This verb means to deal violently with, to devastate, despoil, or ruin. It appears in Psalm 91:6 describing 'the destruction that devastates at noonday,' part of a series of dangers from which God protects the faithful. The word emphasizes violent, destructive action—whether military conquest, natural disaster, or epidemic plague. The metaplastic form suggests intensity of action. While related to other Semitic roots meaning to obstruct or drag, in Hebrew it developed specifically toward meanings of violent destruction and devastation, often in contexts of warfare, divine judgment, or disaster.