תַּרְדֵּמָה

From the study of Genesis 2:21

Range of meaning

Deep sleep, torpor, a state of being completely unaware. It comes from the root radam, 'to be in heavy sleep' (used of Jonah in the storm, Jonah 1:5; of Sisera before he was killed, Judges 4:21; of Daniel collapsing before an angel, Daniel 8:18).

Against the English

English 'deep sleep' is accurate for the physical state. What it misses is the frequent overtone of a sleep sent by God, sometimes as the setting for revelation.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 15:12 (a tardemah falls on Abram during the covenant vision); 1 Samuel 26:12 (a 'tardemah of YHWH' falls on Saul's camp so David can slip in); Isaiah 29:10 (God pours out a 'spirit of tardemah'); Job 4:13 and 33:15 (it comes with night visions); Proverbs 19:15 (laziness 'makes a tardemah fall'). The Septuagint translates it here as ekstasis, a state of being 'outside oneself', the same word it uses at Genesis 15:12.

From the study of Isaiah 29:10

Range of meaning

A sleep far deeper than normal: torpor, near-unconsciousness. It comes from the root rdm, "to be in a heavy sleep" (the verb used of Jonah asleep in the ship's hold, Jonah 1:5, and of Sisera, Judges 4:21). It can mean a trance in which God acts or speaks (Gen 15:12; Job 4:13; 33:15), a state God imposes so that something can be done without the sleeper knowing (Gen 2:21; 1 Sam 26:12, "a tardēmāh of YHWH had fallen on them"), or simply the stupor of laziness (Prov 19:15).

Against the English

"Deep sleep" is accurate. What English loses is how strongly the word is tied to sleep sent by God. A Hebrew hearer would think of the sleep that fell on Adam, on Abram, and on Saul's army. That is not ordinary tiredness but a God-sent state in which the sleeper is helpless and unaware of what is happening around him.

Used elsewhere in the period

Occurs about seven times in the Hebrew Bible. The Septuagint usually translates it ekstasis ("trance", as in Gen 2:21; 15:12) or thambos. In this verse, unusually, it uses katanyxis ("stupor, numbness"), and Paul takes that phrase over in Romans 11:8.

From the study of Genesis 15:12

Range of meaning

A heavy, abnormal sleep or stupor, from the root r-d-m, 'to be fast asleep, unconscious' (Jonah 1:5–6; Judg 4:21; Dan 8:18; 10:9, where Daniel falls into this state face-down before an angel). The noun usually names a sleep that God imposes: (1) so God can act on a person who does not take part (Gen 2:21, Adam's rib; 1 Sam 26:12, 'a tardemah of the LORD had fallen on them', so Saul's camp does not wake); (2) as a setting for revelation (Job 4:13; 33:15, 'in a dream, a vision of the night, when tardemah falls on people'); (3) as a judgment that dulls people's perception (Isa 29:10, 'the LORD has poured out on you a spirit of tardemah'). Only once does it describe ordinary laziness (Prov 19:15).

Against the English

'Deep sleep' (KJV, BSB, ESV, NIV, NASB, WEB) is accurate as far as it goes. In English, though, it sounds like being very tired. It loses the sense, nearly constant in Hebrew usage, that this sleep is sent from outside, usually by God, and is a state of trance.

How it drifted

The English phrase is a natural rendering, but modern English has no everyday word for a God-sent trance. So the extraordinary state gets flattened into ordinary sleep.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Greek Septuagint (LXX) translates it here and at Gen 2:21 as ekstasis, 'a standing outside oneself': trance or ecstasy. That shows ancient Jewish translators read it as a visionary state. The Latin Vulgate has sopor, 'stupor, heavy sleep'. Philo of Alexandria (Who Is the Heir 249–266) builds a whole discussion of prophetic ecstasy on this verse's ekstasis. Job 4:12–16 is the closest biblical parallel: night visions, tardemah, then dread (pachad) and trembling, then a voice.