The Hebrew noun hapekah refers to a violent overthrow, destruction, or complete ruin — the turning upside-down of a city or people.
Hapekah is used in the context of divine judgment, particularly the destruction of wicked cities. Most powerfully, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah becomes the paradigmatic hapekah — the overthrow that God references throughout Scripture as the ultimate example of judgment (Isaiah 13:19; Amos 4:11). Yet even in Amos 4:11, God says 'I overthrew some of you as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah… yet you have not returned to me.' The persistent mercy of God extends even beyond devastating judgment, always calling for repentance.