H1809 H1809
To hang down, be low; hence to languish, be brought low, diminish in strength or resources.
From a root meaning 'to hang' or 'dangle,' dalal describes downward movement in both physical and metaphorical registers. Miners hang suspended in shafts (Job 28:4), and the legs of the lame dangle uselessly (Prov 26:7). More often it portrays human abasement -- Israel brought low before Midian (Judg 6:6), the psalmist crying 'I was brought low and he saved me' (Ps 116:6). The word also captures the fading of national strength: rivers drying up (Isa 19:6), the glory of Jacob growing thin (Isa 17:4), and Hezekiah's eyes failing in illness (Isa 38:14). Arabic cognates confirm the semantic span: tadalla ('to hang down') and da'ufa ('to be weak').
Senses
1. be brought low, be humbled — To be brought low, humbled, reduced to a state of weakness or abasement -- typically of persons in distress before God. Spanish 'estaba abatido' and 'estamos muy debilitados' capture the depth of this lowering. Psalm 116:6 is paradigmatic: 'I was brought low, and he saved me.' Judges 6:6 describes Israel's collective abasement under Midianite oppression, while Psalms 79:8 and 142:6 voice communal and individual desperation. 4×
AR["تَذَلَّلتُ", "ذَلَلْتُ", "ضَعُفْنَا", "وَ-ذَلَّ"]·ben["আমরা-দুর্বল-হয়েছি", "আমি-নত-হয়েছিলাম", "এবং-দুর্বল-হয়ে-পড়ল", "দরিদ্র-হয়েছি"]·DE["ich-Krieg-gebracht-niedrig", "ich-bin-erniedrigt", "und-war-impoverished", "wir-haben-gewesen-gebracht-sehr-niedrig"]·EN["I-am-brought-low", "I-was-brought-low", "and-was-impoverished", "we-have-been-brought-very-low"]·FR["et-était-impoverished", "languir"]·heb["דלונו", "דלותי", "ו-דל"]·HI["और-दीन-हुआ", "दीन-हो-गया-था-मैं", "दीन-हो-गया-हूँ-मैं", "हम-कमजोर-हैं"]·ID["Dan-sangat-miskin-lah", "aku-lemah", "aku-sangat-lemah", "kami-sangat-lemah"]·IT["abbasso'", "e-fu-impoverished"]·jav["Lan-mlarat", "kawula-sedaya-sampun-ngandhap-sanget", "kula-andhap-sanget", "kula-kaapesakaken"]·KO["그리고-가난해졌다", "낮아졌나이다-우리-가", "낮아졌을-때에-나-는", "내-가-매우-낮아졌나이다"]·PT["E-empobreceu", "estamos-muito-abatidos", "estava-abatido", "estou-muito-abatido"]·RU["И-обеднел", "изнемог-я", "обнищали-мы", "очень-изнемог-я"]·ES["Y-se-empobreció", "estaba-abatido", "estamos-muy-debilitados", "estoy-muy-abatido"]·SW["na-wakadhoofu", "nilidhoofika", "nimenyenyekea", "tumedhoofika"]·TR["düştüm", "ve-zayıfladı", "zayıfladık", "zayıfladım"]·urd["اور-غریب-ہو-گیا", "میں-پست-ہوا-ہوں", "میں-گرا-تھا", "کمزور-ہو-گئے-ہم"]
2. diminish, become poor, languish — To diminish, decline, become thin or impoverished -- said of nations, waters, or physical vitality fading away. Isaiah 19:6 uses it of Egypt's rivers drying up (Spanish 'disminuirán'), Isaiah 17:4 of Jacob's glory growing lean, and Isaiah 38:14 of Hezekiah's failing eyes. The progression from physical diminishment to national decline shows how Hebrew maps concrete imagery onto geopolitical reality. 3×
AR["تَنْخَفِضُ", "ذَبُلَتْ", "يَضْعُفُ"]·ben["তুচ্ছ-হবে", "দুর্বল-হয়েছে", "নীচে-নামল"]·DE["[דלו]", "[דללו]", "[ידל]"]·EN["my-eyes", "will-become-poor", "will-diminish"]·FR["[דלו]", "[דללו]", "[ידל]"]·heb["דלו", "דללו", "יידל"]·HI["कमज़ोर-हुईं", "घट-जाएंगी", "घट-जाएगी"]·ID["akan-menjadi-kurus", "lemah", "menyusut"]·IT["[דלו]", "[דללו]", "[ידל]"]·jav["dados-tipis", "kados", "suda"]·KO["가난해지리니", "쇠약해졌다", "줄어들고"]·PT["enfraqueceram", "minguaram", "será-diminuída"]·RU["обмелеют", "оскудеет", "ослабели"]·ES["Desfallecieron", "disminuirán", "será-empobrecida"]·SW["itapungua", "utapungua", "zimedhoofika"]·TR["azaldi", "kuculecek", "zayifladi"]·urd["تھک-گئیں", "گھٹ-جائیں-گے", "گھٹے-گا"]
3. hang down, dangle — To hang down, dangle, droop -- the most physical and likely original sense of the root. Job 28:4 pictures miners suspended on ropes, swaying far from human paths, while Proverbs 26:7 compares the legs of the lame that 'hang limp' (dalyu) to a proverb in the mouth of fools. Arabic tadaldala ('to dangle, swing') and Spanish 'cuelgan' ('they hang') confirm this concrete spatial meaning. 2×
AR["تَتَدَلَّيانِ", "تَدَلّوا"]·ben["ঝুলে-পড়ে", "তারা-নেমে-যায়"]·DE["[דלו]", "[דליו]"]·EN["hang-limp", "they-hang-down"]·FR["דלו", "דליו"]·heb["דלו", "דליו"]·HI["लटकती", "वे-लटकते-हैं"]·ID["Menggantung", "tergantung"]·IT["hang-limp", "they-hang-down"]·jav["gumantung", "nggantung"]·KO["내려졌다", "늦어지는니라"]·PT["Pendem", "penduram,"]·RU["висят", "повисают"]·ES["Cuelgan", "cuelgan"]·SW["huning'inia", "wananing'inia"]·TR["sallandılar", "sarkıyor"]·urd["لٹکتی-ہیں", "لٹکتے ہیں"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)G2962 1. Lord (divine title) (661×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)H0136 1. Lord (divine title) (440×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H0113 1. lord, human superior (249×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [דָּלַל] vb. hang, be low, languish (NH Hiph. thin, thin out vines, etc.; Assyrian dalâlu, be weak, humble ZimBP 74.97; Arabic دَلَّ idirect, guide, دُلَّ be directed, guided; دَلْدَلَ put in motion, commotion; تَدَلْدَلَ be in motion, hang, dangle; also دَلٌّ amorous, coquettish, gesture or behaviour of women)— Qal Pf. דַּלֹּתִי ψ 116:6, דַּלּוֹתִי 142:7; 1 pl. דַּלּוֹנוּ ψ 79:8, דָּֽלֲלוּ, Is…