H0086 H0086
bow down! (proclamation before Joseph)
A loan word from Egyptian, shouted before Joseph's chariot as he paraded through Egypt as Pharaoh's newly appointed vizier (Genesis 41:43). Scholars debate its exact meaning—proposals range from 'prostrate thyself!' to 'head of the wise' to 'we are at thy service.' What's clear is its function: a ceremonial cry commanding public honor for the second-most powerful man in Egypt. The Spanish preserves the transliteration (¡Abrek!) while other languages interpret it as a command to bow or show reverence, capturing the essential act of submission it demanded.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Exclusively attested in Genesis 41:43 at the climax of Joseph's elevation. Whatever its precise Egyptian etymology, the narrative context makes its function unmistakable: a ritualized shout that cleared the way and compelled gestures of respect. The multilingual evidence splits between transliteration (Spanish) and interpretation (bow-the-knee, arc-le-genou), both valid approaches to a foreign ceremonial term whose exact force may have already been obscure to the Hebrew audience. 1×
AR["ارْكَعُوا"]·ben["নতজানু-হও"]·DE["Abrech"]·EN["bow-the-knee"]·FR["arc-le-genou"]·heb["אברך"]·HI["अब्रेक"]·ID["Berlutut"]·IT["arco-il-knee"]·jav["Abrek"]·KO["무릎을꿇으라"]·PT["e-pôr"]·RU["преклоняйтесь"]·ES["¡Abrek!"]·SW["pigeni-magoti"]·TR["Avrek"]·urd["جھکو"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† אַבְרֵךְ proclaimed before Joseph Gn 41:43 (mng. dub.; many Egypt. deriv. proposed; e.g. a-bor-k, Copt. = prostrate thyself! BenfeyVerh. d. äg. Spr. z. Sem. 302 f; āprek, = head bowed! ChabasRA I—but ā = ע, v. also WiedemannAltäg. Wörter 1883, 8; aprex-u, head of the wise, HarkavyBerl. äg. Zeftschr. 1869; ȧb-rek, rejoice thou! CookSpeaker’s Comm. Gn. ad loc. and p. 482; Lepage RenoufPSBA Nov.…