Greek word · G1952

ἐπιλείπω

epileipō

be insufficient

Basic meaning: 'leave behind', 'fall short', 'fail', 'run out'. It is used of supplies, strength, or time giving out before a task is done (BDAG: 'fail, leave in the lurch').

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἐπι-λείπω

[in LXX: Ob 5 א1 R (שָׁאַר hi.) * ;]

to fail: with accusative of person(s), Hebrews 11:32.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Hebrews 11:32

Range of meaning

Basic meaning: 'leave behind', 'fall short', 'fail', 'run out'. It is used of supplies, strength, or time giving out before a task is done (BDAG: 'fail, leave in the lurch').

Against the English

KJV, ESV and NASB keep the picture of time 'failing'. BSB ('will not allow') and NIV ('I do not have time') turn it into plain statements and lose the image of time running out mid-speech.

Used elsewhere in the period

This is a fixed phrase from Greek public speaking. Demosthenes, On the Crown 296, says the day would fail him if he named all the traitors. Philo of Alexandria, a Jewish writer of the same period, uses the same 'the day would fail me' formula when he breaks off a long list (On the Sacrifices of Abel and Cain 27). Major commentaries on Hebrews (Attridge, Koester, Lane) cite these and similar parallels in Isocrates and others.

Where it appears

Hebrews · 1

  1. Hebrews 11:32 ἐπιλείψει Will fail

    And what more shall I say? Time will not allow me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets,

    Here: Future tense: 'will run out on.' Time is pictured as a resource that gives out before the speaker finishes. This word appears only here in the New Testament, but it was a stock word in a well-known orator's phrase.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.