H8602b H8602b
Whitewash; a coating of plaster used to cover walls, metaphorically for false assurances
In Ezekiel's prophetic visions, taphel refers to the whitewash that false prophets smear over a flimsy wall—making it look solid when it is not. The literal image appears in Ezekiel 13:10–15, where God promises rain, hailstones, and wind will expose the shoddy construction. In 22:28, the same term functions as a sharp metaphor: the prophets 'whitewash' their lies, coating falsehood with a veneer of divine authority. German 'Tünche' captures this precisely.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Whitewash, plaster coating applied to conceal structural weakness. All five occurrences cluster in Ezekiel (13:10, 11, 14, 15; 22:28), where it serves both as a literal building material and a prophetic metaphor for deceptive reassurance. English 'whitewash,' Spanish 'cal' (lime), and German 'Tünche' all point to a surface treatment that hides what lies beneath—perfectly suited to Ezekiel's indictment of false prophecy. 5×
AR["بِالطِّينِ", "بِمِلَاطٍ"]·ben["চুনকামে", "পাতলা"]·DE["Tuenche"]·EN["whitewash"]·FR["elle-tombera"]·heb["תפל"]·HI["गारा", "बिना-बुझे"]·ID["dengan-kapur-rapuh,", "dengan-kapur-rapuh.", "kapur", "rapuh"]·IT["intonaco"]·jav["kapur-ala", "lebu"]·KO["회반죽을", "회벽으로", "회벽을"]·PT["argamassa", "reboco"]·RU["глиной", "им"]·ES["cal"]·SW["chokaa"]·TR["alçıyla", "boyasız-sıva", "sıvayanlar", "ve-düşecek"]·urd["کچی-ملٹ-سے", "گارا"]
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
† II. תָּפֵל n.[m.] whitewash;—applied to wall, in Ezekiel’s vision Ez 13:10, 11, 14, 15; fig. of false prophet 22:28.