Lexicon
ἐμπίπτω
empiptō
G1706
G:V Greek

to fall into

7
Occurrences
4
Books
Greek
Language

Empipto describes entering an adverse circumstance, whether a danger, a trap, a pit, or the hands of God.

The attested use most often concerns entering a harmful or fearful situation: judgment, reproach and a trap, temptation and destructive desires, or the hands of the living God. It also describes a concrete descent or encounter with danger, including among robbers and into a pit.

Senses in use

  1. Entering a harmful or fearful circumstance · dominant

    In 1 Timothy 3:6 and 1 Timothy 3:7, the aorist subjunctive occurs in warnings that a prospective overseer might enter judgment or reproach and the devil's trap. In 1 Timothy 6:9 the present indicative describes those desiring wealth entering temptation, a snare, and harmful desires; Hebrews 10:31 names entering the hands of the living God as fearful.

  2. Coming into physical danger or a pit · common

    Luke 10:36 uses an aorist participle for the person who came among robbers. In Luke 6:39 the future form concerns two blind people ending up in a pit, while Matthew 12:11 uses the aorist subjunctive of a sheep entering a pit on the Sabbath.

In the Anselm Project Bible: Across the supplied verses, the APB repeatedly uses "fall into" for danger, traps, and pits, and "fell among" for the encounter with robbers in Luke 10:36. These renderings indicate the clauses' presentation rather than fixed English equivalents.

Passages featuring this word

Across Scripture