H4769 H4769
a resting place or lair; where animals lie down, especially flocks or wild beasts
This masculine noun denotes a resting place where animals lie down, appearing in two prophetic oracles of judgment. Ezekiel 25:5 declares God will make Rabbah 'a resting place for camels and Ammon a lair for flocks'—cities reduced to pasture for animals. Zephaniah 2:15 describes Nineveh's desolation: 'she has become a lair for wild beasts'—a once-great city now sheltering animals instead of humans. Both uses depict urban centers reverting to wilderness, where instead of human habitation, animals make their resting places. This reversal signals complete devastation.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A lying-down place, resting place, or lair for animals. Ezekiel's 'resting place for camels' and 'lair for flocks' transforms Ammonite cities into pastoral wilderness, the ultimate reversal of civilization. Zephaniah's 'lair for wild beasts' in Nineveh's ruins emphasizes desolation: wild animals bed down in what were royal palaces. The term comes from the root 'lie down, recline,' thus denoting any place where animals habitually rest. The judgment imagery is powerful: human achievement becomes animal shelter, proud cities become waystations for livestock and wildlife. 2×
AR["مَرْبِضًا", "مَرْبِضًا-"]·ben["শয়নস্থান", "শায়ানোয়া-জায়গা-"]·DE["[למרבץ]", "[מרבץ]"]·EN["a-lair", "as-resting-place-for-"]·FR["lieu-de-repos"]·heb["ל-מרבץ", "מרבץ"]·HI["बैठने-की-जगह"]·ID["sebagai-tempat-berbaring-", "tempat-rebah"]·IT["[למרבץ]", "[מרבץ]"]·jav["kangge-kandhang-", "panggènan"]·KO["눕는-곳", "우리로-"]·PT["por-curral-de", "repouso"]·RU["и-узнаете", "лежбищем"]·ES["como-aprisco-de", "guarida"]·SW["kuwa-mahali-pa-kulala-kwa", "mahali-pa-kulala"]·TR["yatağı-", "yatma-yeri-"]·urd["بَ-باڑہ-", "بیٹھنے-کی-جگہ"]
Related Senses
H0935 1. come, arrive (Qal) (2413×)G1473 1. first person singular pronoun (2084×)H3318 1. Qal: go out, depart, come forth (891×)H7725 1. to return, come/go back (Qal) (874×)H5927 1. go up, ascend (Qal) (779×)H7971 1. to send, dispatch (Qal) (701×)G2064 1. come / arrive (physical movement toward) (588×)H5307 1. Qal: fall down physically (339×)H5375 1. Qal: to lift up, raise (330×)H5975 1. to stand, stand up (310×)H5674a 1. Qal: pass by, pass through (256×)H3381 1. Qal: to go down, descend (physical movement) (242×)G1831 1. go/come out physically (193×)H5337 1. deliver, rescue, save (Hifil) (188×)H7901 1. lie down, rest, sleep (183×)G1525 1. enter a place physically (179×)H7812 1. prostrate oneself, bow down, worship (173×)H3318 2. Hifil: bring out, lead out, take out (persons) (172×)H7725 2. to bring back, restore (Hifil) (151×)H5674a 2. Qal: cross over (134×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† מַרְבֵּץ n.[m.]id.;—of wild beasts, מ׳ לַחַיָּה Zp 2:15 (sign of desolation, ‖ שַׁמָּה); of flock, cstr. מִרְבַּץ־צֹאן Ez 25:5 (‖ נְוֵה גְמַלִּים).