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Greek · G4098, G4383 · unreviewed

ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον

To fall (literally or figuratively) · face

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Words in this compound — expand to study each participant

πίπτω G4098 to fall (literally or figuratively)
Pronunciation píptō
Fall carries both physical descent and moral/spiritual ruin; often paired with repentance or judgment themes.
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πρόσωπον G4383 face
Pronunciation prósōpon
Face or presence; idiomatically means personal appearance, condition, or showing favoritism based on external circumstances.
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What does ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον (epesen epi prosōpon) mean in the Bible?

πίπτω · πρόσωπον is a Greek word meaning "fell on his face".

Full entry for ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον (G4098, G4383) · Browse the biblical lexicon

Meaning

fell on his face
Grammatical Forms

How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.

Tenses
Aorist Present Future Imperfect Perfect
Voices
Active Middle
Indicative states a fact or reality 58×
Aorist Active Matt 7:25 · Matt 7:27 · Matt 13:4 · Matt 13:5 · Matt 13:7 · Matt 13:8 · Matt 26:39 · Mark 4:4 · Mark 4:5 · Mark 4:7 · Mark 4:8 · Luke 8:5 · Luke 8:7 · Luke 8:8 · Luke 13:4 · Luke 17:16 45×
Future Middle Matt 15:14 · Matt 24:29 · Luke 21:24 · Rev 4:10 · Matt 10:29 · Luke 14:5 6×
Present Active Matt 17:15 · Mark 5:22 · Luke 11:17 · Rom 14:4 · 1 Cor 13:8 5×
Imperfect Active Mark 14:35 1×
Perfect Active Rev 2:5 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 22×
Aorist Active Matt 4:9 · Matt 18:26 · Matt 18:29 · Matt 21:44 · Mark 9:20 · Luke 5:12 · Luke 8:41 · Luke 20:18 · John 12:24 · Acts 5:5 · Acts 9:4 · Acts 10:25 · 1 Cor 14:25 · Matt 2:11 · Luke 8:14 · Luke 10:18 17×
Present Active Matt 15:27 · Luke 16:21 · Mark 13:25 3×
Perfect Active Acts 15:16 · Rev 9:1 2×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 7×
Aorist Active Matt 21:44 · Luke 20:18 · 1 Cor 10:12 · Heb 4:11 · Rev 7:16 · Rom 11:11 · Jas 5:12 7×
Imperative command or strong request 2×
Aorist Active Luke 23:30 · Rev 6:16 2×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 1×
Aorist Active Luke 16:17 1×
90 total occurrences across all forms in the biblical text Morphology: MorphGNT SBLGNT — CC BY-SA 3.0
Discourse Aspect

How this verb appears across 89 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).

Aspect
completed 46 ongoing 4 prospective 6 resultant 1 imperative 2 background 1 subjunctive 7 infinitive 1 participle 21
Tense
aorist 73 present 6 future 6 perfect 3 imperfect 1
Voice
active 83 middle 6
Mood
indicative 58 participle 21 subjunctive 7 imperative 2 infinitive 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 2:11 πεσόντες aorist active participle participle Matthew 4:9 πεσὼν aorist active participle participle Matthew 7:25 ἔπεσεν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 7:27 ἔπεσεν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 10:29 πεσεῖται future middle indicative prospective Matthew 13:4 ἔπεσεν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 13:5 ἔπεσεν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 13:7 ἔπεσεν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 13:8 ἔπεσεν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 15:14 πεσοῦνται future middle indicative prospective Matthew 15:27 πιπτόντων present active participle participle Matthew 17:15 πίπτει present active indicative ongoing Matthew 17:6 ἔπεσαν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 18:26 πεσὼν aorist active participle participle Matthew 18:29 πεσὼν aorist active participle participle Matthew 21:44 πεσὼν aorist active participle participle Matthew 21:44 πέσῃ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Matthew 24:29 πεσοῦνται future middle indicative prospective Matthew 26:39 ἔπεσεν aorist active indicative completed Mark 4:4 ἔπεσεν aorist active indicative completed Mark 4:5 ἔπεσεν aorist active indicative completed Mark 4:7 ἔπεσεν aorist active indicative completed Mark 4:8 ἔπεσεν aorist active indicative completed Mark 5:22 πίπτει present active indicative ongoing Mark 9:20 πεσὼν aorist active participle participle Mark 14:35 ἔπιπτεν imperfect active indicative background Luke 5:12 πεσὼν aorist active participle participle Luke 6:49 συνέπεσεν aorist active indicative completed Luke 8:14 πεσόν aorist active participle participle Luke 8:41 πεσὼν aorist active participle participle Luke 8:5 ἔπεσεν aorist active indicative completed Luke 8:7 ἔπεσεν aorist active indicative completed Luke 8:8 ἔπεσεν aorist active indicative completed Luke 10:18 πεσόντα aorist active participle participle Luke 11:17 πίπτει present active indicative ongoing Luke 13:4 ἔπεσεν aorist active indicative completed Luke 14:5 πεσεῖται future middle indicative prospective Luke 16:17 πεσεῖν aorist active infinitive infinitive Luke 16:21 πιπτόντων present active participle participle Luke 17:16 ἔπεσεν aorist active indicative completed +49 more occurrences

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 Pictures (Robertson)

A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.

1 Corinthians 13 — The More Excellent Way of Love John 18 — The Arrested King: Betrayal, Sovereign Surrender, Denial, Trial, and the Kingdom Not of This World Luke 9 — The Christ Revealed, the Cross Announced, and the Jerusalem Road Begun Mark 5 — The Authority of Jesus over Demons, Disease, and Death Matthew 17 — The Glory of the Son, the Coming of Elijah, the Failure of Little Faith, and the Son’s Humble Freedom Matthew 18 — Kingdom Humility, Care for the Little Ones, Discipline, and Forgiveness in Christ’s Community Matthew 2 — The Messiah Worshiped, Threatened, Preserved, and Called Out of Egypt Matthew 7 — Kingdom Discernment, the Narrow Way, and the Wise Builder Romans 11 — The Remnant, the Grafted Gentiles, and the Mercy of God Toward Israel

A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain

Sources

MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0

Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0

STEPBible Data — CC BY 4.0

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