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מַפָּח

𐤌𐤐𐤇

mappâch

H4646 noun

SILEX Entry

Root נפח to blow, to breathe, to exhale

Definition

Act of exhaling, particularly final expiration; in context, refers to the moment of death (i.e., the departing of breath at life's end), but can denote any powerful exhalation. Extends to the sense of releasing or letting out breath, with primary usage to reference the giving up of life (cessation of breath, dying).

Semantic Range

the act of exhaling, dying breath, expiration (of life), releasing breath, final gasp

Root / Etymology

Derived from the root נָפַח (naphach), meaning 'to blow, to breathe, to exhale.' The noun מַפָּח (mappâch) is a nominal formation denoting specifically the act or event of exhalation, usually in the ultimate sense of expiring breath at death.

Historical & Contextual Notes

מַפָּח appears only once in the Hebrew Bible (Job 31:39). There, it carries the connotation not merely of a physical exhalation, but of the loss or release of life itself—the act of exhaling one's final breath. In later Hebrew, similar terms based on this root (נֶפֶח, נִפְחָה) continue the sense of breath and expiration. The meaning in Job specifically involves the charge of causing death or being responsible for another's loss of life, casting מַפָּח as a synonym of dying gasp/last breath. In contrast to its root, which can refer to ordinary breathing or blowing, this nominal form tightly focuses on the moment of exhalation associated with death. The word is rare and does not appear as a technical or ritual term elsewhere in the Biblical corpus; thus, English translations such as 'expiring' or 'giving up breath' may obscure its precise nuancing as the physical act of final exhalation, marking cessation of life. Notably, later English translations sometimes use 'give up the ghost' to render this Hebrew concept, a phrase reflecting a later tradition that may not fully communicate the literal idea of breath departing. The term should not be conflated with the common word for spirit (רוּחַ ruach), which denotes breath/wind/spirit in a more figurative sense.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from נָפַח; a breathing out (of life), i.e. expiring; giving up.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

נפח (n-p-ḥ) — to blow, to breathe, to exhale

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4647 מַפֻּחַ forge bellows
H5301 נָפַח I caused to breathe out
H5302 נֹפַח Nophach
H8598 תַּפּוּחַ fragrant apples

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H4646-01 מַֽפַּח mapach HNcmsc is a puff final exhalation of 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 total occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H4646-01 Job 11:20 מַֽפַּח mapach HNcmsc is a puff final exhalation of
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