מַפָּל (map.pal)
map.pal
refuse
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Word Overview
The noun map.pal refers to refuse or discarded remains, specifically highlighting the hanging parts left behind after something has been consumed or cut apart. In its rare biblical usage, it describes the scraps that are cast aside as worthless, carrying a strong sense of degradation and rejection.
This word appears only once in Scripture, in Amos 3:3, where it is translated as "refuse" or "carcasses." The context involves vultures gathering to eat dead flesh, illustrating how those who reject God’s covenant become like discarded meat for scavengers. The imagery is stark and visceral, emphasizing total abandonment rather than mere physical death.
Lexical sources note that the term can also refer to the hanging parts of a crocodile, reinforcing its connection to raw, unclean remains. This specific detail underscores the word’s focus on what is left over after destruction, serving as a powerful metaphor for the fate of those who turn away from divine guidance.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word map.pal describes what is left behind after something has been consumed or cut apart—scraps cast aside as worthless. In Amos, this stark imagery warns against treating people as disposable commodities. When society values profit over human dignity, it reduces individuals to mere refuse, discarded like the sweepings of a threshing floor.
This reality challenges us to examine how we value others. God’s justice demands that every person be treated with inherent worth, not as a means to an end. The prophet Amos condemns those who exploit the vulnerable for gain, showing that such actions are deeply offensive to God.
Our faith calls us to resist this dehumanizing trend. We are invited to see every neighbor as someone created in God’s image, worthy of respect and care. This perspective transforms how we interact with those on the margins of society.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- and/ refuse of1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- וּ/מַפַּ֥ל1×
Key Verses
-
Amos 8:6
that we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals, and sell the sweepings with the wheat?’”
This verse uses the imagery of selling 'sweepings' (map.pal) alongside people, highlighting how economic exploitation reduces human beings to worthless scraps.