H5856 H5856
ruin, heap of ruins; debris remaining after destruction of a city or structure
This term denotes the physical remains after violent destruction—rubble piles where cities or buildings once stood. The word appears in prophetic judgments against Jerusalem and Samaria, where God warns that these cities will be reduced to heaps of stones. The Aramaic-influenced plural form appears in Micah's oracles, while Jeremiah quotes Micah's prophecy about Jerusalem becoming ruins. The multilingual evidence (Spanish 'ruinas,' French 'ruine') confirms this concrete sense of demolished structures.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Physical heaps of debris after violent destruction. Used exclusively in prophetic contexts (Micah, Jeremiah, Psalms) describing the fate of Jerusalem and Samaria. The multilingual glosses consistently render this as 'ruins' or 'heaps,' reflecting the aftermath of military conquest or divine judgment. Notable in Ps 79:1 where the temple's desolation is mourned. 4×
AR["أَنْقَاضًا", "خَرَائِبَ", "رُكَامًا", "لِ-خَرَائِبِ"]·ben["ধ্বংসস্তূপ", "ধ্বংসস্তূপ-রূপে-", "ধ্বংসস্তূপে"]·DE["[לעי]", "[עיים]", "[עיין]", "ein-heap-von-ruins"]·EN["a-heap-of-ruins", "heaps", "into-heap-of", "ruins"]·FR["[עיים]", "ruine", "à-ruine"]·heb["ל-עי", "ל-עיים", "עיים", "עיין"]·HI["खंडहरों", "खंडहरों-का-ढेर", "खंडहरों-के-ढेर"]·ID["menjadi-reruntuhan", "menjadi-timbunan", "puing-puing", "timbunan-reruntuhan"]·IT["[לעי]", "[לעיים]", "[עיים]", "[עיין]"]·jav["dados-tumpukan", "dados-tumpukan-tumpukan", "karuntuhan", "timbunan-reruntuhan"]·KO["더미가", "로-폐허", "무더기들-로", "폐허들-로"]·PT["a-montões", "monte-de-ruínas-de", "montões", "montões-de-ruínas"]·RU["в-развалины", "грудой", "развалинами", "руинами"]·ES["en-ruinas", "por-montón-de", "ruinas"]·SW["kuwa-magofu", "kuwa-rundo-la", "magofu", "marundo"]·TR["harabe", "harabelere", "harabelere-o"]·urd["لِ-کھنڈرات", "ملبہ", "ملبے", "کھنڈر"]
Related Senses
H4421 1. war, battle, armed conflict (319×)H0341 1. enemy, adversary, foe (284×)H3898a 1. Nifal: to fight, wage war (167×)H2026 1. kill, slay (active) (146×)H2451 1. wisdom, discernment (146×)H5483b 1. horse (the animal) (138×)H0006 1. to perish, be destroyed (105×)H7843 1. Hifil: destroy, annihilate (83×)H2491a 1. slain, fatally pierced (74×)H6862c 1. adversary, enemy, foe (69×)H8045 1. destroy, exterminate (69×)G0615 1. kill, put to death (60×)H6571b 1. horseman, cavalryman (52×)H8077a 1. desolation, waste (abstract state) (52×)G4678 1. of wisdom (51×)G4717 1. crucify, fasten to a cross (46×)H2763a 1. utterly destroy (Hifil active) (44×)G0622 1. perish, be destroyed (intransitive) (41×)H0006 2. to destroy, annihilate (Piel) (38×)H8074 1. be desolate, lie waste (36×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† עִי n.[m.] ruin, heap of ruins;—ע׳ abs. Jb 30:24, cstr. Mi 1:6; pl. עִיִּין (Aramaic form) 3:12, but עִיִּים in the quotation Je 26:18, and ψ 79:1.