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# destroyer

noun

«destroyer» in the English dictionary: in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## In Jewish tradition

In Sefer Yetzirah, the destroyers are three of the twelve simple letters, set opposite the life-givers, in a picture of balanced opposing forces. In the prophets and Job, destroyers are armies sent to ruin a land or the powers of death that wait for a sick person.

**Interpretation.** Readers of Sefer Yetzirah take the friends, enemies, life-givers and destroyers as a teaching that the world is built from balanced opposites. The tradition reads the prophets' destroyers as agents God sends to punish a sinful city, who in turn may be removed.

### Meaning

A person or thing that destroys or ruins something. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/D/destroyer/#m1)

### Examples

- The Twelve stand as in warfare; three are friends, three are enemies; three are life givers; three are destroyers. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/D/destroyer/#x1)
- The Twelve stand as in warfare ; three are friends, three are enemies ; three are life givers ; three are destroyers. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/D/destroyer/#x2)
- There are twelve which are all the time at war; three of them produce love, and three hatred, three are animators and three destroyers. (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/D/destroyer/#x3)
- Yea, his soul draweth near unto the pit, and his life to the destroyers. (Writings JOB.33.22, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/D/destroyer/#x4)
- Thy children make haste; thy destroyers and they that made thee waste shall go forth from thee. (Prophets ISA.49.17, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/D/destroyer/#x5)
- And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons; and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire. (Prophets JER.22.7, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/D/destroyer/#x6)

### Note

A record of the Judaism dictionary, written from the corpus.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «destroyer» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/D/destroyer/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«destroyer» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/destroyer.html) on Mova free.