ἐπιλείπω G1952
to fail, run short, be lacking
A verb meaning to fail, give out, or fall short. Hebrews 11:32 uses it rhetorically: 'Time will fail (ἐπιλείψει) me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson...' The author signals he could continue listing heroes of faith but lacks sufficient time. Classical usage included resources failing or people falling short of expectations. Here it marks the limit of narrative space, not the exhaustion of exemplary figures.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The author of Hebrews employs a rhetorical device to indicate abundance of examples. The Spanish 'faltará' and German 'mangeln' both capture the running-short sense. The parade of faithful witnesses from Israel's history could go on indefinitely, but the author must be selective. Time itself becomes a finite resource inadequate to recount all who lived by faith, conquering kingdoms, stopping lions' mouths, and enduring persecution. 1×
AR["يَنْقُصُنِي"]·ben["আমার-শেষ-হবে"]·DE["mangeln"]·EN["will-fail"]·FR["mangeln"]·heb["לֹא-יַסְפִּיק-לִי"]·HI["कम-हो-जाएगा"]·ID["tidak-cukup"]·IT["epileipsei"]·jav["badhé-tèlas"]·KO["부족하리라"]·PT["faltará"]·RU["не-хватит"]·ES["faltará"]·SW["utanishinda"]·TR["yetmeyecek"]·urd["کم-پڑے-گا"]
Related Senses
H5414 1. give, bestow (1855×)H3947 1. take, seize, grasp (Qal) (940×)G2192 1. possess / have (680×)G1325 1. give, bestow (336×)H5159 1. inherited land or property (170×)G2983 1. receive, obtain (134×)H3423 1. Qal: take possession of land (130×)G2983 2. take, take up (113×)G2398 1. one's own, belonging to oneself (91×)G3860 1. hand over, deliver to custody (78×)H7998 1. spoil, plunder, booty (74×)G1325 2. be given, be granted (70×)H5414 2. put, place, set (68×)H7999a 1. pay, repay, recompense (63×)H7069 1. Buy, purchase (59×)H1892 1. vanity, futility, absurdity (58×)H5159 2. heritage as covenant portion (52×)H6299 1. redeem or ransom (Qal active) (49×)H4376 1. Sell (Qal active) (47×)H1350a 1. Redeem, buy back (46×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἐπιλείπω, leave behind, ἐπὶ δὲ πλεῖον ἐλέλειπτο Refs 8th c.BC+ codices:—middle, leave behind, of gleanings, variant in LXX:— passive, c.genitive, fall short of, παντὸς ἀριθμοῦ 5th-6th c.BC: Plato Philosophus “Epinomis” 978b: with dative, τῇ δυνάμει, τῇ οὐσίᾳRefs __2. leave untouched, ὡς οὔτ᾽ ἂν τῶν ἐμῶν ἐπιλίποιμι οὐδὲν οὔτε τῶν φίλων 5th-6th c.BC: Plato Philosophus “Protagoras” 310e:…