Lexical Summary mappach: Snare, trap Original Word: מַפָּח Strong's Exhaustive Concordance giving up From naphach; a breathing out (of life), i.e. Expiring -- giving up. see HEBREW naphach NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom naphach Definition a breathing out NASB Translation breathe last (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs [מַמָּח] noun [masculine] breathing out; — only construct מַמַּח נֶפֶשׁ Job 11:20 a breathing out of life = expiring (compare נפח Job 31:39; Jeremiah 15:9). Topical Lexicon Meaning in Context In Job 11:20 the noun מַפָּח frames the destiny of the wicked as nothing more than the last gasp before death: “their hope will be the giving up of the ghost” (Job 11:20). It pictures a single puff of air, an exhalation that ends life and silences every earthly ambition. By choosing this rare term, Zophar intensifies the contrast between the fleeting expectations of the ungodly and the enduring security promised to the righteous. Literary Setting in Job Job 11 records Zophar’s first speech, a rebuke aimed at Job’s complaints. Verse 20 forms the climax: the wicked—those who regard God lightly—find their vision darkened (“the eyes of the wicked will fail”), their avenues of escape blocked, and their final prospect reduced to a dying breath. מַפָּח functions as a three-word sermon on futility: 1. Diminishing perception (“eyes … will fail”) The rhetorical force warns the reader that any hope detached from reverent trust in God is as fragile as the air leaving a body. Old Testament Theology of Breath From Genesis 2:7, life originates with the divine breath; to breathe out is therefore to relinquish what was first breathed in by God. Several passages underscore this cycle: Against this backdrop מַפָּח crystallizes judgment: God simply withholds the sustaining breath, and the wicked’s “hope” collapses. Contrast with the Hope of the Righteous While the wicked end in a solitary exhalation, Job later declares, “I know that my Redeemer lives” (Job 19:25). The righteous expect resurrection life; the wicked, a terminal breath. Proverbs 10:28 summarizes the divide: “The hope of the righteous is joy, but the expectations of the wicked will perish.” Echoes in the New Testament Though מַפָּח itself does not appear in Greek, its idea resurfaces: Life’s brevity and the certainty of judgment are consistent across both covenants. Historical Reception Jewish and Christian commentators have commonly seen Job 11:20 as eschatological. Medieval rabbis spoke of a “breath that ends in darkness,” while early church writers, such as Gregory the Great, used the verse to exhort sinners toward repentance before their final breath. Ministry and Pastoral Application 1. Evangelism: מַפָּח reminds preachers to press the urgency of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). Key Takeaways • מַפָּח appears once, yet its imagery is potent: hope without God ends in a single, final breath. Forms and Transliterations מַֽפַּח־ מפח־ map·paḥ- mappach mappaḥ-Links Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Job 11:20 HEB: מִנְהֶ֑ם וְ֝תִקְוָתָ֗ם מַֽפַּח־ נָֽפֶשׁ׃ פ NAS: for them; And their hope is to breathe their last. KJV: and their hope [shall be as] the giving up of the ghost. INT: them and their hope breathe of the ghost 1 Occurrence |
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