4654. mappalah

Lexical Summary

mappalah: Downfall, ruin, overthrow

Original Word: מַפָּלָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: mappalah
Pronunciation: map-paw-law'
Phonetic Spelling: (map-paw-law')
KJV: ruin(-ous)
Word Origin: [from H5307 (נָפַל - fall)]

1. something fallen, i.e. a ruin

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

ruinous

Or mappelah {map-pay-law'}; from naphal; something fallen, i.e. A ruin -- ruin(-ous).

see HEBREW naphal

Brown-Driver-Briggs

מַמָּלָה noun feminine a ruin; — absolute ׳מ of city Isaiah 17:1.

מַמֵּלָה noun feminine id.; — absolute ׳מ of city Isaiah 23:13; Isaiah 25:2.

Topical Lexicon

Definition and Scope

מַפָּלָה depicts a total collapse—whether of walls, cities, or empires—brought about by the decisive hand of God. It is the crumbling of all human defenses when divine judgment falls, leaving nothing to rebuild upon except humble dependence on the Lord.

Occurrences in Isaiah

• Isaiah 17:1: “Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city; it will become a heap of ruins.”
• Isaiah 23:13: “Look at the land of the Chaldeans… they raised up their siege towers, stripped its fortresses, and turned it into a ruin.”
• Isaiah 25:2: “Indeed, You have made the city a heap of rubble, a fortified city a ruin; the fortress of foreigners is no longer a city; it will never be rebuilt.”

In each instance the word drives home irreversible devastation and the end of proud strongholds.

Historical Background

Isaiah prophesied in the eighth century BC during the rise of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
• Damascus (Isaiah 17) fell to Tiglath-Pileser III in 732 BC. The oracle anticipates that fall and portrays it as an act of God, not merely Assyrian might.
• The “land of the Chaldeans” (Isaiah 23:13) alludes to early Babylon before its later ascendancy, showing that even powers which seem insignificant can be wiped out and rebuilt by the Lord’s sovereign choice.
• The unnamed “city” in Isaiah 25:2 stands as a collective symbol of arrogant world centers that oppose God. Rabbinic tradition links it to Nineveh or Babylon; many Christian commentators see a foreshadowing of every rebellious metropolis culminating in the eschatological “Babylon the Great.”

Theological Significance

1. Divine Sovereignty: מַפָּלָה is never random; it is the measured outworking of God’s justice (Isaiah 25:1-5).
2. Judgment and Mercy: Ruin clears the ground for redemption. The collapse of proud cities sets the stage for a “stronghold for the poor” (Isaiah 25:4).
3. Eschatological Hope: Isaiah 25 moves from ruin to the promise of a feast for all peoples (Isaiah 25:6-9), pointing to the ultimate overthrow of evil and the inauguration of God’s everlasting kingdom.
4. Consistency of Scripture: The theme harmonizes with other passages—Jeremiah 51:58; Ezekiel 26:4—affirming that every refuge apart from God ends in downfall.

Practical Ministry Insights

• Preaching: מַפָּלָה underlines the futility of trusting military, economic, or cultural fortresses. Sermons can call congregations to build on the unshakable foundation of Christ (Matthew 7:24-27).
• Pastoral Care: When believers experience personal “ruins” (loss, failure, catastrophe), Isaiah 25:4-5 assures them that God is “a refuge from the storm” even amid collapse.
• Mission: The downfall of empires reminds the Church to invest in eternal realities—gospel proclamation and the formation of disciples—rather than in the passing glory of worldly systems.

Related Biblical Themes

• “Heap of ruins” (גַל, gal) in Joshua 8:28 emphasizes similar destruction.
• “Desolation” (שְׁמָמָה, shemamah) in Isaiah 6:11 expands the picture from cities to land.
• New Testament resonance: “Babylon the great… fallen” in Revelation 18:2 reflects Isaiah’s vision of irreversible judgment on human arrogance.

Conclusion

מַפָּלָה concentrates Isaiah’s warning that every citadel of pride must fall before the Lord’s majesty. Yet the very ruin that levels human pretension opens space for God’s gracious reign, culminating in the universal joy proclaimed later in Isaiah and consummated in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:1-4). The word therefore instructs God’s people to live humbly, trust steadfastly, and labor for a kingdom that can never be shaken.

Forms and Transliterations

לְמַפֵּלָ֑ה לְמַפֵּלָֽה׃ למפלה למפלה׃ מַפָּלָֽה׃ מפלה׃ lə·map·pê·lāh lemappeLah ləmappêlāh map·pā·lāh mappaLah mappālāh

Englishman's Concordance

Isaiah 17:1
HEB: וְהָיְתָ֖ה מְעִ֥י מַפָּלָֽה׃
NAS: And will become a fallen ruin.
KJV: from [being] a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
INT: and will become ruin A fallen

Isaiah 23:13
HEB: אַרְמְנוֹתֶ֔יהָ שָׂמָ֖הּ לְמַפֵּלָֽה׃
NAS: its palaces, they made it a ruin.
KJV: thereof; [and] he brought it to ruin.
INT: palaces made A ruin

Isaiah 25:2
HEB: קִרְיָ֥ה בְצוּרָ֖ה לְמַפֵּלָ֑ה אַרְמ֤וֹן זָרִים֙
NAS: city into a ruin; A palace
KJV: city a ruin: a palace
INT: city A fortified A ruin A palace of strangers

3 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 4654
3 Occurrences

lə·map·pê·lāh — 2 Occ.
map·pā·lāh — 1 Occ.