מַגֵּפָה
𐤌𐤂𐤐𐤄
maggêphâh
H4046 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
A sudden calamity or disastrous blow, especially one affecting a large population; specifically a plague or epidemic causing mass mortality, or a severe strike resulting in defeat or destruction, particularly in military contexts. In the Hebrew Bible, it refers both to widespread disease outbreaks and to divinely inflicted strikes causing large-scale death among people or animals.
Semantic Range
plague, pestilence, epidemic, calamity, disastrous blow, mass death, stroke, defeat, slaughter
Root / Etymology
From the root נָגַף (ngf), 'to strike, smite, push, beat, or injure.' מַגֵּפָה (maggêphâh) is a nominal formation from this root, indicating an act or outcome of smiting or striking. The base root focuses on physical striking, but the derived noun encompasses both literal and figurative aspects of a disastrous blow, with a particular emphasis on mass affliction or death.
Historical & Contextual Notes
מַגֵּפָה is used in the Hebrew Bible for both natural calamities (notably pestilences or plagues) and violent mass deaths, whether through warfare or divine judgment. It is distinguished from other terms for disease (like דֶּבֶר dever, 'pestilence') by its stress on suddenness and devastation, rather than slow, endemic ill health. In the Pentateuch, מַגֵּפָה often refers to outbreaks among the Israelites as judgment, e.g., Numbers 16:46; in the historical books, it can describe death in battle or mass slaughter, e.g., 2 Samuel 24:21. In later biblical Hebrew, the term retains the sense of catastrophic plague, especially as an expression of divine intervention. English translations often render מַגֵּפָה as 'plague' or 'pestilence,' but neither term fully expresses the broader sense of a smiting blow, which may be martial or epidemic in nature. Modern Hebrew uses מַגֵּפָה for 'epidemic' or 'plague,' continuing the biblical heritage.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from נָגַף; a pestilence; by analogy, defeat; ([idiom] be) plague(-d), slaughter, stroke.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
נגף (n-g-p) — to strike, to smite, to inflict, to push
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H102 | אַגָּף | his army-wings |
| H5062 | נָגַף | in being struck down |
| H5063 | נֶגֶף | the smiting-blow |
Word Forms
9 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4046-03 |
הַ/מַּגֵּפָֽה | hamagefah | HTd/Ncfsa |
the plague | the mass-strike | 12 |
H4046-06 |
מַגֵּפָ֥ה | magefah | HNcfsa |
plague | mass-smiting blow | 5 |
H4046-01 |
בַּ/מַּגֵּפָ֖ה | bamagefah | HRd/Ncfsa |
in the plague | in the striking-plague | 3 |
H4046-02 |
בְּ/מַגֵּפָ֑ה | bemagefah | HR/Ncfsa |
with a plague | with a smiting-plague | 1 |
H4046-08 |
מַגֵּפֹתַ/י֙ | magefotay | HNcfpc/Sp1cs |
my plagues | my smiting-blows | 1 |
H4046-04 |
כַּ/מַּגֵּפָ֖ה | kamagefah | HRd/Ncfsa |
like the plague | like a smiting-plague | 1 |
H4046-05 |
לְ/מַגֵּפָֽה | lemagefah | HR/Ncfsa |
for a plague | for a smiting-plague | 1 |
H4046-09 |
וְ/הַ/מַּגֵּפָ֖ה | vehamagefah | HC/Td/Ncfsa |
and-the-plague | the smiting-plague | 1 |
H4046-07 |
מַגֵּפַ֣ת | magefat | HNcfsc |
the plague | mass striking-of | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
26 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4046-08 |
Exodus 9:14 | מַגֵּפֹתַ/י֙ | magefotay | HNcfpc/Sp1cs |
my plagues | my smiting-blows |
H4046-01 |
Numbers 14:37 | בַּ/מַּגֵּפָ֖ה | bamagefah | HRd/Ncfsa |
by the plague | in the striking-plague |
H4046-03 |
Numbers 17:13 | הַ/מַּגֵּפָֽה | hamagefah | HTd/Ncfsa |
the plague | the mass-strike |
H4046-01 |
Numbers 17:14 | בַּ/מַּגֵּפָ֔ה | bamagefah | HRd/Ncfsa |
in the plague | in the striking-plague |
H4046-09 |
Numbers 17:15 | וְ/הַ/מַּגֵּפָ֖ה | vehamagefah | HC/Td/Ncfsa |
and-the-plague | the smiting-plague |
H4046-03 |
Numbers 25:8 | הַ/מַּגֵּפָ֔ה | hamagefah | HTd/Ncfsa |
the plague | the mass-strike |
H4046-01 |
Numbers 25:9 | בַּ/מַּגֵּפָ֑ה | bamagefah | HRd/Ncfsa |
in the plague | in the striking-plague |
H4046-03 |
Numbers 25:18 | הַ/מַּגֵּפָ֖ה | hamagefah | HTd/Ncfsa |
the plague | the mass-strike |
H4046-03 |
Numbers 25:19 | הַ/מַּגֵּפָ֑ה | hamagefah | HTd/Ncfsa |
the plague | the mass-strike |
H4046-03 |
Numbers 31:16 | הַ/מַּגֵּפָ֖ה | hamagefah | HTd/Ncfsa |
the plague | the mass-strike |