Strong’s H4889 · Hebrew

מַשְׁחִית
mashchîyth
mash-kheeth'

Definition

destructive, i.e. (as noun) destruction, literally (specifically a snare) or figuratively (corruption)

Etymology

from H7843 (שָׁחַת);

Where the KJV renders it

  • corruption
  • (to) destroy(-ing)
  • destruction
  • trap
  • utterly

Every distinct English word the King James Version uses to translate this Hebrew term. The variety shows what readers in English receive across many different surface words — the same underlying word, scattered across the English Bible under different names.

What the first audience heard

A deep-dive treatment of this word is in the works. The featured chapter above carries the long form of what this word meant to its first audience.