Greek word · G4431

πτῶσις

ptōsis

fall

A fall or falling; collapse, downfall, ruin, disaster (BDAG). In ordinary Greek it can be a literal fall; in the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) it often means the catastrophic downfall of a people or city.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

πτῶσις, -εως, ἡ

(πίπτω), [in LXX chiefly for נֶגֶף, מַפֶּלֶת, and cogn. forms ;]

a falling, fall (Plat., Plut., al.): Matthew 7:27; metaphorically, Luke 2:34.†

(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 Luke 2:34

Range of meaning

A fall or falling; collapse, downfall, ruin, disaster (BDAG). In ordinary Greek it can be a literal fall; in the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) it often means the catastrophic downfall of a people or city.

Against the English

'Fall' is accurate. The issue is BSB's word order: it says 'rise and fall', reversing the Greek, which puts falling first.

Used elsewhere in the period

NT only here and Matthew 7:27 (the house on sand: 'great was its fall'). LXX: Ezekiel 26:15 and 31:16 use it for the crash of Tyre and of Pharaoh's empire, at the sound of which the nations shake.

From the study of Matthew 7:27

Range of meaning

A fall or collapse; figuratively a downfall, ruin or calamity. In grammar the same word meant a noun's 'case', but that sense is irrelevant here.

Against the English

KJV/ESV 'great was the fall of it', WEB/YLT 'its fall was great', BSB 'great was its collapse', NIV 'it fell with a great crash'. 'Collapse' and 'crash' make it vivid. 'Fall' keeps the echo of 'it fell'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Luke 2:34: Jesus is set 'for the fall (ptōsis) and rising of many in Israel'. In the Septuagint it is used for the catastrophic downfall of nations and cities: Ezekiel 26:15, 18 and 27:27 (Tyre), 31:16 and 32:10 (Egypt). Luke's parallel uses a different word, rhēgma ('breach, wreck'): 'the ruin of that house was great' (Luke 6:49).

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 7:27 πτῶσις fall

    The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its collapse!”

    Here: The noun from the same root as 'fell' (epesen): 'it fell, and its falling was great'. In biblical Greek the word often means a catastrophic downfall, such as the ruin of a city or nation.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 2:34 πτῶσιν [the] falling

    Then Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary: “Behold, this Child is appointed to cause the rise and fall of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against,

    Here: A fall or downfall, ruin. Placed first: the child will be the cause of many people's collapse.

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