H5181 H5181
To go down, descend; press down or bend; sink in; bring down; be shattered — a poetic Aramaic-colored verb of downward motion and force
A poetic verb with strong Aramaic roots, used almost exclusively in elevated literary passages. It describes downward movement in vivid physical and metaphorical terms: arrows sinking into flesh (Ps 38:2), God's hand descending in chastisement, a reproof that penetrates the heart (Prov 17:10), and the wicked going down to Sheol in a moment (Job 21:13). The Piel intensifies this into bending or pressing down, as when God trains the warrior's hands so that a bow of bronze is bent low (2 Sam 22:35; Ps 18:34). Spanish 'se clavaron' for the Niphal and German translations struggling to render it show how this word resists easy equivalents across languages.
4. bring down, cause to descend — The Hiphil causative sense of bringing down or causing to descend from above. In Joel 3:11 (4:11 in Hebrew), the prophet calls on God to bring down His warriors — a petition for divine intervention descending from heaven to earth. This is the rarest attested form, with only one clear occurrence. 1×
AR["أَنْزِلْ"]·ben["নামিয়ে-দাও"]·DE["[הנחת]"]·EN["bring-down"]·FR["descendre"]·heb["הַנחַת"]·HI["उतार"]·ID["turunkanlah,"]·IT["[הנחת]"]·jav["keparengna-mandhap"]·KO["내려보내소서"]·PT["faze-descer"]·RU["низведи"]·ES["haz-descender"]·SW["teremsha"]·TR["indir"]·urd["اُتار"]
▼ 4 more senses below
Senses
1. descend, go down — The basic Qal sense of descending or going down, whether physically or figuratively. In Jer 21:13, it describes an attack descending upon a target; in Job 21:13, the wicked descend to Sheol swiftly. In Prov 17:10, a rebuke 'goes deeper' into a discerning person than a hundred blows into a fool — the multilingual glosses (Spanish 'penetra,' English 'goes-deeper') highlight this figurative penetration. The Aramaic cognate neheth confirms the basic directional meaning. 4×
AR["وَنَزَلَتْ","يَنْحَدِرُونَ","يَنْزِلُ","يَنْفُذُ"]·ben["ও-নেমে-আসে","তারা-নামে","নামবে","প্রবেশ-করে"]·DE["[יחת]","[יחתו]","und-hat-kommen-hinab","unter"]·EN["and-has-come-down","goes-deeper","they-go-down","will-come-down"]·FR["[יחת]","et-descendre","יחתו","תחת"]·heb["ו-תנחת","יחת","יחתו","תחת"]·HI["उतरती-है","उतरेगा","और-दबाता-है","वे-उतरते-हैं"]·ID["Lebih-berkesan","mereka-turun","yang-akan-turun"]·IT["[יחת]","e-scese","essi-andare-giù","goes-deeper"]·jav["badhe-mudhun","lan-tumurun","langkung-ngena","piyambakipun-tumurun"]·KO["그리고-내리누르셨도다","내려가나니","내려오리요","스미느니라"]·PT["Penetra","descem","descerá","e-desceu"]·RU["глубже-входит","и-опустилась","сойдёт","сходят"]·ES["Penetra","descenderá","descienden.","y-descendió"]·SW["atashuka","inapenya","na-umeshuka","wanashuka"]·TR["inecek","inerler","işler","ve-indi"]·urd["اترے-گا","اثر-کرتی-ہے","اور-اُترا-ہے","اُترتے ہیں"]
2. press down, bend low — The Piel intensive form meaning to press down, bend low, or cause to settle under weight or force. In 2 Sam 22:35 and Ps 18:34, God trains the warrior's arms so they can bend a bow of bronze — an image of supernatural strength pressing unyielding metal downward. In Ps 65:10, God settles the earth's furrows with rain. Spanish 'asentando' (settling) and 'y-baja' (and lowers) capture these complementary nuances of pressing and settling. 3×
AR["اِحْدُرْ","فَتَحْنِي","وَتَحْنِي"]·ben["এবং-নত-করে","এবং-নত-হয়","নামিয়ে-দিয়েছ"]·DE["settling","so-der-kann-bend","und-bends"]·EN["and-bends","settling","so-that-can-bend"]·FR["descendre","et-bends","et-descendre"]·heb["ו-ניחת","ו-ניחתה","נחת"]·HI["और-झुकाएगा","और-झुकाया-है","तू-बैठाता-है"]·ID["Engkau-ratakan","dan-membengkokkan","dan-menekan-turun"]·IT["e-bends","e-scese","scese"]·jav["lan-ndhungklukaken","leresaken","saha-dipun-tekuk"]·KO["그리고-굽히다","그리고-굽히도다","내리소서"]·PT["aplainando","e-desceu","e-foi-curvado"]·RU["и-пригибают","и-сгибают","углубляешь"]·ES["asentando","y-baja","y-es-doblado"]·SW["na-unaweza-kupinda","na-upinde","usawazishe"]·TR["düzle","ve-indiren","ve-indirildi"]·urd["اور-جھکا-دیتی-ہے","اور-جھکایا","نیچا-کر"]
3. sink in, be driven in — The Niphal passive sense of sinking in or being driven into something, as projectiles fixed into a target. In Ps 38:2, God's arrows 'have sunk into' the psalmist — a harrowing image of divine discipline experienced bodily. Spanish 'se clavaron' (were nailed in) vividly conveys the force of this passive penetration, while English 'have-sunk' preserves the downward trajectory. 1×
AR["نَزَلَتْ"]·ben["বিদ্ধ-হয়েছে"]·DE["haben-sunk"]·EN["have-sunk"]·FR["descendre"]·heb["נחתו"]·HI["धँसे-हैं"]·IT["scese"]·jav["sampun-tumurun"]·KO["꽂혔도다"]·PT["penetraram"]·RU["вонзились"]·ES["se-clavaron"]·SW["imechomwa"]·TR["saplandı"]·urd["اُترے-ہیں"]
5. be shattered, be broken — A distinct Niphal sense meaning to be shattered or broken, found in Hannah's song (1 Sam 2:10) where the adversaries of the LORD 'will be shattered.' Spanish 'serán-quebrantados' (will be crushed) aligns with this destructive sense. Some scholars connect this to a separate root (hathath, to shatter), but the textual tradition and ancient versions associate it with the downward-force semantic field of naheth. 1×
AR["يَنْسَحِقُونَ"]·ben["ভীত-হবে"]·DE["wird-sein-shattered"]·EN["will-be-shattered"]·FR["fera-être-shattered"]·heb["ייחתו"]·HI["टूटेंगे"]·ID["akan-dipecahkan"]·IT["vorrà-essere-shattered"]·jav["badhe-remuk"]·KO["부서지다"]·PT["serão-despedaçados"]·RU["сокрушатся"]·ES["serán-quebrantados"]·SW["wataogopa"]·TR["kırılacak"]·urd["ٹوٹ-جائیں-گے"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [נָחֵת] vb. (Aramaic and poet.) go down, descend (Aramaic נְחֵת, ܢܚܶܬ; Palm. נחת Lzb 323);— Qal Impf. 3 ms. יֵחַת Je 21:13; 3 fs. תֵּ֫חַת Pr 17:10, וַתִּנְחַת ψ 38:3; 3 mpl. יֵחַ֑תּוּ Jb 21:13 (forms יֵחַת, יֵחַתּוּ v. also חתת);— 1. go down, descend, to attack Je 21:13; into She’ôl Jb 21:13. 2. fig. descend in chastisement ψ 38:3 (hand of י׳; ‖Niph. v. infr.); sq. בְּ descend into i. e. make…