H6574 H6574
refuse, dung, excrement (possibly); textually uncertain word in Judges 3:22
This hapax legomenon (word appearing only once) in Judges 3:22 is textually and etymologically uncertain. The context is graphic: after Ehud thrust his dagger into the obese King Eglon, 'the refuse came out' (or possibly 'the blade came out at the back'). Many scholars propose emending the text to read פֶּרֶשׁ (peresh), meaning 'dung' or 'feces'—a realistic if unpleasant detail of abdominal stabbing. The Vulgate and Targum support this reading. The uncertainty reflects both scribal squeamishness (leading to euphemism or corruption) and the rare vocabulary. Whatever the precise reading, the narrative emphasizes the assassination's gruesome physical reality.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Judges 3:22 describes Ehud's assassination of Eglon: 'And the hilt also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not pull the sword out of his belly; and the refuse came out.' The multilingual glosses (refuse, excremento meaning 'excrement', verweigern which oddly means 'refuse/deny') reflect uncertainty about whether this refers to feces or some other anatomical matter. The graphic detail serves narrative purpose—demonstrating the completeness and violence of the killing, Eglon's vulnerability despite his royal status, and Ehud's decisive action. The vocabulary difficulty perhaps stems from later scribal discomfort with such explicit bodily description. 1×
AR["الْفَرْثُ"]·ben["মলে-"]·DE["der-verweigern"]·EN["the-refuse"]·FR["le-refuse"]·heb["ה-פרשדונה"]·HI["मल-में।"]·ID["kotoran"]·IT["il-refuse"]·jav["kotoran"]·KO["그-항문으로"]·PT["o-excremento"]·RU["нечистое"]·ES["el-excremento"]·SW["uchafu"]·TR["de-dışkı"]·urd["پیچھے-سے"]
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
† פַּרְשְׁדֹ֑נָה n.[m.] only וַיֵּצֵא הַפּ׳ Ju 3:22, read perhaps פֶּרֶשׁ foeces (𝔙 𝔗 NöUntersuch. 180 Bu GFM).