בֹ֑שֶׁת
𐤁𐤔𐤕
Mefivoshet
[of shame]
Mephibosheth, a personal name borne by two individuals in the Hebrew Bible: (1) the son of Jonathan and grandson of Saul, and (2) the son of Saul's concubine Rizpah. The meaning of the name is likely 'from the mouth of shame' or 'scatterer of shame,' where 'shame' may serve as a euphemism for the Canaanite deity Baal, reflecting a later editorial tendency to avoid explicit theonyms. The lexical form does not occur outside of these personal names; thus, the term is best understood as an Israelite proper name with theological or polemical nuance.
2 Samuel 16:4 · Word #9
Lexicon H4648
| Lemma | מְפִיבֹשֶׁת |
| Lemma (Paleo) | 𐤌𐤐𐤉𐤁𐤔𐤕 |
| Transliteration | Mefivoshet |
| Strong's | H4648 |
| Definition | Mephibosheth, a personal name borne by two individuals in the Hebrew Bible: (1) the son of Jonathan and grandson of Saul, and (2) the son of Saul's concubine Rizpah. The meaning of the name is likely 'from the mouth of shame' or 'scatterer of shame,' where 'shame' may serve as a euphemism for the Canaanite deity Baal, reflecting a later editorial tendency to avoid explicit theonyms. The lexical form does not occur outside of these personal names; thus, the term is best understood as an Israelite proper name with theological or polemical nuance. |
Morphology HNp
All morphology codes
| Part of Speech | N — Noun — A person, place, thing, or idea |
| Subtype | p — Proper Name — Proper name |
Common Translation
| Phrase | [of shame] |
SIBI-P1 Translation H4648-07
Scatterer of Shame
| Morphological Notes | Proper masculine singular personal name (compound form incorporating verbal/noun elements). |
| Rendering Rationale | The name combines an element likely derived from פאה (to scatter/disperse) with בֹשֶׁת (shame), yielding a compound personal name meaning "Scatterer of Shame." This preserves the root components rather than treating it as a mere proper name label. |
View full lexicon entry for H4648 →
SILEX v2
SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)
Mefivoshet
| Same as P1 | No — adjusted for context |
| Rationale | Proper noun transliterated from Hebrew. P1 meaning: to Scatterer-of-Shame |