Hebrew word · H4893

מִשְׁחַת

mishchat

corruption

Formed from shāḥat, 'to ruin, spoil, corrupt, destroy' (used of the corrupted earth in Gen 6:11–12 and of a ruined garment in Jer 13:7).

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated October 24, 2026

What it means

disfigurement (of face)

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

Range of meaning: Formed from shāḥat, 'to ruin, spoil, corrupt, destroy' (used of the corrupted earth in Gen 6:11–12 and of a ruined garment in Jer 13:7). This exact noun occurs only here, so its meaning is inferred: 'disfigurement, marring.' The closely related moshḥāt means a 'blemished' or 'mutilated' animal (Lev 22:25; Mal 1:14).
Against the English: KJV/WEB 'marred' and BSB 'disfigured' are accurate. 'Marred' can sound mild to a modern ear, like a scratch on furniture, but the root means ruin and destruction.
Used elsewhere in the period: Lev 22:25: animals with 'their mutilation (moshḥātām)… a blemish in them' will not be accepted. Mal 1:14: a man who vows a good animal but 'sacrifices a blemished one (moshḥāt) to the Lord' is cursed. 1QIsaᵃ has the consonants משחתי, which can be read 'I anointed' (from māshaḥ). The Septuagint has adoxēsei, 'will be without glory.'

Leviticus · 1

Leviticus 22:25 מָשְׁחָתָ֤ם disfigurement their

Neither you nor a foreigner shall present food to your God from any such animal. They will not be accepted on your behalf, because they are deformed and flawed.’”

Isaiah · 1

Isaiah 52:14 מִשְׁחַ֥ת [was] a disfigurement

Just as many were appalled at Him—His appearance was disfigured beyond that of any man, and His form was marred beyond human likeness—

Here: A noun from the root sh-ḥ-t, "to ruin, spoil, destroy," so "a ruining, a disfigurement." It occurs only here. Related forms describe blemished animals that could not be offered to God (Lev 22:25; Mal 1:14).

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