H6749 H6749
to sink, be submerged (in water)
This verb means to sink or be submerged, especially in water. Exodus 15:10 uses it in the Song of the Sea, describing how Pharaoh's army 'sank like lead in the mighty waters' when God blew His breath over them. The simile emphasizes speed and finality—lead drops straight down without floating. Cognates in other Semitic languages include ideas of sinking to rest or launching (Assyrian), and both sinking and floating (Ethiopic), showing semantic range around water motion.
Senses
1. sense 1 — To sink down or be submerged in water, used of Pharaoh's army in Exodus 15:10: 'they sank like lead in the mighty waters.' The verb captures the swift, irreversible downward plunge of the Egyptian forces when the sea returned. The lead simile stresses weight and speed—no struggling or floating, just immediate submersion and death. This became one of Israel's central images of divine deliverance. 1×
AR["غَرِقُوا"]·ben["তারা-ডুবে-গেল"]·DE["sie-sank"]·EN["they-sank"]·FR["ils-sank"]·heb["צללו"]·HI["डूब-गए"]·ID["Mereka-tenggelam"]·IT["essi-sank"]·jav["tiyang-klelep"]·KO["그들이-가라앉았다"]·PT["afundaram"]·RU["погрузились"]·ES["se-hundieron"]·SW["walizama"]·TR["battılar"]·urd["ڈوبے"]
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
† II. [צָלַל] vb. sink, be submerged (NH id.; Assyrian ṣalâlu, sink down, sink to rest, ii. launch (HptProl. Assyr. Gr. liii; BAS i. 127; Ball, Gen. 53); Ethiopic ጸለለ float, cf. NesMar. x: Aramaic צְלַל, ܨܰܠ, are filter, clarify);— Qal Pf. 3 pl. צָֽלְלוּ כַּעוֹפֶרֶת בְּמַיִם Ex 15:10.