What does ἐμπίπτω (empíptō) mean in the Bible?
The Greek verb empipto describes falling into something or becoming caught within a situation. The object may be a pit, the hands of judgment, temptation and a snare, disgrace, or a group of robbers.
Greek · G1706
ἐμπίπτω
To fall into
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ἐμπίπτωG1706
Pronunciationempíptō
What does ἐμπίπτω (empíptō) mean in the Bible?
The Greek verb empipto describes falling into something or becoming caught within a situation. The object may be a pit, the hands of judgment, temptation and a snare, disgrace, or a group of robbers.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἐμπίπτω (G1706) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1706?
The BSB source-word alignment has 7 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include fall (2), [and] fall (1), falls (1), he will not fall (1), to fall (1).
Where does ἐμπίπτω (empíptō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 12:11. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Timothy (3), Luke (2), Hebrews (1), Matthew (1).
What This Word Actually Means
The Greek verb empipto describes falling into something or becoming caught within a situation. The object may be a pit, the hands of judgment, temptation and a snare, disgrace, or a group of robbers. The verb highlights entry into a dangerous condition, but it does not explain every cause or assign the same degree of responsibility in each case. A blind guide and follower may fall together; a careless desire may lead someone into temptation; a traveler may fall among attackers through another person's violence.
Hebrews uses the expression of falling into the hands of the living God to stress the terror of final judgment. Pastoral use must therefore distinguish accident, deception, sinful desire, victimization, public disgrace, and divine judgment before offering warning or care.
How the Bible Uses It
Empipto marks movement into danger, entrapment, disgrace, or judgment. Its few New Testament uses require careful attention to the object entered and to the agency named by each context.
- Luke.10.36
Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
Jesus describes the injured traveler as the one who fell among robbers, keeping responsibility with the attackers while asking who acted as neighbor.
- 1Tim.6.9
Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.
Those determined to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, linking entrapment with governing desire rather than with wealth as a substance.
- Heb.10.31
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Falling into the hands of the living God is called fearful within a warning against deliberate apostasy and contempt for Christ's sacrifice.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itfall2×Luke 6:39, 1 Timothy 6:9
[and] fall1×1 Timothy 3:6
falls1×Matthew 12:11
he will not fall1×1 Timothy 3:7
to fall1×Hebrews 10:31
who fell into the hands1×Luke 10:36
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 12:11ἐμπέσῃtofallsVerb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person SingularLuke 6:39ἐμπεσοῦνταιtofallVerb - Future Indicative Middle - 3rd Person PluralLuke 10:36ἐμπεσόντοςtowho fell into the handsVerb - Aorist Participle Active - Genitive Masculine Singular1 Timothy 3:6ἐμπέσῃto[and] fallVerb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular1 Timothy 3:7ἐμπέσῃtohe will not fallVerb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular1 Timothy 6:9ἐμπίπτουσινtofallVerb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person PluralHebrews 10:31ἐμπεσεῖνtoto fallVerb - Aorist Infinitive Active
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 12:11
Aligned rows7
Books represented4
Matthew1Luke21 Timothy3Hebrews1
Source forms
ἐμπέσῃ3xempesēMatthew 12:11, 1 Timothy 3:6, 1 Timothy 3:7
ἐμπεσεῖν1xempeseinHebrews 10:31
ἐμπεσόντος1xempesontosLuke 10:36
ἐμπεσοῦνται1xempesountaiLuke 6:39
ἐμπίπτουσιν1xempiptousin1 Timothy 6:9
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular3xMatthew 12:11, 1 Timothy 3:6, 1 Timothy 3:7
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active1xHebrews 10:31
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Genitive Masculine Singular1xLuke 10:36
Verb - Future Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural1xLuke 6:39
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural1x1 Timothy 6:9
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Respond to assault and exploitation with safety, medical care, truthful reporting, material help, and justice rather than moral speculation about the victim.
- Address greed through repentance, contentment, generosity, and accountable habits while recognizing that poverty itself is not evidence of sinful desire.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that every person who falls into hardship chose the danger, ignored wisdom, lacked faith, or is under a specific divine judgment.
