H4569b H4569b
Ford, mountain pass, or passage — a crossing point in terrain, whether through water or a narrow defile
A feminine noun denoting a place where one crosses over, whether a shallow river ford or a narrow mountain pass. The word appears most memorably in military contexts: the fords of the Jordan seized by Ehud's men to cut off the Moabites (Judg 3:28), the contested crossings at the time of Jephthah (Judg 12:5-6, the 'shibboleth' episode), and the rocky defiles flanking Jonathan's daring assault at Michmash (1 Sam 14:4). Isaiah uses it of both a mountain pass the Assyrian army traverses (Isa 10:29) and the river passages of Babylon that were breached (reflected in Jer 51:32).
Senses
1. ford, pass, passage — A crossing point in terrain — river ford, mountain pass, or fortified passage. The plural מַעְבָּרוֹת designates fords of the Jordan in the conquest and judges narratives (Josh 2:7; Judg 3:28; 12:5-6), while singular usage in 1 Samuel 14:4 and Isaiah 10:29 points to narrow rocky passes. Jeremiah 51:32 extends the sense to defensive passages in Babylon's fortifications. Spanish 'vados' and 'pasos,' French 'gués,' and German 'Furten' all confirm the core meaning of a traversable crossing, with the range spanning water fords to mountain defiles. 8×
AR["الـ-مَمَرَّاتِ", "المَخاضاتِ", "الْمَعْبَرَ", "عَابِرَاتُ", "مَعابِرَ", "مَعابِرِ", "وَالْمَعَابِرُ"]·ben["-সেই-গিরিপথগুলোর", "আর-ঘাটগুলো", "গিরিপথ", "ঘাট", "ঘাটগুলি", "ঘাটগুলির", "পারাপার-(সেই)"]·DE["-der-Furten-von", "Furten-von", "[והמעברות]", "[מעברה]", "[מעברת]", "der-Furten", "der-passes"]·EN["-the-fords-of", "and-the-fords", "at-fords-of", "fords-of", "the-fords", "the-pass", "the-passes"]·FR["-le-gués-de", "[והמעברות]", "[מעברה]", "[מעברת]", "gués-de", "le-gués", "le-passe"]·heb["ה-מעברות", "ו-ה-מעברות", "מעברה", "מעברות"]·HI["और-घाट", "घाट", "घाट-पार", "घाटों", "घाटों-को"]·ID["celah-celah", "dan-tempat-tempat-penyeberangan", "penyeberangan", "tempat-penyeberangan", "tempat-tempat-penyeberangan"]·IT["-il-fords-di", "[והמעברות]", "[מעברה]", "[מעברת]", "fords-di", "il-fords", "il-passes"]·jav["ing-panggenan-nyabrang", "lan-pangkalan-pangkalan", "lepen", "nyeberang", "panggenan-nyabrang", "panggenan-nyebrang"]·KO["그-나루터들", "그-통로들", "그리고-나루터들이", "나루터들", "나루터들에서", "나루터들을", "나루터를"]·PT["E-as-passagens", "as-passagens", "nos-vaus-de", "os-vaus", "travessia", "vaus-de"]·RU["И-переправы", "бродам", "броды", "переправ", "переправу", "переправы", "переходами", "у-переправ"]·ES["el-paso", "los-pasos", "los-vados", "vados-de", "y-los-vados"]·SW["Na-vivuko", "kivuko", "vivuko", "vivuko-vya"]·TR["-geçitlere", "gecidi", "gecitlerinde", "geçitler-in", "geçitleri", "geçitlerini", "ve-geçitler"]·urd["اور-گھاٹ", "دروں-کے", "گھاٹ", "گھاٹ-سے", "گھاٹوں", "گھاٹوں-پر", "گھاٹوں-کو"]
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
† מַעְבָּרָה n.f. ford, pass, passage;—abs. מ׳ Is 10:29; pl. מַעְבָּרוֹת Is 16:2; Je 51:32, מַעְבְּרוֹת abs. Jos 2:7; 1 S 14:4; cstr. Ju 3:28 + 2 times;— 1. ford, only pl. Jos 2:7 (JE), Ju 3:28; 12:5, 6; Is 16:2; so also 1 S 13:7 (for MT עָֽבְרוּ) We Dr Kit Löhr; + מַעְבֶּרֶת 1 K 7:46 = 2 Ch 4:17, v. סֻכּוֹת" dir="rtl" >סֻכּוֹת. 2. pass (wady, ravine), 1 S 14:4; Is 10:29. 3. passage in defensive works of Bab. Je 51:32.