H4658 H4658
Downfall, ruin, overthrow; a carcass or fallen body
The noun מַפֶּלֶת derives from the root נפל ('to fall') and denotes what results from a catastrophic fall. In Ezekiel's oracles against Tyre and Egypt, it recurs as a prophetic keyword for political overthrow and national ruin — 'at the sound of your downfall' (Ezek 26:15). The word carries a visceral physicality: nations tremble, coastlands shake, armies collapse. In its single concrete occurrence, however, it means something strikingly different — the carcass of the lion Samson had killed (Judg 14:8), where Spanish 'el cadaver de' and German 'Kadaver von' confirm a dead body rather than an abstract collapse.
Senses
1. fall, downfall, ruin — The dominant sense of fall, downfall, ruin, or overthrow — describing the catastrophic collapse of a nation, king, or wicked person. All seven occurrences appear in prophetic or wisdom contexts: Ezekiel's oracles against Tyre (26:15, 18; 27:27) and Egypt (31:13, 16; 32:10), and the proverb that the wicked witness their own downfall (Prov 29:16). Arabic suqut and Spanish caida/ruina consistently point to political or moral ruin. The pronominal suffixes vary (your-fall, its-fall, their-fall) but the underlying sense is unified. 7×
AR["بِ-سُقُوطِهِمْ", "سُقُوطِكَ", "سُقُوطِكِ", "سُقُوطِهِ"]·ben["তাদের-পতন", "তার-পতনে", "তার-পতনের", "তোমার-পতনের", "তোমার-পতনের।"]·DE["[במפלתם]", "[מפלתו]", "[מפלתך]"]·EN["at-their-fall", "its-fall", "your-downfall", "your-fall"]·FR["chute", "dans-leur-במפלתם-eux"]·heb["ב-מפלתם", "מפלתו", "מפלתך"]·HI["उनके-पतन-में", "गिरने-उसके-की", "गिरे-हुए-उसके", "तेरे-गिरने", "पतन-तेरे-के"]·ID["kejatuhan-mereka", "kejatuhanmu,", "kejatuhanmu.", "kejatuhannya", "keruntuhannya"]·IT["in-a-loro-fall-loro", "la-tua-rovina", "rovina"]·jav["ambruk-panjenengan", "ambruk-panjenengan.", "ambrukipun-panjenengan", "dhawah-panjenengan", "dhawahipun", "ing-dhawahing"]·KO["그들의-멸망에", "너의-멸망의", "넘어짐의-그의", "넘어짐의-너의"]·PT["na-queda-deles", "queda-dele", "queda-tua", "tua-queda"]·RU["падение-их", "падении-его", "падения-его", "падения-твоего"]·ES["en-su-caída", "su-caída", "su-ruina", "tu-caída"]·SW["katika-kuanguka-kwao", "kuanguka-kwake", "kuanguka-kwako"]·TR["düşüşlerinde", "düşüşünün", "yıkıntısının"]·urd["اُس-کے-گرنے", "اُس-کے-گرنے-کی", "تیری-تباہی-کے", "گراوٹ-اُن-کی-میں", "گرنے-تیرے"]
2. carcass, fallen body — A concrete, physical sense: a carcass or fallen body, attested only in Judg 14:8 where Samson returns to find bees and honey in the mappelet of the lion he had torn apart. The multilingual evidence diverges sharply from sense 1 — English 'carcass-of,' Spanish 'el cadaver de,' French 'carcass de' — marking a dead animal body rather than national ruin. BDB lists this as the primary sense historically, though by frequency it is the rarer usage. 1×
AR["جِيفَةَ"]·ben["শব"]·DE["Kadaver-von"]·EN["carcass-of"]·FR["carcass-de"]·heb["מפלת"]·HI["लाश"]·ID["bangkai"]·IT["carcass-di"]·jav["bathang"]·KO["시체"]·PT["carcaça-de"]·RU["труп"]·ES["el-cadáver-de"]·SW["mzoga-wa"]·TR["leşi"]·urd["لاش"]
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
† מַפֶּ֫לֶת n.f. carcass, ruin, overthrow;— 1. carcass, of lion, מ׳ cstr. Ju 14:8. 2. elsewhere sf. a. a ruin, מַפַּלְתּוֹ Ez 31:13 (kg. under fig. of tree). b. overthrow, id. v 16 (same fig.); מַפַּלְתֶּ֑ךָ (kg.) 32:10; מַפַּלְתֵּךְ (of Tyre) 26:15, 18; 27:27; מַפַּלְתָּם (of wicked) Pr 29:16.