Aramaic word · H5457

סְגִ֑ד

segid

to do homage

To bow down, prostrate oneself, do homage. It names a bodily act: going face-down before someone or something greater, a deity, a king, or a cult image. In Biblical Aramaic it is used only in Daniel: for the statue (ch.

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

Appears 12 times in 11 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to prostrate oneself, do homage, worship

1a) (P'al) to do homage

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 3:15

Range of meaning

To bow down, prostrate oneself, do homage. It names a bodily act: going face-down before someone or something greater, a deity, a king, or a cult image. In Biblical Aramaic it is used only in Daniel: for the statue (ch. 3), for Daniel himself (2:46, where Nebuchadnezzar bows to him), and in the friends' refusal.

Against the English

Most versions render 'worship', KJV 'worship', YLT 'do obeisance'. 'Worship' is not wrong, but modern English uses it for inner devotion or for church singing. The Aramaic names the physical act of prostration, which in the ancient world was also a public statement of allegiance.

How it drifted

Older English 'worship' (from 'worth-ship') meant giving honour, to people as well as to God. Over time the word narrowed to religious devotion, and lately to the music part of a church service.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Hebrew counterpart sāgad appears only in Isaiah's satire on idol-making (Isa 44:15, 17, 19; 46:6), where a man 'bows down' to a block of wood he carved. In later Aramaic and Syriac the root gives the word for a place of prostration, and Arabic sajada/masjid (mosque) belongs to the same Semitic root. The Greek versions of Daniel use proskyneō, the standard word for bowing in homage.

From the study of Daniel 3:11

Range of meaning

Bodily prostration before a superior: bowing to the ground before a king, a god, a statue or an honoured person. One word covers both homage and worship. Biblical Aramaic has no separate word for "political bow" as against "religious worship".

Against the English

English versions all say "worship". That is fair, since the object is a cult statue. But modern "worship" usually means an inner attitude or a church service (prayer, singing, devotion). The Aramaic word names a physical act: getting down on the ground in public.

How it drifted

Over the centuries English "worship" (originally "worth-ship", giving honour) narrowed to religious devotion and then moved inward to feeling and attitude. Segid stayed a matter of the body and of public allegiance.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Daniel it is paired with "fall" (nefal) all through chapter 3 (vv. 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 15) and in 2:46, where Nebuchadnezzar himself "fell on his face and did homage" to Daniel. The Hebrew form of the word appears in the Bible only in Isaiah 44:15, 17, 19 and 46:6, all in mocking descriptions of people who fall down before images they made from wood or had a goldsmith cast. It is common in later Aramaic (Targums, Syriac sgd), and the Arabic cognate gives masjid, "place of prostration" (mosque).

From the study of Daniel 3:12

Range of meaning

To bow down, prostrate oneself, do homage. A bodily act of submission, paired in Daniel 3 with nĕpal, 'fall down' (vv. 5, 6, 10, 11, 15). Used of homage to an image (ch. 3) and once of the king paying homage to Daniel (2:46).

Against the English

KJV/BSB/ESV 'worship' and YLT 'making obeisance'. To modern ears 'worship' suggests an inner feeling or a church service. The Aramaic names a posture: lying face-down on the ground.

How it drifted

In modern English 'worship' has moved inward and toward church gatherings. In the ancient world, prostration was itself the act of worship, and the public, visible gesture was what counted.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Hebrew counterpart sāgad appears only in Isaiah 44:15, 17, 19 and 46:6, all of them in mocking descriptions of people who bow down to an idol they made from wood or gold. The Arabic relative sajada (prostrate; masjid, 'place of prostration', i.e. mosque) has the same physical sense. In Neo-Babylonian royal ceremony, subjects did homage by prostration.

Where it appears

Daniel · 12

  1. Daniel 2:46 סְגִ֑ד he paid homage

    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 וְתִסְגְּדוּן֙ so you may pay homage

    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 וְיִסְגֻּ֑ד so he may pay homage

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

    Here: 'And bows down / does homage'. Lying face-down before a superior. Before the statue it is both loyalty to the king and an act of cult (compare v. 12, 'serve your gods').

  4. Daniel 3:7 סָֽגְדִין֙ [they were] paying homage

    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 וְיִסְגֻּ֖ד so he may pay homage

    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 וְיִסְגֻּ֑ד so he may pay homage

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

    Here: "And do homage": bowing low, face toward the ground, before a superior. Here it is aimed at the golden statue (v. 10). It covers a political act of submission and a religious act of worship at once.

  7. Daniel 3:12 סָגְדִֽין׃ ס [they are] paying homage

    But there are some Jews you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who have ignored you, O king, and have refused to serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

    Here: 'They are not bowing down.' This is the bodily act the decree required: falling face-down before the statue (v. 5, 'fall down and bow'). The verse ends with it: the refusal everyone could see.

  8. Daniel 3:14 סָֽגְדִֽין׃ [you are] paying homage

    and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden statue I have set up?

    Here: "Prostrating yourselves": the bodily act of bowing to the ground before the statue. The demanded ritual was "fall down and bow down" (3:5, 10, 15).

  9. Daniel 3:15 וְתִסְגְּדוּן֮ תִסְגְּד֔וּן so you may pay homage, you will pay homage

    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: 'And bow down in homage': lying face-down before the statue. A public act of submission that is both religious and political.

  10. Daniel 3:18 נִסְגֻּֽד׃ ס we will pay homage

    But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

    Here: "We will not bow down". This is the physical act of falling face down before the statue, which was exactly what the decree demanded (vv. 5–6). The tense looks forward, so it states their fixed intention for the moment the music sounds again.

  11. Daniel 3:28 יִסְגְּדוּן֙ they will pay homage

    Nebuchadnezzar declared, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

    Here: "They would bow down," the physical act of lying face-down before an image. It is the exact act the decree demanded before the golden statue (3:5–7, 10–12).

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