- Do not claim that the fearfulness of God's judgment authorizes threats, coercive control, or certainty about a particular person's final state.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. to fall into
Strong'sG1706
Lexical occurrences7 versesGreek text appearances7 timesWord forms4 forms7 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Source Gloss
to fall into
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
7 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 12:11Verb Third Person Singular Second Aorist Active Subjunctive
ἐμπέσῃempesh
I fall in, am cast in
Read verseLuke 10:36Verb Second Aorist Active Participle Genitive Singular Masculine
ἐμπεσόντοςempesontov
I fall in, am cast in
Read verseLuke 14:5Verb Third Person Singular Future Middle Deponent Indicative
ἐμπεσεῖται,empeseitai
I fall in, am cast in
Read verse1 Timothy 3:6Verb Third Person Singular Second Aorist Active Subjunctive
ἐμπέσῃempesh
I fall in, am cast in
Read verse1 Timothy 3:7Verb Third Person Singular Second Aorist Active Subjunctive
ἐμπέσῃempesh
I fall in, am cast in
Read verse1 Timothy 6:9Verb Third Person Plural Present Active Indicative
ἐμπίπτουσινempiptousin
I fall in, am cast in
Read verseHebrews 10:31Verb Second Aorist Active Infinitive
ἐμπεσεῖνempesein
I fall in, am cast in
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups4Aligned forms7TensesAorist, Future, PresentVoicesActive, Middle
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Subjunctivepossibility, probability, or purpose3×
Aorist ActiveMatt 12:11 · 1 Tim 3:6 · 1 Tim 3:73×
Indicativestates a fact or reality2×
Future MiddleLuke 6:391×
Present Active1 Tim 6:91×
Participleverbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality1×
Aorist ActiveLuke 10:361×
Infinitiveverbal noun — the action in abstract1×
Aorist ActiveHeb 10:311×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 7 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist5present1future1
Voice
active6middle1
Mood
subjunctive3indicative2infinitive1participle1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 12:11ἐμπέσῃaorist active subjunctivesubjunctiveLuke 6:39ἐμπεσοῦνταιfuture middle indicativeprospectiveLuke 10:36ἐμπεσόντοςaorist active participleparticiple1 Timothy 3:6ἐμπέσῃaorist active subjunctivesubjunctive1 Timothy 3:7ἐμπέσῃaorist active subjunctivesubjunctive1 Timothy 6:9ἐμπίπτουσινpresent active indicativeongoingHebrews 10:31ἐμπεσεῖνaorist active infinitiveinfinitive
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Word Origins
ἐμπίπτω is built from these roots:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Empipto brings together danger and discernment without collapsing responsibility. In the Good Samaritan account, the wounded man fell among robbers because they attacked, stripped, and abandoned him; Jesus directs attention toward neighboring mercy, not speculation about the victim's mistakes. In 1 Timothy 6, people bent on becoming rich fall into temptation and a snare because disordered desire leads them toward ruin.
Hebrews 10 addresses something weightier still: deliberate rejection of the Son leaves a person facing the living God's judgment. These passages require different pastoral responses. Victims need protection, care, and justice. People entangled by greed need truthful warning, repentance, and a community shaped by contentment and generosity. Those hearing apostasy warnings need the gravity and sufficiency of Christ presented without manipulative threats.
The church must never use one kind of fall to explain another carelessly. Context identifies agency, danger, and the faithful next response.
Anchor passage
1Tim.6.9
Doctrinal connections
- Sinful desire can entangle human beings, showing why warnings address the heart's governing aims as well as outward possessions.
- Neighbor love moves toward people harmed by violence and refuses to relocate the attacker's guilt onto the wounded person.
- God's final judgment is real and fearful because He is living, holy, and just rather than an impersonal religious idea.
- Christ's once-for-all sacrifice is the only ground of confident access to God and must not be treated with deliberate contempt.
- Contentment and generosity counter the ruinous determination to become rich by redirecting hope toward the faithful God.
- Pastoral care applies distinct remedies to victimization, temptation, disgrace, and apostasy instead of using one formula for every crisis.
Empipto combines the idea of falling with entry into a place or condition. The complement supplies the danger, while discourse context establishes causation and responsibility; the verb alone does not mean sin, accident, victimization, or judgment.
From Old to New Testament
Biblical pit, snare, enemy, and hand imagery already portrays danger, entrapment, and judgment in Israel's Scriptures. The New Testament applies that world to mercy for assaulted neighbors, warnings about governing desires, and final accountability before God through the revelation of Christ.