল"]·DE["der-bedeckend"]·EN["the-covering"]·FR["le-couvrant"]·heb["ה-מכבר"]·HI["हमक्कवेर"]·ID["-selimut-tebal"]·IT["il-coprendo"]·jav["jaring"]·KO["이불을"]·PT["o-cobertor"]·RU["одеяло"]·ES["la-manta"]·SW["kitambaa-kizito"]·TR["örtü-o"]·urd["موٹا-کپڑا"]
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
† מַכְבֵּר n.[m.] a netted cloth or coverlet; 2 K 8:15 of the cloth which Hazael dipped in water, and spread over Ben-hadad’s face to smother him.