Lexical Summary taphal: To smear, plaster, attach, fabricate, or falsely attribute Original Word: טָפַל Strong's Exhaustive Concordance forger, sew up A primitive root; properly, to stick on as a patch; figuratively, to impute falsely -- forge(-r), sew up. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. root Definition to smear, plaster over, stick, glue NASB Translation forged (1), smear (1), wrap (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [טָפַל] verb smear or plaster (over), stick, glue (Late Hebrew id., besmear, plaster; Aramaic טְפַל id., figurative attack; טְפֵילָא mortar;  defile; Assyrian ‰apâlu, besmear (?), DlPr 48; HWB) — Qal Perfect3plural טָֽפְלוּ Psalm 119:69; Imperfect2masculine singular וַתִּטְמֹּל Job 14:17 Participle plural construct טֹפְלֵי Job 13:4; — טָֽפְלוּ עָלַי שֶׁקֶר זֵדִים Psalm 119:69 insolent men have plastered falsehood over me, 'making his real character unrecognisable' (De); טִפְלֵי שֶׁקֶר Job 13:4 ye are falsehood-plasterers ("" רֹפְאֵי אֱלִל); compare Assyrian amât taš‡irti tâpilti Ullusum, a speech of falsehood besmearing Ullusum, DtPr 48; וַתִּטְמֹּל עַלעֲֿוֺנִי Job 14:17 and thou hast glued over mine iniquity, i.e. glued it up, for safe keeping against the day of reckoning ("" חָתֻם בִּצְרוֺר מִּשְׁעִי). Topical Lexicon Essential Idea טָפַל depicts the act of coating or plastering something onto a surface. In Scripture the imagery is transferred from the physical craft of spreading mortar or pitch to the moral realm of spreading deception or concealing guilt. The verb therefore carries two inter-related nuances: (1) forging or “smearing” falsehood, and (2) covering or “plastering over” sin. Canonical Occurrences Job 13:4 – “You, however, smear with lies; you are worthless physicians, all of you.” Job 14:17 – “My offenses would be sealed in a bag, and You would cover over my iniquity.” Psalm 119:69 – “Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep Your precepts with all my heart.” Moral and Theological Dimensions 1. Falsehood that masquerades as help. Job rebukes his friends for “smearing” him with lies (Job 13:4). Their counsel looks like healing balm yet functions as a harmful coating that hides reality rather than revealing it. טָפַל exposes the danger of religious speech detached from truth. Historical and Literary Setting Ancient builders mixed clay or lime with water and spread it over walls to protect them from weather. The prophets later criticized leaders who “whitewashed” flimsy walls (for example, Ezekiel 13:10), borrowing imagery familiar to every Israelite. Job and the psalmist harness the same picture. A coating can strengthen, but an insubstantial or deceptive coating eventually crumbles, exposing structural weakness. Scripture uses טָפַל to warn against moral quick-fixes that hide rot rather than repair it. Ministry Implications • Pastoral counsel must be rooted in truth, not pious clichés. To “smear with lies” is to offer theological plaster that cannot bear weight when suffering intensifies. Connections to the Gospel Job’s plea that God would “cover over” his iniquity anticipates the fuller revelation that “love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8) and that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin (1 John 1:7). Human layers of deception fail, but the atoning work of Christ provides a permanent, righteous covering, satisfying both justice and mercy. Reflective Questions for Application • In what ways might my words act as a deceptive coating rather than a healing balm? Forms and Transliterations וַ֝תִּטְפֹּ֗ל ותטפל טָפְל֬וּ טֹֽפְלֵי־ טפלו טפלי־ ṭā·p̄ə·lū tafeLu ṭāp̄əlū ṭō·p̄ə·lê- tofelei ṭōp̄əlê- vattitPol wat·tiṭ·pōl wattiṭpōlLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Job 13:4 HEB: וְֽאוּלָ֗ם אַתֶּ֥ם טֹֽפְלֵי־ שָׁ֑קֶר רֹפְאֵ֖י NAS: But you smear with lies; You are all KJV: But ye [are] forgers of lies, INT: But you smear lies physicians Job 14:17 Psalm 119:69 3 Occurrences |
    |