Aramaic word · H4049

מְגַר

yemagar

to overthrow

To overthrow, cast down or topple. It occurs only here in biblical Aramaic. Imperial Aramaic and later Aramaic use it in the same sense. The Hebrew relative מָגַר means to throw down or hurl (Ps 89:44, a throne cast to the ground; Ezek 21:12).

A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?

Appears once in the Aramaic of the Old Testament.

What it means

(Pael) to overthrow

Aramaic of ma.gar (מָגַר "to cast" H4048)

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 Ezra 6:12

Range of meaning

To overthrow, cast down or topple. It occurs only here in biblical Aramaic. Imperial Aramaic and later Aramaic use it in the same sense. The Hebrew relative מָגַר means to throw down or hurl (Ps 89:44, a throne cast to the ground; Ezek 21:12).

Against the English

"Overthrow" (BSB, WEB and most modern versions) fits well, since kings and peoples are overthrown. KJV's "destroy" is acceptable but blurs it into the next verb, "destroy" (חֲבַל). YLT's "doth cast down" makes it a statement of fact, when the form is a wish or curse.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ancient Near Eastern royal and building inscriptions regularly end by calling on the gods against anyone who damages the work. Darius's own Behistun inscription asks Ahuramazda to strike down and cut off the family of anyone who destroys it (DB §§66–67). Babylonian building texts likewise curse "any future king" who undoes the builder's work.

Where it appears

Ezra · 1

  1. Ezra 6:12 יְמַגַּ֞ר may he overthrow

    May God, who has caused His Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to alter this decree or to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued the decree. Let it be carried out with diligence.

    Here: "May he overthrow". The verb is a wish or curse, not a statement of fact. It occurs only here in biblical Aramaic. The related Hebrew verb is used for a throne hurled to the ground (Ps 89:44).

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