H4914 H4914
byword; proverbial saying or object of ridicule
Job laments that he has been made a byword among the peoples—a proverbial example of misfortune, someone whose name is used as a reference point for suffering. The term captures both the idea of a proverb (a saying passed around) and an object of public mockery. Job's suffering has become so notorious that his name itself is used proverbially. It's a profound expression of how personal tragedy can become public spectacle, reducing a person's identity to their calamity.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Describes Job's status as a byword or proverbial example of suffering in Job 17:6. The term indicates someone who has become a common saying, a reference point when people want to illustrate extreme misfortune. The phrase 'a byword of the peoples' shows how Job's personal tragedy has transcended his individual experience to become public property—people use his name when they want to invoke suffering, much as we might say someone has 'the patience of Job.' The multilingual glosses emphasize both the proverbial aspect (Spanish 'refrán') and the public humiliation inherent in becoming such an example. 1×
AR["لِ-مَثَلٍ"]·ben["-দৃষ্টান্ত-রূপে"]·DE["zu-Spruch"]·EN["a-byword-of"]·FR["à-למשל"]·heb["ל-משל"]·HI["कहावत-के-लिए"]·ID["sebagai-amsal"]·IT["per-un-byword-di"]·jav["dados-paribasan"]·KO["속담으로"]·PT["como-provérbio-de"]·RU["притчей"]·ES["por-refrán-de"]·SW["methali"]·TR["atasözü"]·urd["مثال-کے-لیے"]
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
† מְשֹׁל n.[m.] by-word, only cstr. (strictly Inf.) לִמְשֹׁל עַמִּים Jb 17:6 (they) have made me a by-word of the peoples.