Hebrew word · H4046

מַגֵּפָה

magefah

plague

This noun comes from nāgap, "to strike, smite." It means a blow or striking, and especially (1) a deadly plague or outbreak sent by God (Exod 9:14; Num 14:37; 16:48–50; 25:8–9, 18; 2 Sam 24:21, 25) and (2) a slaughter or defeat in battle (1 Sam 4:17; 2 Sam 17:9; 18:7).

Appears 26 times in 25 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) blow, slaughter, plague, pestilence, strike, smite

1a) blow (fatal stroke)

1b) slaughter (of battle)

1c) plague, pestilence (divine judgment)

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 Ezekiel 24:16

Range of meaning

This noun comes from nāgap, "to strike, smite." It means a blow or striking, and especially (1) a deadly plague or outbreak sent by God (Exod 9:14; Num 14:37; 16:48–50; 25:8–9, 18; 2 Sam 24:21, 25) and (2) a slaughter or defeat in battle (1 Sam 4:17; 2 Sam 17:9; 18:7). It is a sudden, lethal blow, usually understood as coming from God.

Against the English

KJV/YLT "a stroke," WEB "one stroke," ESV "at a stroke," NIV "with one blow," BSB "fatal blow." Readers today can hear "stroke" as the medical event (a blocked or burst blood vessel in the brain). The Hebrew does not mean that. It means a blow or striking. "One" (WEB, NIV) is not in the Hebrew. It is an idiomatic way of conveying suddenness.

How it drifted

In 1611 "stroke" meant a blow, the act of striking. Its medical sense ("apoplectic stroke," then simply "stroke") later became the main one.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Pentateuch it regularly names divine plagues that stop only when atonement is made (Num 16:48–50; 25:8). In Samuel it is used of military slaughter. The Septuagint (Greek translation) is generally cited as reading en parataxei, "in battle," here, which takes the word in its military sense. The Vulgate (Latin) has in plaga, "by a blow/plague."

From the study of Exodus 9:14

Range of meaning

A blow, stroke or strike. The noun comes from the verb nagaf, 'to strike, smite, push'. It is used of a blow from God that falls on a community: an outbreak of death or disaster. It is also used of a defeat in battle (1 Samuel 4:17).

Against the English

English 'plague' today mostly suggests an epidemic disease (the bubonic plague, a pandemic). The Hebrew word does not mean disease as such. It names a strike, and the hail, locusts and darkness that follow are not illnesses.

How it drifted

English 'plague' comes through Latin plaga, 'a blow, stroke, wound', which is the word the Vulgate uses here. So the English word once matched the Hebrew closely. Over time it narrowed toward epidemic disease, especially after the Black Death, and the sense of 'blow' faded.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same root appears in the plague story itself: 'I will strike (nogef) all your territory with frogs' (Exod 8:2 Eng / 7:27 Heb), and YHWH 'striking' Egypt at Passover (Exod 12:23, 27). Maggefah is used for outbreaks among Israel (Num 14:37; 16:48–50; 25:8–9; 2 Sam 24:21, 25). The Greek Septuagint renders this verse with a different word, synantēmata, 'things that meet you, happenings'.

From the study of Numbers 14:37

Range of meaning

From nāgap, 'to strike, smite, defeat.' A blow or striking, and in particular a sudden deadly outbreak sent by God among people. It can also mean a defeat in battle (1 Samuel 4:17).

Against the English

'Plague' (all major versions) makes a modern reader think of an epidemic spread by germs. The Hebrew focuses on the blow and the one who strikes, not on how a disease works. BSB's 'struck down by a plague' keeps the striking sense.

How it drifted

English 'plague' has become a medical word for contagious disease, especially after the Black Death and modern epidemiology. The Hebrew is a word about being hit.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exodus 9:14 (YHWH's 'blows' on Egypt). Numbers 16:48–50 [17:13–15] (the plague after Korah's rebellion, stopped by Aaron's incense). Numbers 25:8–9, 18 (Baal-peor, 24,000 dead). 2 Samuel 24:21, 25 (David's census). In each case the striking falls suddenly on a defined group in response to a specific offence.

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 9:14 מַגֵּפֹתַי֙ plagues my

    Otherwise, I will send all My plagues against you and your officials and your people, so you may know that there is no one like Me in all the earth.

    Here: 'My blows/strikes.' The noun comes from nagaf, 'to strike'. Calling them 'my' blows names God as the one striking.

Numbers · 9

  1. Numbers 14:37 בַּמַּגֵּפָ֖ה by <the> plague

    those men who had brought out the bad report about the land—were struck down by a plague before the LORD.

    Here: It comes from nāgap, 'to strike.' A maggēpâ is a 'striking,' a sudden deadly blow sent by God. It is not a description of a particular disease. The article ('the plague') points to that specific blow.

  2. Numbers 16:48 הַמַּגֵּפָֽה׃ the plague

    He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague was halted.

