The Hebrew root consists of the word  מכה (makah)  is  נ-כ-ה (n-k-h ) was originated in the actual act of striking or delivering a blow and develops into a broad semantic connotation that includes physical injury, plague, disability, emotional remorse, social upheaval, and abstract reduction. Its semantic evolution from biblical Hebrew through rabbinic and modern Hebrew demonstrates how embodied physical impact becomes a conceptual model for moral, spiritual, and social meaning.

The biblical foundation of the word is associated with often with the plagues. Although the narrative of the Egyptian plagues in Exodus is central to Jewish cultural memory, the term makot is not initially foregrounded. Instead, God declares: וְהִרְבֵּיתִי אֶת־אֹתֹתַי וְאֶת־מוֹפְתַי........

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