Aramaic word · H5308

נְפַל

nefal

to fall

To fall: to fall accidentally, to collapse, to fall to a lot (be assigned), and, when done on purpose, to throw oneself down in reverence.

A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?

Appears 11 times in 11 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to fall

1a) (P'al)

1a1) to fall

1a2) to fall down

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Daniel 3:11

Range of meaning

To fall: to fall accidentally, to collapse, to fall to a lot (be assigned), and, when done on purpose, to throw oneself down in reverence.

Against the English

"Fall down" is accurate. The pair "fall down and worship" is a set phrase for a full prostration: first dropping to the knees, then bowing the face to the ground.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used the same way in Daniel 2:46 and across chapter 3. Hebrew naphal plus hishtachavah ("fall and bow down") is a common pairing, e.g. Isaiah 44:17 "he falls down to it and worships" (yisgod … veyishtachu).

From the study of Daniel 3:6

Range of meaning

To fall. It can mean an accidental fall, falling in battle, or deliberately throwing oneself to the ground before a superior.

Against the English

'Fall down' is accurate everywhere.

Used elsewhere in the period

'Fall and bow down' (nəpal + sgid) is a fixed pair in Dan 2:46 and 3:5–7, 10–11, 15, matching Hebrew nāpal + hištaḥăwāh. The two verbs together describe one complete act of prostration.

Where it appears

Ezra · 1

  1. Ezra 7:20 יִפֶּל־ it will fall

    And if anything else is needed for the house of your God that you may have occasion to supply, you may pay for it from the royal treasury.

Daniel · 10

  1. Daniel 2:46 נְפַ֣ל he fell

    At this, King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, paid homage to Daniel, and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him.

  2. Daniel 3:5 תִּפְּל֤וּן you will fall down

    As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.

  3. Daniel 3:6 יִפֵּ֖ל he will fall down

    And whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into the blazing fiery furnace.”

    Here: 'Falls down'. The body goes to the ground. This is the first half of a fixed pair describing full prostration.

  4. Daniel 3:7 נָֽפְלִ֨ין [were] falling down

    Therefore, as soon as all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, and all kinds of music, the people of every nation and language would fall down and worship the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

  5. Daniel 3:10 יִפֵּ֥ל he will fall down

    You, O king, have issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the golden statue,

  6. Daniel 3:11 יִפֵּ֖ל he will fall down

    and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into the blazing fiery furnace.

    Here: "Will fall (down)": dropping to the ground on purpose, the first half of a full bow. It describes a visible movement of the body that anyone in the crowd could see or fail to see.

  7. Daniel 3:15 תִּפְּל֣וּן you will fall down

    Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the statue I have made, very good. But if you refuse to worship, you will be thrown at once into the blazing fiery furnace. Then what god will be able to deliver you from my hands?”

    Here: 'You fall down': the body drops to the ground. It is the first half of the physical act demanded.

  8. Daniel 3:23 נְפַ֛לוּ they fell

    And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, firmly bound, fell into the blazing fiery furnace.

  9. Daniel 4:31 נְפַ֑ל it fell

    While the words were still in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven: “It is decreed to you, King Nebuchadnezzar, that the kingdom has departed from you.

    Here: The voice 'fell'. It drops from above like something cast down, which fits the king's coming fall from his height. Most English versions flatten this to 'came'.

  10. Daniel 7:20 וּנְפַ֥לָה and they fell

    I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn whose appearance was more imposing than the others, with eyes and with a mouth that spoke words of arrogance.

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