Hebrew word · H4947

מַשְׁקוֹף

hamashkof

lintel

The lintel, the horizontal beam above a doorway. It occurs only three times, all in Exodus 12 (vv. 7, 22, 23). It is usually connected with the root šqp, 'to look down, overhang,' which suggests the beam that sits over the opening.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

lintel (of door)

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 Exodus 12:7

Range of meaning

The lintel, the horizontal beam above a doorway. It occurs only three times, all in Exodus 12 (vv. 7, 22, 23). It is usually connected with the root šqp, 'to look down, overhang,' which suggests the beam that sits over the opening.

Against the English

KJV 'upper door post' is a bit awkward but understandable. 'Lintel' (WEB, YLT, ESV, NASB) is exact. 'Tops of the doorframes' (BSB, NIV) gets the meaning across in plain words.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Greek translation (LXX) uses φλιά, 'lintel' or 'door-frame.' The Latin Vulgate uses superliminare, 'the piece over the threshold.' In Egyptian houses of the New Kingdom, door lintels and jambs were often inscribed or painted with the owner's name and protective texts. That shows doorframes were already a place for marking whose house it was and asking for protection, although Exodus never mentions this.

Where it appears

Exodus · 3

  1. Exodus 12:7 הַמַּשְׁק֑וֹף the lintels

    They are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.

    Here: The horizontal beam over the doorway. It is singular, one lintel per house. The word occurs only in Exodus 12 (vv. 7, 22, 23). The three marked surfaces frame the opening on the sides and top. The threshold is not named here.

  2. Exodus 12:22 הַמַּשְׁקוֹף֙ the lintels

    Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin, and brush the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out the door of his house until morning.

    Here: The horizontal beam across the top of the doorway. The word appears only in this chapter (vv. 7, 22, 23). It probably comes from a root meaning 'look down on', the beam that 'overlooks' the entrance.

  3. Exodus 12:23 הַמַּשְׁק֔וֹף the lintels

    When the LORD passes through to strike down the Egyptians, He will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway; so He will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down.

    Here: The horizontal beam above the door. The word is rare and appears only in this Passover passage (12:7, 22, 23).

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