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הֹפֶךְ

𐤄𐤐𐤊

hôphek

H2017 noun

SILEX Entry

Root הפך to turn, overturn, reverse

Definition

A turning, overturning, especially in the sense of reversal or subversion; the act or state of something being turned upside down, both literally (as of physical objects or events) and figuratively (as in the reversal of expectations, societal norms, or natural order). It can also denote perversity in the sense of a fundamental subversion of right order or expected behavior.

Semantic Range

turning, overturning, subversion, reversal (physical or moral), perversity, a state or act of being turned upside down

Root / Etymology

From the root הפך (h-f-k), meaning 'to turn, overturn, reverse.' The noun הֹפֶךְ is derived as a nominal form signifying 'a turning' or 'an overturning.' The sense of 'perversity' arises from the figurative extension of physical reversal to social, moral, or conceptual reversal.

Historical & Contextual Notes

הֹפֶךְ appears rarely in the Hebrew Bible, including in Isaiah 29:16, where it is used to describe the subversion or reversal of moral and logical expectations. The term captures both concrete and abstract overturning: physically, it can refer to the turning over of objects or cities (as with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah using the related verb), and abstractly, it denotes profound disruption or inversion of norms. In prophetic and wisdom literature, it serves as a metaphor for perverse reasoning or actions that invert appropriate order. English translations such as 'perversity' or 'turning of things upside down' reflect the abstract sense, but may not fully convey the breadth of subversion contained in the original term. The word is not especially common, and its meaning is best clarified by the wider use of the root הפך in the broader Hebrew Bible, where both literal and figurative turnings and reversals are prominent.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from הָפַךְ; an upset, i.e. (abstract) perversity; turning of things upside down.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

הפך (h-p-k) — turn, overturn, reverse

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H2015 הָפַךְ in overturning
H2016 הֶפֶךְ reversal
H2018 הֲפֵכָה the catastrophic overturning
H2019 הֲפַכְפַּךְ habitually twisted one
H4114 מַהְפֵּכָה like the overthrow of

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H2017-01 הַ֨פְכְּ/כֶ֔ם hafekekhem HNcmsc/Sp2mp your turning upside down your overturning 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 total occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H2017-01 Isaiah 29:16 הַ֨פְכְּ/כֶ֔ם hafekekhem HNcmsc/Sp2mp your turning upside down your overturning
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