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מְחִתָּה

𐤌𐤇𐤕𐤄

mᵉchittâh

H4288 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

A state or condition of breakdown, collapse, or ruin; a sense of being shattered or dissolved often in the context of disaster, calamity, or sudden terror. מְחִתָּה refers to both physical ruins or wreckage and the psychological experience of panic, terror, or dismay brought about by disastrous events.

Semantic Range

physical ruin, collapse, destruction, wreckage; terror, panic, mental dissolution, consternation, dismay

Root / Etymology

From the root חתה (חת״ה), which conveys the sense of breaking down, shattering, or disintegrating. The word מְחִתָּה is derived from a causative or intensive form, indicating the result or state of being broken apart or dissolved, and by extension, the experience of terror or panic that such destruction induces.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, מְחִתָּה appears especially in poetic and prophetic passages, often describing the aftermath of warfare, divine judgment, or national calamity—both the concrete destruction (ruined cities, collapsed defenses) and the attendant psychological state (terror, panic, dismay) of survivors or witnesses. While often translated as 'ruin' or 'destruction,' some contexts emphasize the inner experience of being overwhelmed with fear or panic rather than physical devastation. Later Jewish biblical translations and tradition sometimes render the term as 'terror' or 'consternation,' but these typically reflect the psychological sense. Distinct from other Hebrew terms such as שֶׁבֶר (shever, fracture, physical breakage) or יָגֹון (yagon, grief), מְחִתָּה blends the idea of dissolution, ruin, and the overwhelming fear or panic resulting from disaster. The word’s usage lessens in later biblical periods; in post-exilic literature, related terms are more common, possibly reflecting changing modes of describing destruction and fear.

Translation Consistency

primary "shatter" 8 occurrences

Most P2 renderings use a form of “shattering,” and shatter naturally covers both sudden physical collapse/wreckage and the psychological breaking, panic, or dismay implied by מְחִתָּה. It is a plain, natural English verb that conveys the typical suddenness and breakdown in the SILEX range and will read well when inflected consistently.

Alternatives (3 occurrences):
"terror" (2x) "ruin" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from חָתָה; properly, a dissolution; concretely, a ruin, or (abstractly) consternation; destruction, dismaying, ruin, terror.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

חתה (ḥ-t-h) — to break, to shatter, to dissolve, to disintegrate

Root חתה to break, to shatter, to dissolve, to disintegrate
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H2846 חָתָה the scooping one

Word Forms

6 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H4288-02 מְחִתָּה mechitah HNcfsa ruin shattering ruin shattering ruin 4
H4288-04 וּ֝/מְחִתָּ֗ה umechitah HC/Ncfsa and-terror shattering ruin and shattering ruin 2
H4288-03 מְחִתַּ֖ת mechitat HNcfsc is the ruin shattering of shattering of 2
H4288-01 לִ/מְחִתָּ֑ה limechitah HR/Ncfsa a terror shattering ruin a terror 1
H4288-06 וְ/לִ/מְחִתָּ֖ה velimechitah HC/R/Ncfsa and a horror and to shattering ruin and for ruin 1
H4288-05 וּ/מִ֨/מְּחִתָּ֔ה umimechitah HC/R/Ncfsa and from terror and from shattering-ruin and from terror 1

Occurrences in Scripture

11 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H4288-05 Isaiah 54:14 וּ/מִ֨/מְּחִתָּ֔ה umimechitah HC/R/Ncfsa and from terror and from shattering-ruin and from terror
H4288-01 Jeremiah 17:17 לִ/מְחִתָּ֑ה limechitah HR/Ncfsa a terror shattering ruin a terror
H4288-06 Jeremiah 48:39 וְ/לִ/מְחִתָּ֖ה velimechitah HC/R/Ncfsa and a horror and to shattering ruin and for ruin
H4288-02 Psalms 89:41 מְחִתָּה mechitah HNcfsa a ruin shattering ruin shattering ruin
H4288-02 Proverbs 10:14 מְחִתָּ֥ה mechitah HNcfsa ruin shattering ruin shattering ruin
H4288-03 Proverbs 10:15 מְחִתַּ֖ת mechitat HNcfsc ruin-of shattering of shattering of
H4288-04 Proverbs 10:29 וּ֝/מְחִתָּ֗ה umechitah HC/Ncfsa but ruin shattering ruin and shattering ruin
H4288-02 Proverbs 13:3 מְחִתָּה mechitah HNcfsa ruin shattering ruin shattering ruin
H4288-03 Proverbs 14:28 מְחִתַּ֥ת mechitat HNcfsc is the ruin shattering of shattering of
H4288-02 Proverbs 18:7 מְחִתָּה mechitah HNcfsa is his ruin shattering ruin shattering ruin
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