Original Word: טוּא
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: tuw'
Pronunciation: too or teh-teh
Phonetic Spelling: (too)
KJV: sweep
NASB: sweep
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to sweep away

sweep

A primitive root; to sweep away -- sweep.

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to sweep
NASB Translation
sweep (1).

[טֵאטֵא] verb Pilpel, only Perfect1singular suffix וְטֵאטֵאתִיהָ בְּמַטְאֲטֵא הַשְׁמֵד Isaiah 14:23 and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, of ׳יs laying Babylon waste. (Form of √ dubious; עו֞ Ol^{§ 253}; עע֞ Sta^{§ 464}; undecided Kö^{i. 652 ff.} (q. v.), compare Ew^{§ 121 b}.)

Root Imagery

טוּא presents the vivid picture of a forceful sweeping, as with a broom that removes all remaining debris. In Scripture the image is not of gentle house-cleaning but of a decisive act that leaves nothing behind. The contextual emphasis is total removal of what is offensive to the holiness of God.

Single Biblical Usage: Isaiah 14:23

“I will make her a place for owls and for marshes; I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of Hosts (Isaiah 14:23).

Here the verb frames the judgment oracle against Babylon. The Lord pledges to turn the proud city into an uninhabitable wasteland and then to “sweep” it—every vestige of human glory and wickedness obliterated. The broom of destruction is not random calamity; it is the purposeful, purifying work of Yahweh Sabaoth.

Historical Fulfillment

Babylon’s ruin unfolded in stages. The Persian conquest in 539 B.C. ended her imperial dominance; subsequent centuries saw neglect, depopulation, and environmental change that created malarial swamps where palaces once stood. Classical writers, later travelers, and modern archaeology all confirm the prophetic picture of a desolate site inhabited only by wildlife, validating Isaiah’s language of complete sweeping away.

Theological Significance

1. Divine Sovereignty. The verb underscores the Lord’s absolute authority over nations (Isaiah 14:26–27). Empires rise and fall at His command; none can resist His “broom.”
2. Moral Cleansing. Judgment is more than political reshuffling; it removes systemic evil (Isaiah 13:11). As a broom separates refuse from what is kept, God separates the wicked from His creation.
3. Covenant Faithfulness. Israel’s oppressor is dismantled so that God’s redemptive plan can advance unthwarted (Isaiah 14:1–2).

Related Scriptural Parallels

Though טוּא itself occurs only once, sweeping imagery recurs:

• Zephaniah 1:2–3 – “I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth…”
• Jeremiah 51:2 – “I will send strangers to Babylon to winnow her…”
• Proverbs 10:25 – “When the whirlwind passes, the wicked are no more…”

Each passage echoes the same theological motif: judgment as comprehensive removal.

Ministry Applications

1. Preaching on Holiness. The sweeping broom calls believers to personal and corporate cleansing (2 Corinthians 7:1), reminding the church that God will not coexist with cherished sin.
2. Warning the Proud. Babylon typifies any culture that exalts itself against God (James 4:6). The image confronts self-sufficiency and invites repentance before divine judgment sweeps through.
3. Comfort for the Oppressed. For captive Judah, the promise that Babylon would be swept away assured them that injustice would not have the last word (Isaiah 14:3). Modern sufferers can anchor hope in the same righteous intervention of God.
4. Evangelistic Urgency. The final, eschatological sweeping foretold in Revelation 18:2–21 compels proclamation of the gospel “while it is still day” (John 9:4).

Christological and Eschatological Outlook

The broom of Isaiah 14 anticipates the ultimate purgation achieved through Christ. His first coming offers cleansing by His blood (1 John 1:7); His second coming will consummate the removal of all unrighteousness (2 Peter 3:10–13). Thus טוּא finds its fullest expression in the cross and in the promised new heavens and new earth where no impurity remains.

Summary

טוּא symbolizes God’s decisive, purifying judgment. In a single verse it captures the certainty, completeness, and purposefulness with which the Lord deals with human pride and wickedness—past, present, and future.

וְטֵֽאטֵאתִ֙יהָ֙ וטאטאתיה veteteTiha wə·ṭê·ṭê·ṯî·hā wəṭêṭêṯîhāInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts