1. threshold, sill — Masculine noun מִפְתָּן denoting a threshold or doorsill — the stone or timber at the base of a doorway that one steps over to enter a building, especially a temple or sacred space. Used of the threshold of the Philistine temple of Dagon (1 Sam 5:4,5), the threshold of the eschatological temple in Ezekiel's vision (Ezek 9:3, 10:4,18, 46:2, 47:1), and the threshold of the Jerusalem temple (Zeph 1:9). Multilingual evidence is consistent: eng threshold, spa umbral, hin दहलीज/देहली, arb عَتَبَة, kor 문지방, swa kizingiti. The construct ('threshold-of') and articled ('the-threshold') forms are grammatical variations, not semantic distinctions. 8×
AR["العَتَبَةِ","الـ-عتَبَةِ","عتَبَةِ","عَتَبَةِ"]·ben["দেওয়ালি","দেহলি","দেহলিজের","দেহলিতে","দেহলির","দেহলির-"]·DE["Schwelle","der-Schwelle","der-threshold","threshold-von"]·EN["the-threshold","threshold-of"]·FR["le-seuil","seuil","seuil-de"]·heb["ה-מפתן","מפתן"]·HI["दहलीज","दहलीज़","देहली"]·ID["ambang","ambang-pintu"]·IT["il-soglia","la-soglia","soglia","soglia-di"]·jav["ambang","bangbang","bangsal","cendhèla"]·KO["그-문지방","문지방-을","문지방에","문지방을","문지방의"]·PT["a-soleira","o-umbral","umbral-de"]·RU["порог","порога","пороге","порогу"]·ES["el-umbral","el-umbral-de","umbral-de"]·SW["kizingiti","kizingiti-cha","ya-kizingiti"]·TR["-eşikte","eşiği","eşiğin","eşiğinde","eşiğine","eşiğinin"]·urd["دہلیز","چوکھٹ-کے"]
Senses
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† מִפְתָּן n.[m.] threshold (cf. NH פָּתִין cross-beam;? Arabic فَيْتَنٌ carpenter);—abs. מ׳ 1 S 5:4; Zp 1:9; cstr. מִפְתַּן דָּגוֹן 1 S 5:5, מ׳ הַבַּיִת Ez 9:3; 10:4, 18; 47:1, מ׳ הַשַּׁעַר 46:2.