Hebrew word · H4288

מְחִתָּה

mechitah-

terror

Terror, dismay; ruin, destruction, the state of being shattered. It comes from the root ḥtt, "to be broken, shattered, terrified," which covers both outer collapse and inner panic. It appears mostly in Proverbs.

Appears 11 times in 11 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) destruction, ruin, terror, a breaking

1a) terror, dismay, object of terror

1b) ruin

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 Proverbs 13:3

Range of meaning

Terror, dismay; ruin, destruction, the state of being shattered. It comes from the root ḥtt, "to be broken, shattered, terrified," which covers both outer collapse and inner panic. It appears mostly in Proverbs.

Against the English

KJV has "destruction" and BSB, WEB and NIV have "ruin." Both are good but give only the outward side. The LXX and older senses also include terror and dismay: the moment someone realizes what he has said and what it will cost him.

Used elsewhere in the period

Prov 10:14: "the mouth of a fool is near ruin [mechittah]." Prov 18:7: "A fool's mouth is his ruin [mechittah], and his lips are a snare to his life [nefesh]." That is almost a commentary on this verse. Also Prov 10:15, 10:29, 14:28, 21:15 (ruin for evildoers); Jer 17:17 and Ps 89:40 ("ruins" of fortifications).

From the study of Isaiah 54:14

Range of meaning

Terror, dismay; also ruin, destruction, the shattering that causes terror. From ḥātat, 'be shattered, broken, dismayed'.

Against the English

'Terror' (BSB, KJV, WEB, most modern versions) gives the emotional side; YLT's 'ruin' gives the physical side. The Hebrew holds both: the catastrophe and the dread it brings.

Used elsewhere in the period

Prov 10:14–15 ('the ruin of the poor is their poverty'); Prov 10:29; 21:15 ('ruin to evildoers'); Ps 89:40 [MT 41] ('you have made his strongholds a ruin'); Jer 17:17; 48:39 ('a terror to all around').

From the study of Proverbs 18:7

Range of meaning

From the root ḥ-t-t, 'to be shattered, broken; to be dismayed, terrified'. The noun covers both sides: objective ruin or collapse ('his strongholds to ruin', Ps 89:40) and the terror or dismay that goes with it ('do not be a terror to me', Jer 17:17).

Against the English

BSB, ESV and NASB have 'ruin', KJV and WEB 'destruction', NIV 'undoing'. All fit, but none carries the overtone of dread and panic that the root has. 'Destruction' in KJV may make some readers think of final, eternal destruction, which the word itself does not say.

Used elsewhere in the period

It appears 7 times in Proverbs, often together with speech: 10:14 'the mouth of a fool is near ruin'; 13:3 'whoever opens wide his lips — ruin to him' (the same phrase, məḥittâ lô). 10:15 calls poverty the poor man's 'ruin', and 21:15 says justice is 'ruin to evildoers'. In each case it means a collapse of one's life and standing in this world.

Where it appears

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 89:40 מְחִתָּה׃ a ruin

    You have broken down all his walls; You have reduced his strongholds to rubble.

Proverbs · 7

  1. Proverbs 10:14 מְחִתָּ֥ה [is] destruction

    The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of the fool invites destruction.

    Here: From a root meaning 'to be shattered, broken in dismay.' It names a collapse that brings terror with it. The line says the fool's mouth simply *is* such a ruin. It does not merely lead toward one.

  2. Proverbs 10:15 מְחִתַּ֖ת [is the] ruin of

    The wealth of the rich man is his fortified city, but poverty is the ruin of the poor.

    Here: From a root meaning to be shattered or broken down. It covers both the collapse itself and the terror it brings. Set against the fortified city, it suggests defences that have been smashed.

  3. Proverbs 10:29 וּ֝מְחִתָּ֗ה and destruction

    The way of the LORD is a refuge to the upright, but destruction awaits those who do evil.

    Here: "And ruin": collapse, together with the panic that comes with it. It is set against "stronghold", and both words begin with the same m-sound.

  4. Proverbs 13:3 מְחִתָּה־ ruin

    He who guards his mouth protects his life, but the one who opens his lips invites his own ruin.

    Here: From a root meaning "to be shattered, broken, dismayed." It is both the collapse and the panic that comes with it. The line has no verb, so the word lands like a verdict: "ruin!"

  5. Proverbs 14:28 מְחִתַּ֥ת [the] ruin of

    A large population is a king’s splendor, but a lack of subjects is a prince’s ruin.

  6. Proverbs 18:7 מְחִתָּה־ [is] ruin

    A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul.

    Here: Collapse, shattering, and the terror that goes with it. Hebrew needs no verb here: 'mouth … ruin', so the mouth is not just the cause of ruin but is itself the ruin.

  7. Proverbs 21:15 וּ֝מְחִתָּ֗ה and terror

    Justice executed is a joy to the righteous, but a terror to the workers of iniquity.

    Here: "But terror/ruin". The root means to be shattered, broken in spirit or in fact. In Proverbs it usually means ruin or collapse (10:14–15, 10:29), so here it covers both the dread and the downfall that justice brings to evildoers. The prefix u- ("and") marks the contrast here, so "but".

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 54:14 וּמִ֨מְּחִתָּ֔ה and from terror

    In righteousness you will be established, far from oppression, for you will have no fear. Terror will be far removed, for it will not come near you.

    Here: From a root meaning 'be shattered, broken down, dismayed'. It covers both the panic and the ruin that causes it, like the terror of a city under siege. 'Be far' carries over from the first line: 'and [be far] from terror'.

Jeremiah · 2

  1. Jeremiah 17:17 לִמְחִתָּ֑ה <into> an object of terror

    Do not become a terror to me; You are my refuge in the day of disaster.

    Here: 'As a terror / as ruin.' The word comes from a root meaning to be shattered or broken down with dismay. It covers both the panic and the collapse that causes it: 'the thing that breaks me.'

  2. Jeremiah 48:39 וְלִמְחִתָּ֖ה and <into> an object of terror

    “How shattered it is! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! Moab has become an object of ridicule and horror to all those around him.”

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