Hebrew word · H8217

שָׁפָל

shafal

low

Low: physically low, socially humble, brought down. With rûaḥ ("spirit"), "low of spirit" means humble, unassuming, or deflated. It is the opposite of the "high" and "haughty" whom Isaiah repeatedly sees brought down.

Appears 17 times in 16 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated October 22, 2026

What it means

1) low, humble

1a) low (in height)

1b) low (in station), humble (of condition or spirit)

1c) humiliated

1d) lowly (as subst)

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 57:15

Range of meaning: Low: physically low, socially humble, brought down. With rûaḥ ("spirit"), "low of spirit" means humble, unassuming, or deflated. It is the opposite of the "high" and "haughty" whom Isaiah repeatedly sees brought down.
Against the English: "Humble" (KJV, BSB, WEB, YLT), "lowly" (ESV, NIV, NASB). "Humble" today often names a chosen virtue of modesty. The Hebrew also covers being humbled, made low by circumstance, which the word "lowly" keeps better.
Used elsewhere in the period: Isaiah 2:9–17: humanity is "brought low" (šāpēl) while the lofty are humbled. Proverbs 16:19: "better to be low of spirit (šəpal-rûaḥ) with the poor than to divide spoil with the proud." Proverbs 29:23: "the low of spirit will obtain honor." Ezekiel 17:24: "I bring low the high tree and make high the low tree."

From the study of Job 5:11

Range of meaning: Low in height (a low tree, Ezek 17:24); low in rank or condition (2 Sam 6:22, "lowly in my own eyes"; Mal 2:9, "base"); in phrases like šəpal-rûaḥ, "low of spirit" (Prov 29:23; Isa 57:15), it moves toward meaning humble or contrite. When it stands alone, as here, it usually means a low social or physical position.
Against the English: English "lowly" and "humble" now usually describe modest character. The Hebrew here names people who have been brought low: the poor, the shamed, the ruined. Their virtue is not in view.
How it drifted: English "humble/lowly" moved from describing station ("of humble birth") toward describing a moral quality, partly through Christian virtue language.
Used elsewhere in the period: Paired with "high" in the reversal pattern of Ezek 17:24 and 21:26 ("exalt the low, bring low the high"). The same idea, using related words, appears in Hannah's song (1 Sam 2:7–8) and Ps 113:7–8. The LXX renders it tapeinous, the word Mary picks up in Luke 1:52.

From the study of Malachi 2:9

Range of meaning: Low: physically lower (Lev 13:20, a sore "lower" than the skin), then low in rank, status, power or self-estimate. It can be neutral or even good ("lowly of spirit", Prov 29:23) or a humiliation imposed from outside (a kingdom made "lowly", Ezek 17:14; 29:14–15).
Against the English: BSB "humiliated", ESV/NASB "abased" and YLT "low" keep the idea of status. KJV "base" meant "low-ranking" in 1611 but now sounds like "morally vile". WEB's "wicked" turns a word about status into a moral verdict, which the Hebrew does not say.
How it drifted: English "base" (from French bas, "low") once described rank, as in "base-born". Over time it narrowed toward moral meanness, as in "base motives". WEB, which revises an older tradition, seems to have taken "base" in its moral sense and updated it to "wicked".
Used elsewhere in the period: Ezek 21:26 (Heb 21:31): "exalt the low (shafal) and bring low the high". 2 Sam 6:22: David will be "lowly in my own eyes". Job 5:11: God "sets the lowly on high". Its opposite is "high, exalted" (gavoah, ram), the language of honour.

Where it appears

Leviticus · 4

Leviticus 13:20 שָׁפָ֣ל [is] deep

The priest shall examine it, and if it appears to be beneath the skin and the hair in it has turned white, the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a diseased infection that has broken out in the boil.
Leviticus 13:21 וּשְׁפָלָ֥ה and [is] deep

But when the priest examines it, if there is no white hair in it, and it is not beneath the skin and has faded, the priest shall isolate him for seven days.
Leviticus 13:26 וּשְׁפָלָ֥ה and [is] deep

But if the priest examines it and there is no white hair in the spot, and it is not beneath the skin but has faded, the priest shall isolate him for seven days.
Leviticus 14:37 שָׁפָ֖ל [is] deep

He is to examine the house, and if the mildew on the walls consists of green or red depressions that appear to be beneath the surface of the wall,

2 Samuel · 1

2 Samuel 6:22 שָׁפָ֖ל lowly

and I will humiliate and humble myself even more than this. Yet I will be honored by the maidservants of whom you have spoken.”

Job · 1

Job 5:11 שְׁפָלִ֣ים lowly [people]

He sets the lowly on high, so that mourners are lifted to safety.

Here: People who are literally "low": pushed down in standing, poor, without power. The word is about where they stand in society and in life, not mainly about a humble character.

Psalms · 1

Psalm 138:6 וְשָׁפָ֣ל and [the] lowly

Though the LORD is on high, He attends to the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar.

Here: "And the low one." It is placed first for emphasis: the low one is the one he sees. It means someone who is low in status or brought low (poor, humiliated, without power), and it can also mean humble in attitude. Here both are in view.

Proverbs · 1

Proverbs 29:23 וּשְׁפַל־ and a [person] lowly of

A man’s pride will bring him low, but a humble spirit will obtain honor.

Here: 'And the low one (of spirit)': the same root as the verb just before it. The pride-filled man is *made* low against his will. The humble person *is* low by his own disposition, and the outcome is the reverse.

Isaiah · 2

Isaiah 57:15 וּשְׁפַל־ שְׁפָלִ֔ים and a [person] lowly of, lowly [people]

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in a high and holy place, and with the oppressed and humble in spirit, to restore the spirit of the lowly and revive the heart of the contrite.

Here: "And low of..." Low in position or brought low; tied to the following "spirit" it describes an inner state of being humbled, the opposite of the proud who are "high."

Ezekiel · 6

Ezekiel 17:6 שִׁפְלַ֣ת low of

It sprouted and became a spreading vine, low in height, with branches turned toward him; yet its roots remained where it stood. So it became a vine and yielded branches and sent out shoots.
Ezekiel 17:14 שְׁפָלָ֔ה lowly

so that the kingdom would be brought low, unable to lift itself up, surviving only by keeping his covenant.
Ezekiel 17:24 שָׁפָ֔ל low

Then all the trees of the field will know that I am the LORD. I bring the tall tree down and make the low tree tall. I dry up the green tree and make the withered tree flourish. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I have done it.’”

Here: "Low." It comes from the same root as "I brought low," so the roots cross over: the high is made low and the low is made high. In context it calls to mind the low, spreading vine of v. 6 and the tiny sprig of v. 22.
Ezekiel 21:26 הַשָּׁפָ֣לָה the lowly

This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Remove the turban, and take off the crown. Things will not remain as they are: Exalt the lowly and bring low the exalted.
Ezekiel 29:14 שְׁפָלָֽה׃ lowly

I will restore Egypt from captivity and bring them back to the land of Pathros, the land of their origin. There they will be a lowly kingdom.
Ezekiel 29:15 שְׁפָלָ֔ה lowly

Egypt will be the lowliest of kingdoms and will never again exalt itself above the nations. For I will diminish Egypt so that it will never again rule over the nations.

Malachi · 1

Malachi 2:9 וּשְׁפָלִ֖ים and lowly

“So I in turn have made you despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not kept My ways, but have shown partiality in matters of the law.”

Here: "And low": brought down in rank and public standing. This is a word about status, not about moral character. The men whose office made them honoured become small.

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