H5456 H5456
To bow down or prostrate oneself in worship; used exclusively of idol worship in Isaiah 44-46.
A verb meaning to prostrate oneself in worship or veneration, likely an Aramaic loanword that appears exclusively in Isaiah's satire against idol-making (chapters 44-46). The prophet repeatedly uses this word to expose the absurdity of bowing before an object one has just carved from wood -- the same tree used for firewood and cooking. In Isaiah 44:15,17,19, the craftsman fashions an idol and then 'bows down' to it, and in 46:6 people prostrate themselves before the golden idol they commissioned. The word's Aramaic coloring (compare Aramaic seged, Arabic sajada from which 'mosque/masjid' derives) may be deliberately chosen to mock foreign worship practices. The Spanish 'postrarse' and French 'se prosterner' emphasize the full bodily submission involved.
Senses
1. bow down, prostrate oneself in worship — To prostrate oneself in worship before an idol, used exclusively in Isaiah 44-46 as part of the prophet's polemic against idolatry. Isaiah deploys this word with biting irony: a man cuts down a tree, uses half for fuel, and before the other half 'bows down' (Isa 44:15,17,19). Isaiah 46:6 extends this to golden idols. The word is likely an Aramaic loanword (cf. Aramaic seged, Arabic sajada, from which 'masjid/mosque' derives), and its foreign flavor may be deliberate -- marking the practice as alien to true Israelite worship. Every occurrence is paired with other worship vocabulary (hishtachawah, hitpallel), intensifying the portrait of misguided devotion. 6×
AR["(يَسْجُدُ)", "[يسجد]", "أَسْجُدُ", "لَهُ", "وَيَرْكَعُ-", "يَسْجُدُونَ"]·ben["[নতজানু-হয়-]", "এবং-নতজানু-হয়-", "তার-কাছে", "তারা-পূজা-করে", "নতজানু-হব", "নতজানু-হয়-"]·DE["[(יסגד)]", "[[יסגוד]]", "[אסגוד]", "[ויסגד]", "[יסגדו]", "ihm"]·EN["and-prostrates", "he-bows-down", "ketiv", "shall-I-bow-down", "they-bow-down", "to-it"]·FR["et-se-prosterner", "se-prosterner", "à-lui"]·heb["אסגוד", "ו-יסגד-", "יסגד-", "יסגדו", "לו"]·HI["उसे", "और-झुकता-है-", "झुकता-है-", "झुकूंगा-मैं", "वे-झुकते-हैं"]·ID["aku-sujud", "dan-ia-sujud-", "ia-sujud-", "kepadanya", "mereka-sujud"]·IT["a-lui", "e-prostrarsi", "prostrarsi"]·jav["Piyambakipun-sujud", "Piyambakipun-sujud-", "[piyambakipun-sujud-]", "dhateng-piyambakipun", "kula-badhé-sujud", "lan-sujud-"]·KO["[절하라]", "그것에게", "그리고-절하였다-", "절하리오", "절하며"]·PT["(prostra-se)", "[prostra-se]", "a-ele", "e-adora-", "prostram-se", "prostrarei"]·RU["[простирается-пред]", "и-простирается-пред", "ним", "падают-ниц", "поклонюсь", "простирается-пред"]·ES["[se-inclina]", "ante-él", "me-postraré", "se-inclina", "se-postran", "y-se-inclina"]·SW["anaipigia-magoti", "kwake", "na-anaipigia-magoti", "nitapigia-magoti", "wanasujudu"]·TR["(secde-ediyor-)", "[secde-ediyor-]", "ona", "secde-ederler", "secde-edeyim-mi", "ve-secde-etti-"]·urd["[", "اور-جھکتا-ہے-", "اُس-کے-آگے", "جھکتا-ہے-", "میں-جھکوں", "وہ-جھکتے-ہیں"]
Related Senses
G0846 1. third-person pronoun reference (5552×)H???? 1. (4670×)H6213a 1. do, perform, act (2383×)G4160 1. do, act, perform (473×)H5221 1. Hifil: to strike in battle, smite enemies (362×)H0899b 1. garment, article of clothing (216×)H6213a 2. make, construct, fabricate (148×)H3772 1. cut a covenant / make a pact (97×)H5060 1. touch physically (Qal) (96×)H3615 1. complete a task (Piel) (85×)H3772 2. cut off / destroy (Hifil causative) (81×)H3920 1. capture, seize (Qal) (76×)H???? 12. (76×)H3772 3. be cut off / be eliminated (Niphal) (74×)H6213a 3. be done, be made (Niphal) (73×)G4160 2. make, construct, create (62×)H3847 1. Qal: put on, wear (60×)H8210 1. pour out (liquid/libation) (59×)G2440 1. garment or clothing (general) (54×)H4191 4. kill / put to death (Hifil causative) (50×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [סָגַד] vb. prostrate oneself in worship (only Is 44, 46) (perhaps Aramaic loan-word in Heb., cf. NöZMG xli (1887), 719; Aramaic סְגֵד, ܣܓܶܕ, so Old Aramaic סגד, ܣܓܕܐ (Sachau) Lzb328; Ethiopic ሰገደ all id.; Arabic سَجَدَ be lowly, submissive, prostrate oneself in prayer, etc., مَسْجِدٌ mosque, Nab. מסגדא shrine(?) Lzb152.328, Syriac ܡܰܣܓܕܳܐ = Arabic; cf. WeSkizzen iii. 165; Heid. 141);— Qal…