H4939 H4939
bloodshed; violent outpouring of blood
This word appears in Isaiah's Song of the Vineyard in a striking wordplay. God looked for justice (mishpat) but found bloodshed (mispach)—the similar sounds emphasize the bitter reversal. BDB notes the word was chosen specifically for its phonetic resemblance to 'justice,' creating a devastating pun. Where God expected right judgment, he found violent bloodshed. The term captures the violent outpouring of blood through injustice and oppression, a sharp indictment of Israel's moral failure.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Bloodshed or violent outpouring of blood, used in Isaiah 5:7 in deliberate wordplay with 'justice' (mishpat). The prophet creates a phonetic parallel: God looked for mishpat (justice) but found mispach (bloodshed)—the similar sounds making the contrast devastatingly clear. The term specifically denotes blood that has been violently shed, particularly through injustice and oppression rather than legitimate justice. This is the bitter fruit of God's carefully tended vineyard: where righteousness should have grown, violence flourished. The wordplay is part of Isaiah's rhetorical brilliance, using sound to drive home meaning. 1×
AR["ظُلمٌ"]·ben["রক্তপাত"]·DE["[משפח]"]·EN["bloodshed"]·FR["[משפח]"]·heb["משפח"]·HI["रक्तपात"]·ID["penumpahan-darah"]·IT["[משפח]"]·jav["karusakan"]·KO["피흘림이라"]·PT["derramamento-de-sangue"]·RU["кровопролитие"]·ES["derramamiento-de-sangre"]·SW["umwagaji-damu"]·TR["kan-dokme"]·urd["خون-ریزی"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)H2416e 1. life, lifespan, lifetime (145×)G2198 1. be alive, have life (133×)H8193 1. lip, lips (body part) (123×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† מִשְׂפָּח n.[m.] prob. outpouring (of blood), bloodshed (שׂ subst. for ס; word chosen for assonance with מִשְׁפָּט);—abs., וַיְקַו לְמִשְׁפָּט וְהִנֵּה מ׳ Is 5:7 and he waited for justice and lo! bloodshed, so Ges Hi Ew Di Gu Du CheComm. CheHpt. (dub.).