H4947 H4947
The lintel, the horizontal beam above a doorway
This architectural term appears exclusively in Exodus 12's Passover account, referring to the horizontal beam above the door opening. When the Israelites were commanded to put lamb's blood on their houses as protection from the plague, they were to apply it to 'the two doorposts and the lintel.' The lintel, along with the doorposts, framed the entrance and bore the blood that marked households for divine protection. This humble architectural element became central to the Exodus deliverance narrative.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The lintel, the horizontal beam spanning the top of a doorway. Exodus 12:7 commands: 'take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses.' Verse 22 instructs: 'touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin.' Verse 23 promises: 'when the LORD sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door.' The consistent cross-linguistic rendering (dintel, linteau, Türsturz) confirms this as the top horizontal doorframe element. 3×
AR["الْ-عَتَبَةَ", "الْ-عَتَبَةِ"]·ben["উপরের-কাঠে"]·DE["der-Tuersturz"]·EN["the-lintel"]·FR["le-linteau"]·heb["ה-משקוף"]·HI["दरवाज़े-की-चौखट"]·ID["ambang-atas"]·IT["il-lintel"]·jav["blandar"]·KO["그-상인방"]·PT["a-verga"]·RU["притолоке", "притолоку"]·ES["el-dintel"]·SW["kizingiti-cha-juu"]·TR["üst-eşiğe", "üst-eşiğin"]·urd["چوکھٹ-اوپر-کی"]
Related Senses
H1129 1. Qal: build, construct (316×)H2691a 1. court, courtyard, enclosure (142×)G4864 1. synagogue, place of Jewish assembly (56×)G5438 1. prison, place of confinement (41×)H4013 1. fortress, stronghold (37×)H0875 1. well, cistern (dug water source) (35×)H0352b 1. pillar or jamb of gateway (32×)H2474 1. window, opening in wall (32×)H1406 1. roof / rooftop (31×)H4609b 1. steps, stairs, stairway (31×)H1129 2. Nifal: be built, be established (30×)H0361 1. portico, porch (architectural structure) (27×)H1129 3. Qal participle: builder (27×)H1219 1. fortified, inaccessible (25×)H4581 1. fortress, stronghold (25×)H3805 1. capital of a pillar (24×)H4350 1. stand, base, pedestal (24×)H0759 1. palace, royal residence (21×)H4692 1. siege, besiegement (20×)G3618 1. build or construct physically (19×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† מַשְׁקוֹף n.[m.] prob. lintel of door;—הַמּ׳ Ex 12:7 (P), v 22, 23 (J).