  3. Numbers 16:49 בַּמַּגֵּפָ֔ה by the plague

    But those who died from the plague numbered 14,700, in addition to those who had died on account of Korah.

  4. Numbers 16:50 וְהַמַּגֵּפָ֖ה and the plague

    Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, since the plague had been halted.

  5. Numbers 25:8 הַמַּגֵּפָ֔ה the plague

    followed the Israelite into the tent, and drove the spear through both of them—through the Israelite and on through the belly of the woman. So the plague against the Israelites was halted,

  6. Numbers 25:9 בַּמַּגֵּפָ֑ה by the plague

    but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.

  7. Numbers 25:18 הַמַּגֵּפָ֖ה the plague

    For they assailed you deceitfully when they seduced you in the matter of Peor and their sister Cozbi, the daughter of the Midianite leader, the woman who was killed on the day the plague came because of Peor.”

  8. Numbers 26:1 הַמַּגֵּפָ֑ה פ the plague

    After the plague had ended, the LORD said to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron the priest,

  9. Numbers 31:16 הַמַּגֵּפָ֖ה the plague

    “Look, these women caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to turn unfaithfully against the LORD at Peor, so that the plague struck the congregation of the LORD.

    Here: 'The striking': the deadly blow from God remembered in Num 25:8–9, which killed 24,000. The definite article ('the') marks it as the plague everyone remembers.

1 Samuel · 2

  1. 1 Samuel 4:17 מַגֵּפָ֥ה a slaughter

    The messenger answered, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has been a great slaughter among the people. Your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are both dead, and the ark of God has been captured.”

  2. 1 Samuel 6:4 מַגֵּפָ֥ה a plague

    “What guilt offering should we send back to Him?” asked the Philistines. “Five gold tumors and five gold rats,” they said, “according to the number of rulers of the Philistines, since the same plague has struck both you and your rulers.

2 Samuel · 4

  1. 2 Samuel 17:9 מַגֵּפָ֔ה a slaughter

    Surely by now he is hiding in a cave or some other location. If some of your troops fall first, whoever hears of it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the troops who follow Absalom.’

  2. 2 Samuel 18:7 הַמַּגֵּפָ֧ה the slaughter

    There the people of Israel were defeated by David’s servants, and the slaughter was great that day—twenty thousand men.

  3. 2 Samuel 24:21 הַמַּגֵּפָ֖ה the plague

    “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” Araunah said. “To buy your threshing floor,” David replied, “that I may build an altar to the LORD, so that the plague upon the people may be halted.”

  4. 2 Samuel 24:25 הַמַּגֵּפָ֖ה the plague

    And there he built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Then the LORD answered the prayers on behalf of the land, and the plague upon Israel was halted.

1 Chronicles · 2

  1. 1 Chronicles 21:17 לְמַגֵּפָֽה׃ ס to a plague

    And David said to God, “Was it not I who gave the order to count the people? I am the one who has sinned and acted wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? O LORD my God, please let Your hand fall upon me and my father’s house, but do not let this plague remain upon Your people.”

  2. 1 Chronicles 21:22 הַמַּגֵּפָ֖ה the plague

    Then David said to Ornan, “Grant me the site of this threshing floor, that I may build an altar to the LORD. Sell it to me for the full price, so that the plague upon the people may be halted.”

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 21:14 מַגֵּפָ֥ה a blow

    So behold, the LORD is about to strike your people, your sons, your wives, and all your possessions with a serious blow.

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 106:29 מַגֵּפָֽה׃ a plague

    So they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them.

  2. Psalm 106:30 הַמַּגֵּפָֽה׃ the plague

    But Phinehas stood and intervened, and the plague was restrained.

    Here: "The striking." The noun comes from a verb meaning "to strike or smite". It is the plague that "broke out" against Israel in verse 29, a deadly blow from God that killed 24,000 according to Numbers 25:9.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 24:16 בְּמַגֵּפָ֑ה with a blow

    “Son of man, behold, I am about to take away the desire of your eyes with a fatal blow. But you must not mourn or weep or let your tears flow.

    Here: "With a striking," from the verb "to strike." Elsewhere it is a deadly blow sent by God, often a plague, and sometimes a defeat in battle. Here it means a sudden death dealt by God's hand. The verse does not name the medical cause.

Zechariah · 4

  1. Zechariah 14:12 הַמַּגֵּפָ֗ה the plague

    And this will be the plague with which the LORD strikes all the peoples who have warred against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

    Here: A striking, a blow dealt by God. The word can involve disease, but its core picture is impact: being hit. With the definite article it is "the" blow, the one about to be described.

  2. Zechariah 14:15 מַגֵּפַ֣ת כַּמַּגֵּפָ֖ה [the] plague of, like the plague

    And a similar plague will strike the horses and mules, camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.

  3. Zechariah 14:18 הַמַּגֵּפָ֗ה the plague

    And if the people of Egypt will not go up and enter in, then the rain will not fall on them; this will be the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles.

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