H1811 H1811
to drip, drop, leak—of weeping eyes or leaking roofs
This verb describes the action of dripping or dropping, whether of tears or water. Job 16:20 laments 'my eye drips/weeps to God' (dalefah eini el-Eloah). Psalm 119:28 uses it figuratively: 'my soul weeps (itself away) from sorrow' (dalefah nafshi mittugah). Ecclesiastes 10:18 uses it of a deteriorating house: 'the house leaks' (yidlof ha-bayit) through neglected repairs. The verb captures the image of liquid slowly dripping or oozing—tears falling, life ebbing away, water seeping through cracks. It appears only in Wisdom literature.
Senses
1. sense 1 — To drip, drop, or leak, appearing three times in Wisdom literature. Job 16:20 and Psalm 119:28 both use the perfect 'dalefah' with weeping: 'my eye drips to God' and 'my soul weeps from sorrow'—tears flowing or life draining away. Ecclesiastes 10:18 uses the imperfect 'yidlof': 'the house leaks' due to lazy hands not maintaining the roof. Cross-linguistic glosses: English 'weeps/leaks,' Spanish 'gotea/goteará' (drips/will drip), French 'suinter/דלפה/ידלף' (to ooze/untransliterated forms), German uses brackets. The semantic range spans emotional weeping (tears dripping) and physical leaking (water dripping through neglected roofs). This is poetic vocabulary for gradual, drop-by-drop loss. 3×
AR["تَقْطُرُ", "ذَابَتْ", "يِدْلُوف"]·ben["অশ্রু-ঝরে", "গলে-পড়েছে", "চুঁয়ে-পড়ে"]·DE["[דלפה]", "[ידלף]", "weint"]·EN["leaks", "weeps"]·FR["suinter", "דלפה", "ידלף"]·heb["דלפה", "ידלוף"]·HI["टपकता-है", "टपकती-है"]·ID["bocor", "menetes", "meneteskan-air-mata"]·IT["[דלפה]", "leaks", "weeps"]·jav["Mbrebes", "netes"]·KO["녹았나이다", "떨어뜨리나니", "샌다"]·PT["Chora", "goteja"]·RU["Тает", "каплет", "протекает"]·ES["Gotea", "gotea", "goteará"]·SW["hudondoka", "imedondoka", "linatoka-machozi"]·TR["damladı", "erir", "sizdirir"]·urd["ٹپکتی-ہے", "ٹپکے-گا", "پگھل-گئی"]
Related Senses
H4325 1. water, waters (582×)H6965b 1. Qal: to rise, arise, get up (432×)H2091 1. gold (the metal) (389×)H0068 1. stone, rock (material/object) (267×)H5178a 1. bronze/copper as metal (131×)H6083 1. dust, dry earth, soil (108×)H8313 1. burn, set fire to (94×)H2734 1. anger was kindled (82×)G5204 1. water (80×)H2822 1. darkness, absence of light (80×)G5457 1. light (illumination) (71×)G0450 1. rise, stand up (physical) (69×)H6965b 2. Qal: to stand firm, endure, be valid (50×)H6999a 2. burn sacrifice on altar (Hifil) (45×)H5553 1. rock, cliff (physical feature) (43×)H6965b 4. Hifil: to establish, confirm (covenant/kingdom/word) (40×)H1197a 1. burn, be on fire (39×)H4306 1. rain, showers (38×)H1653 1. rain, precipitation (34×)G4655 1. darkness (30×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [דָּלַף] vb. drop, drip (WisdLt.) (NH id. (זלף more common), דֶּלֶף trough, etc., Aramaic דְּלַף, ܕܠܰܦ, drip)— Qal Pf. 3 fs. אֶל־אֱלוֹהַּ דָּֽלְפָה עֵינִי Jb 16:20 i.e. weeps (drops in tears); דָּֽלְפָה נַפְשִׁי מִתּוּגָה ψ 119:28 i.e. weeps (Itself away Che cf. De); Impf. בְּשִׁפְלוּת יָדַיִם יִדְלֹף הַבָּֽיִת׃ Ec 10:18 the house drips, i.e. leaks, because cracks are not mended.