לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹ֣ת

𐤋/𐤌𐤔𐤐𐤇𐤕

lemishepechot

for the families

from שָׁפָה (compare שִׁפְחָה); a family, i.e. circle of relatives; figuratively, a class (of persons), a species (of animals) or sort (of things); by extension a tribe or people; family, kind(-red).

H4940

Joshua 21:4 · Word #3

Lexicon H4940

Lemmaמִשְׁפָּחָה
Lemma (Paleo)𐤌𐤔𐤐𐤇𐤄
Transliterationmishpâchâh
Strong'sH4940
In-contextfor the families

Morphology HR/Ncfpc All morphology codes

Part of Speech N — Noun — A person, place, thing, or idea
Subtype c — Common — Common noun
Gender f — Feminine — Feminine
Number p — Plural — Plural
State c — Construct — The noun is bound to the following word

SIBI-P1 H4940-09

to the clan-families of

Rootשׁפח (š-p-ḥ)
Core Meaningsbranching, spreading out, clan-grouping, extended kinship circle
Semantic Rangeextended family, clan, lineage group, tribal subdivision, kind or class of beings
Conceptual Significanceמִשְׁפָּחָה expresses the fundamental social unit of Israelite identity—larger than the nuclear family yet smaller than the tribe—through which inheritance, covenant membership, land distribution, and communal responsibility were structured.
Morphological NotesPreposition לְ ("to/for/according to") + noun מִשְׁפָּחָה, common feminine plural construct (Ncfpc). The construct form requires a following genitive ("of ...").
Rendering RationaleThe noun is feminine plural in construct form ("families of"), preserving the plural kinship groups inherent in מִשְׁפָּחָה. The prefixed לְ is rendered "to," reflecting the prepositional function, while "clan-families" preserves the sense of extended, branching kin groups tied to the root idea of a spread-out familial circle.

AI-generated (openai/gpt-5.2-chat-latest)

Words from Root שׁפח (branching, spreading out, clan-grouping, extended kinship circle)

SILEX Code Transliteration SIBI-P1
H4940-01 bemishepechotam in their extended-clans
H4940-02 bemishepechoteyhem within their spread-out clans
H8198-01 beshifechatekha with your household-maid

Word Usage (304 occurrences of H4940)

Location Form Transliteration Meaning
Genesis 8:19 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹ֣תֵי/הֶ֔ם lemishepechoteyhem according to their families
Genesis 10:5 לְ/מִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֖/ם lemishepechotam according to their families
Genesis 10:18 מִשְׁפְּח֖וֹת mishepechot families