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מְעִי

𐤌𐤏𐤉

mᵉʻîy

H4596 noun

SILEX Entry

Root עוה to twist, to pervert, to ruin

Definition

A heap, pile, or mound, typically referring to the remains or ruins of a destroyed structure or city; frequently designates a visible accumulation of debris resulting from destruction. In historical biblical contexts, often used of cities or sites reduced to ruins, marking them as places of past devastation or abandonment.

Semantic Range

ruin, heap, mound, pile of debris, ruined city, devastated remains

Root / Etymology

Derived from the root עוה (ʻ-w-h), meaning 'to be ruined, twisted, perverted,' reflecting the idea of something turned from its original state into disorder. The form may be influenced by or compared to עי ('i), which also means 'heap' or 'ruin.' The connection highlights a semantic progression from 'twisting, distortion' (root meaning) to 'ruined heap, mound.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

The term מְעִי occurs rarely and is largely poetic or descriptive, especially in texts describing the aftermath of conquest or judgment (e.g., cities or towns put to ruin). Its usage overlaps with, but is more specific than, other terms for ruin such as חרבה (ḥorbah), which emphasizes desolation, or תל (tel), an archaeological mound. מְעִי retains the visual sense of a contorted or jumbled mass. Its translation as 'heap' in English Bibles is accurate but may lack the connotation of ruinous disorder inherent in the Hebrew. The association with עוה is based on morphological similarity, and the comparison to עי in Joshua (the site of Ai) suggests a shared semantic field of ruin and destruction. The word’s occurrence is most closely associated with the period of the Israelite settlement and conquest narratives, rarely appearing in later biblical periods.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from עָוָה; (compare עִי); a pile of rubbish (as contorted), i.e. a ruin; heap.

Bantu Hebrew

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.

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Root Family

עוה (ʿ-w-h) — to twist, to pervert, to ruin

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H5753 עָוָה she acted crookedly
H5757 עַוִּי and the Avvites
H5758 עִוְיָא and your perversions
H5771 עָוֺן distortion-guilt
H5773 עַוְעֶה moral distortions

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H4596-01 מְעִ֥י mei HNcmsc a heap ruin-heap of 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 total occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H4596-01 Isaiah 17:1 מְעִ֥י mei HNcmsc a heap ruin-heap of
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