H4656 H4656
horrid or abominable thing (idol)
A term for something hideous or horrifying, used specifically to describe an abominable idol made by King Asa's mother Maacah for Asherah worship (1 Kings 15:13, 2 Chronicles 15:16). Asa's reform included cutting down and burning this 'horrid thing,' demonstrating his thoroughgoing commitment to purge idolatry even when it meant confronting his own mother's apostasy. The word conveys not just moral wrongness but visceral revulsion—something that makes observers shudder.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A horrid or abominable object, specifically an idolatrous image so offensive it provokes shuddering. The term appears only in the account of Asa's reforms, describing the idol his grandmother/mother made for Asherah. The multilingual glosses ('horror,' 'abominable image,' 'ídolo horrible') capture both the religious offense and the emotional repulsion. The word itself derives from a root suggesting trembling or shuddering, making it apt for something that violates sacred boundaries so grotesquely it provokes physical recoil. 4×
AR["صَنَمًا", "صَنَمَهَا", "فَظَاعَةً", "فَظَاعَتَهَا"]·ben["তার-ভয়ঙ্কর-মূর্তি", "তার-মূর্তিটাকে", "ভয়ঙ্কর-মূর্তি", "মূর্তি"]·DE["[מפלצת]", "[מפלצתה]", "ein-horror", "ihr-horror"]·EN["a-horror", "abominable-image", "her-abominable-image", "her-horror"]·FR["[מפלצת]", "[מפלצתה]", "sa-horror", "un-horror"]·heb["מפלצת", "מפלצתה", "מפלצתה-ה"]·HI["उसकी-घृणित-मूर्ति-को", "घृणित-मूर्ति", "मूर्ति", "मूर्ति-उसकी"]·ID["berhala-menjijikkan", "berhala-menjijikkannya", "patung-menjijikkan", "patung-menjijikkannya"]·IT["[מפלצת]", "[מפלצתה]", "lei-horror", "un-horror"]·jav["brahala", "brahala-njèlèh", "reca-nistha", "reca-nisthanipun"]·KO["곴포스러운-것을", "그녀의-곴포스러운-것을", "그녀의-나쁜-우상을", "무서운-우상"]·PT["coisa-horrenda", "seu-ídolo-horrendo", "sua-coisa-horrenda", "ídolo-horrendo"]·RU["мерзость", "мерзость-её", "ужас", "ужас-её"]·ES["su-ídolo-horrible", "un-ídolo-horrible", "ídolo-horrible", "ídolo-horrible-de-ella"]·SW["kitu-cha-kuchukiza", "sanamu-mbaya", "sanamu-yake", "sanamu-yake-mbaya"]·TR["iğrenç-bir-şey", "iğrenç-putunu", "iğrenç-şey", "iğrenç-şeyini"]·urd["اُس-کی-بہیانک-مورت", "اُس-کے-بت-کو", "بت", "بہیانک-مورت"]
Related Senses
H3548 1. priest, cultic officiant (750×)G5547 1. Christ, Messiah, Anointed One (540×)H5030 1. Prophet, divine spokesperson (317×)H5930a 1. burnt offering (sacrifice) (286×)H3881 1. Levites (priestly class) (283×)G4396 1. prophet, spokesperson of God (146×)H6944 1. sanctuary, holy place (129×)G0749 1. high priest, chief priest (123×)H6944 2. holiness, sacredness (abstract quality) (123×)G5330 1. Pharisee (99×)G4336 1. pray to God (86×)H6944 3. holy things, sacred offerings (plural) (86×)H3722a 1. make ritual atonement (Piel) (85×)H6912 1. bury (Qal active) (82×)H6419 1. pray (Hitpael) (80×)H6944 4. holiness (with possessive pronoun) (77×)H6942 1. sanctify, consecrate (Piel factitive) (76×)H2930a 1. Qal: be/become unclean (75×)H7819a 1. slaughter an animal (Qal active) (72×)H1486 1. lot (object cast for decisions) (71×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† מִפְלֶ֫צֶת n.f. horrid thing (thing to shudder at);—עָֽשְׂתָה מ׳ לַאֲשֵׁרָה 1 K 15:13 (of some abominable object of idolatry, not precisely known), so sf. מִפְלַצְתָּהּ v 13 = 2 Ch 15:16(×2).