Hebrew word · H5456

סָגַד

'esgod

to prostrate

To bow down flat, prostrate oneself. In biblical Hebrew it occurs only in Isaiah 44:15, 17, 19 and 46:6, always paired with hištaḥăwâ and always aimed at an idol. In biblical Aramaic it is frequent (Daniel 2:46; 3:5–28). mosque).

Appears 5 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

(Qal) to prostrate oneself (in worship)

Aramaic equivalent: se.gid (סְגִ֑ד "to do homage" H5457)

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 Isaiah 46:6

Range of meaning

To bow down flat, prostrate oneself. In biblical Hebrew it occurs only in Isaiah 44:15, 17, 19 and 46:6, always paired with hištaḥăwâ and always aimed at an idol. In biblical Aramaic it is frequent (Daniel 2:46; 3:5–28). Related words are Akkadian sagādu (uncertain) and Arabic sajada ("to prostrate", from which comes masjid, "place of prostration", i.e. mosque).

Against the English

KJV and WEB have "fall down", BSB has "bow down". None of the translations can show that this is an unusual, Aramaic-flavoured word that Isaiah keeps for idol-worship.

Used elsewhere in the period

Daniel 3 uses the Aramaic form over and over for bowing to the golden statue Nebuchadnezzar set up, a strikingly close scene. Later Jewish Aramaic and Syriac use it as the ordinary word for worship.

From the study of Isaiah 44:17

Range of meaning

To bow down flat or lie prostrate, specifically in homage. In biblical Hebrew it appears only in Isaiah 44:15, 17, 19 and 46:6, and every time it describes bowing before a manufactured image.

Against the English

KJV 'falleth down', ESV 'falls down', BSB and WEB 'bows down'. All of these are accurate about the physical posture. None of them shows that this is a narrow, image-related word, unlike the common verb that follows it.

Used elsewhere in the period

Common in Aramaic. In Daniel 3 (vv. 5–7, 10–18, 28) it is the verb for falling down before Nebuchadnezzar's golden statue, and in Dan 2:46 the king prostrates himself before Daniel. It also survives in Arabic sajada, 'to prostrate,' the root of masjid, 'place of prostration' (mosque). Many scholars treat it as an Aramaic-flavoured word belonging to the Babylonian and Persian period.

From the study of Isaiah 44:19

Range of meaning

To bow down, prostrate oneself in homage or worship. In biblical Hebrew it is found only in Isa 44:15, 17, 19 and 46:6, always for bowing to a manufactured image. In biblical Aramaic, segid is used repeatedly in Daniel 2–3 for bowing to the king and to his golden image. Arabic cognate sajada gives masjid, 'place of prostration'.

Against the English

'Bow down' (BSB, WEB) and 'fall down' (KJV, YLT) are accurate. 'Worship' would be too abstract. The word is about the body going down to the ground.

Used elsewhere in the period

Daniel 3:5–18 uses it eleven or so times for prostration before Nebuchadnezzar's statue. In Isaiah it sits alongside the ordinary Hebrew word for bowing, hishtachavah (44:15, 17; 46:6). Its rarity in Hebrew and its common use in Aramaic suggest a word associated with the Mesopotamian and Aramaic-speaking world.

Where it appears

Isaiah · 5

  1. Isaiah 44:15 וַיִּסְגָּד־ and he prostrated himself

    It serves as fuel for man. He takes some of it to warm himself, and he kindles a fire and bakes his bread. He also fashions it into a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it.

  2. Isaiah 44:17 יִסְגָּד ל֤וֹ he prostrates himself, to it

    From the rest he makes a god, his graven image. He bows down to it and worships; he prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”

    Here: 'He falls prostrate.' The verb is ongoing (habitual): this is what he regularly does. The word is rare in Hebrew and is used for bowing before an image. The consonantal text is spelled יסגוד, and the vowels the reading tradition supplies give yisgad.

  3. Isaiah 44:19 אֶסְגּֽוֹד׃ will I prostrate myself?

    And no one considers in his heart, no one has the knowledge or insight to say, “I burned half of it in the fire, and I baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make something detestable with the rest of it? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”

    Here: 'Shall I bow down flat?' This is a rare verb. In Hebrew it is used only in Isaiah's idol passages (44:15, 17, 19; 46:6), and its Aramaic form is used for bowing to Nebuchadnezzar's statue in Daniel 3. It closes the verse on the full physical act of worship given to firewood.

  4. Isaiah 46:6 יִסְגְּד֖וּ they prostrate themselves

    They pour out their bags of gold and weigh out silver on scales; they hire a goldsmith to fashion it into a god, so they can bow down and worship.

    Here: "They fall prostrate": a rare Hebrew verb, found only in Isaiah's idol satires (44:15, 17, 19; 46:6). It is common in Aramaic, where it is the word for bowing to Nebuchadnezzar's golden image (Daniel 3). It may sound deliberately foreign: this is how Babylon bows.

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