προσπίπτω G4363
To fall down before, prostrate oneself in supplication or worship; to fall upon or strike against
The verb prospipto literally means 'to fall toward' and in the New Testament overwhelmingly describes the act of falling down before someone in reverence, desperate supplication, or worship. Unclean spirits fall before Jesus crying out his identity (Mark 3:11), the hemorrhaging woman falls before him in fear and trembling (Mark 5:33), and a Syrophoenician mother prostrates herself at his feet begging for her daughter's deliverance (Mark 7:25). A single contrasting occurrence in Matt 7:25 preserves the older, impersonal meaning of physical impact — the rains and floods 'fell upon' the house.
1. fall before in reverence — To fall down before someone as an act of supplication, reverence, or worship — the predominant New Testament sense. People prostrate themselves before Jesus out of desperation, awe, or recognition of divine authority. Mark 5:33 shows the healed woman falling down in fear and telling the whole truth; Mark 7:25 has a mother at Jesus' feet pleading for her demon-possessed daughter; Luke 5:8 records Peter falling at Jesus' knees saying 'depart from me, for I am a sinful man.' Spanish 'cayó ante' and German 'niederfallen' capture the directed, reverential nature of the fall — toward a person, not merely to the ground. The act bridges worship and petition, making prospipto a key gesture word in the Gospel narrative. 7×
AR["خَرَّتْ","ساقِطَةً-أَمامَهُ","سَجَدَ-لَهُ","سَقَطَ","سَقَطَتْ"]·ben["পড়ছিল","পড়ল","পড়লেন","পড়ে"]·DE["niederfallen","προσέπεσεν","προσπεσοῦσα"]·EN["fell","fell-before","fell-down-at","having-fallen-before","were-falling-before"]·FR["tomber-devant"]·heb["נָפְלָה","נָפְלוּ","נָפַל"]·HI["उसके-सामने","गिर-पड़ा","गिर-पड़ी","गिरा","लेने-दे"]·ID["tersungkur"]·IT["cadere-davanti","prostrarsi"]·jav["dhawah","sujud","sumungkem"]·KO["엎드려","엎드렸다"]·PT["caiu-diante","prostrando-se-diante","prostravam-se-diante-de","prostrou-se","prostrou-se-diante","prostrou-se-diante-de"]·RU["падали-перед","пал","пала","припав","припал","упал-перед","упала-пред"]·ES["cayendo-ante","cayó","cayó-ante","cayó-ante-","caían-ante"]·SW["akaanguka","akianguka-mbele-yake","alianguka-mbele-ya","alianguka-mbele-yake","walianguka-mbele-yake"]·TR["düştü","kapanarak","kapandı","kapanıyorlardı"]·urd["گر-پڑی","گر-کر","گرا","گرتیں","گری","گِرا"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. fall upon, strike against — To fall upon or strike against something with impersonal physical force, used of natural elements hitting a structure. The sole instance at Matt 7:25 describes the rain, floods, and winds that 'fell upon' the house built on the rock. English 'fell upon' and Spanish 'cayeron contra' shift from reverential prostration to violent impact, and the subject is no longer a person approaching someone in need but inanimate forces assaulting a building. This preserves the classical Greek sense of prospipto as physical collision, attested from the fifth century BC onward. 1×
AR["صَدَمَتْ"]·ben["আঘাত-করেছিল"]·DE["προσέπεσαν"]·EN["fell-upon"]·FR["tomber-devant"]·heb["פָּגְעוּ"]·HI["टकराईं"]·ID["menghantam"]·IT["prostrarsi"]·jav["nabrak"]·KO["덮쳤다"]·PT["bateram-contra"]·RU["обрушились"]·ES["cayeron‒contra"]·SW["zika-ipiga"]·TR["vurdular"]·urd["ٹکرائیں"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
προσπίπτω, Doric dialect ποτιπίπτω Refs 4th c.BC+: future -πεσοῦμαιRefs 5th c.BC+, see at {προσπτήσσω}:—fall upon, strike against, ἔς τι variant in Refs 5th c.BC+; τινι Refs 5th c.BC+; fall against, as a mound against a wall, Refs 5th c.BC+; but πρὸς τὸ οὖς προσπίπτων is uncertain reading in Refs 4th c.BC+ __2 fall upon, attack, assault, πόλεσιν, ὁπλίταις, Refs 5th c.BC+ __3 simply, run to, Refs…