מַשְׁחֵת
𐤌𐤔𐤇𐤕
mashchêth
H4892 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
A place, instrument, or act associated with destruction, ruin, or spoilage. Used both for literal devastation—such as that wrought by war or disaster—and figuratively for moral or social corruption. While it often denotes what causes ruin or the state resulting from it, in certain contexts it may refer to a pit or prison (place of ruin), emphasizing the consequence or end state of destruction.
Semantic Range
destruction, ruin, pit, dungeon, device for causing destruction, state of corruption or decay, grave (metaphorical), act of destroying or spoiling
Root / Etymology
From the root שׁחת (שׁ-ח-ת), meaning 'to destroy, ruin, decay.' The noun מַשְׁחֵת is a feminine singular form, functioning as 'thing which destroys' or 'place of destruction.' Derived by nominalization from the root, with the mem-prefix forming an instrumental or locative noun.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In the Hebrew Bible, מַשְׁחֵת most frequently occurs in contexts of tangible ruin—ruined places (e.g., cities devastated by violence or God’s judgment), dungeons or pits (especially in poetic books as a metaphor for death or Sheol), or implements leading to corruption or death. Unlike שְׁחִיתָה (an abstract term for corruption), מַשְׁחֵת often denotes a concrete result or tool of destruction. In Psalmic and prophetic literature, the term is sometimes used metaphorically for the grave, underlining existential peril. English translations usually render it as 'pit', 'destruction', or 'corruption', but often yellow the nuance present in Hebrew. Its meaning remains consistent across periods but gradually adopts more metaphorical senses in later texts. The term is never ethnically marked and applies generically to ruin regardless of Israelite or foreign subjects.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
for מַשְׁחִית; destruction; destroying.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
שחת (sh-ḥ-t) — destroy, ruin, spoil, corrupt
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H516 | אַל תַּשְׁחֵת | Do not destroy |
| H7825 | שְׁחִית | in their ruin-pits |
| H7843 | שָׁחַת | I will cause to ruin |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4892-01 |
מַשְׁחֵת֖/וֹ | mashecheto | HNcmsc/Sp3ms |
of-his-destruction | his ruin-place | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4892-01 |
Ezekiel 9:1 | מַשְׁחֵת֖/וֹ | mashecheto | HNcmsc/Sp3ms |
of-his-destruction | his ruin-place |