Hebrew word · H1828

דֹּ֫מֶן

domen

dung

Dung or manure, especially as spread or left lying on a field. It occurs only six times: 2 Kgs 9:37; Ps 83:10 (Eng. 83:10); Jer 8:2; 9:21 (Eng. 9:22); 16:4; 25:33.

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

dung (always of corpses) (fig.)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Jeremiah 16:4

Range of meaning

Dung or manure, especially as spread or left lying on a field. It occurs only six times: 2 Kgs 9:37; Ps 83:10 (Eng. 83:10); Jer 8:2; 9:21 (Eng. 9:22); 16:4; 25:33.

Against the English

English 'like dung' (BSB, KJV 'as dung') reads like a simple insult meaning 'worthless'. The Hebrew construction ('they will become into dung on the face of the ground') is more physical: the bodies rot where they fall and turn into fertilizer for the soil.

Used elsewhere in the period

The phrase is almost a formula. 2 Kgs 9:37 says of Jezebel, 'the corpse of Jezebel shall be like dung on the face of the field.' Jeremiah repeats it four times (8:2; 9:22; 16:4; 25:33), and Ps 83:10 uses it of Israel's defeated enemies.

From the study of Jeremiah 25:33

Range of meaning

Dung or manure, especially lying on the surface of a field. It occurs only six times, always of corpses left unburied: 2 Kgs 9:37 (Jezebel); Ps 83:10; Jer 8:2; 9:22; 16:4; 25:33.

Against the English

KJV and WEB ('dung upon the ground') keep it blunt. BSB and NASB soften it to a comparison ('like dung'). NLT says 'manure', which brings out the farm picture. The Hebrew construction ('for dung they will be') is stronger than a comparison: they become dung.

Used elsewhere in the period

The phrase has a fixed form in Jeremiah ('dung on the face of the ground'). It goes back to the curse on Jezebel ('her corpse shall be as dung on the face of the field', 2 Kgs 9:37). It also echoes ancient treaty curses that threatened oath-breakers with corpses left for scavengers (Deut 28:26; Esarhaddon's succession treaties).

From the study of Jeremiah 8:2

Range of meaning

Dung or manure lying on a field. It occurs six times, always for unburied corpses: 2 Kgs 9:37 (Jezebel's corpse 'like dung on the face of the field'), Ps 83:10, Jer 8:2; 9:22; 16:4; 25:33.

Against the English

KJV and YLT: 'for dung'. BSB and WEB: 'like dung'. The Hebrew le- means 'become, serve as' ('they will be for dung'). The simile is a translator's addition. The Hebrew picture is that the bones become manure.

Used elsewhere in the period

The formula 'like/for dung on the face of the field/ground' in 2 Kings and Jeremiah marks the worst curse of exposure. It matches ancient treaty curses that the enemy's corpse would not be buried, and Deut 28:26.

Where it appears

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 9:37 כְּדֹ֛מֶן like dung

    And Jezebel’s body will lie like dung in the field on the plot of ground at Jezreel, so that no one can say: This is Jezebel.’”

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 83:10 דֹּ֝֗מֶן dung

    who perished at Endor and became like dung on the ground.

Jeremiah · 4

  1. Jeremiah 8:2 לְדֹ֛מֶן <into> dung

    They will be exposed to the sun and moon, and to all the host of heaven which they have loved, served, followed, consulted, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up or buried, but will become like dung lying on the ground.

    Here: 'For dung.' The Hebrew says they become dung and does not say 'like'. The bones of the honoured dead turn into manure lying on the field.

  2. Jeremiah 9:22 כְּדֹ֖מֶן like dung

    Declare that this is what the LORD says: “The corpses of men will fall like dung upon the open field, like newly cut grain behind the reaper, with no one to gather it.”

  3. Jeremiah 16:4 לְדֹ֛מֶן <into> dung

    “They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried, but will lie like dung on the ground. They will be finished off by sword and famine, and their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and beasts of the earth.”

    Here: With the following 'they will become', the 'to/into' means 'they will become dung'. The picture is manure lying out in a field and rotting into the soil. The same image is used of Jezebel's corpse (2 Kgs 9:37).

  4. Jeremiah 25:33 לְדֹ֛מֶן <into> dung

    Those slain by the LORD on that day will be spread from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned, gathered, or buried. They will be like dung lying on the ground.

    Here: Dung or manure lying on a field. With the preposition 'for', the sense is 'they will become dung', left to rot into the soil like animal droppings.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.