H8611 H8611
spitting, act of spitting (specifically spitting in someone's face as an expression of contempt)
This noun describes the act of spitting, specifically spitting in someone's face as a gesture of extreme contempt and humiliation. Job 17:6 uses this term metaphorically: Job has become 'a spitting in the face,' meaning people spit at him as an expression of scorn. Some scholars have proposed emending the text to read 'sign' or 'portent' instead, but the Masoretic reading makes sense in the context of Job's social degradation. The imagery is visceral and captures the depth of Job's humiliation.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Refers to the act of spitting, particularly spitting in someone's face as a gesture of contempt. In Job 17:6, Job laments that he has become 'a spitting to the face'—that is, an object of public scorn whom people spit upon. This physiological act carries strong cultural overtones of disgust and rejection. Spanish 'escupidero' (spittoon) and English 'spitting' both point to the physical act, though the context emphasizes the social dimension of contemptuous rejection. The term captures both the physical action and its symbolic weight as ultimate humiliation. 1×
AR["وَ-بُصَاقًا"]·ben["এবং-থুতু"]·DE["[ותפת]"]·EN["and-a-spitting"]·FR["et-ותפת"]·heb["ו-תופת"]·HI["और-थूकना"]·ID["dan-ludahan"]·IT["e-e-un-spitting"]·jav["lan-cidu"]·KO["그리고-침-뽙는-자가"]·PT["e-cusparada"]·RU["и-плеванием"]·ES["y-escupidero"]·SW["na-kitu-cha-kutemewa-mate"]·TR["ve-tükürme"]·urd["اور-تھوکنے-کی-جگہ"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)H2416e 1. life, lifespan, lifetime (145×)G2198 1. be alive, have life (133×)H8193 1. lip, lips (body part) (123×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† I. תֹּ֫פֶת n.f. act of spitting;—abs. וְת׳ לְפָנִים Jb 17:6 a spitting in the face do I become, i.e. men spit in my face (‖ לִמְשֹׁל עַמִּים; Perles Baer Bu מֹפֵת לִפְנֵיהֶם).