Topical Encyclopedia
In biblical literature, the term "down" is often used to describe physical movement from a higher to a lower place, both literally and metaphorically. This movement can signify humility, submission, or a change in status or condition. The concept of "down" is frequently associated with God's actions, human experiences, and spiritual truths.
Physical DescentThe Bible often uses "down" to describe geographical or physical descent. For example, in
Genesis 12:10, Abram goes "down to Egypt" due to a famine in the land. This movement is not merely geographical but also signifies a journey into a place of testing and divine intervention. Similarly, in
Jonah 1:3, Jonah goes "down to Joppa" as he attempts to flee from God's command, symbolizing his spiritual descent away from obedience.
Spiritual and Moral DescentThe term "down" can also represent a spiritual or moral decline. In
Proverbs 7:27, the path of the adulterous woman is described as leading "down to the chambers of death," illustrating the destructive consequences of sin. This usage underscores the biblical theme that turning away from God's commandments leads to spiritual degradation.
Divine Intervention and HumilityConversely, "down" can signify divine intervention and the humility required to receive God's grace. In
Exodus 19:20, "The LORD came down on Mount Sinai," indicating God's willingness to meet His people and establish a covenant with them. This descent of God is a profound act of condescension and grace, emphasizing His desire to dwell among His people.
In the New Testament, the concept of coming "down" is epitomized in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. In
John 6:38, Jesus states, "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me." This descent is the ultimate act of humility and obedience, serving as a model for believers.
Worship and SubmissionThe act of bowing "down" in worship is a recurring theme in Scripture, symbolizing reverence and submission to God. In
Psalm 95:6, the psalmist invites, "Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker." This physical act of lowering oneself is an outward expression of an inward attitude of humility and devotion.
Judgment and DeliveranceThe Bible also uses "down" in the context of judgment and deliverance. In
2 Samuel 22:10, David recounts how God "parted the heavens and came down" to deliver him from his enemies. This imagery portrays God's active involvement in human affairs, bringing both judgment upon the wicked and salvation to the righteous.
ConclusionThe multifaceted use of "down" in the Bible reflects its rich theological significance. Whether describing physical movement, spiritual descent, divine intervention, or acts of worship, the term encapsulates key biblical themes of humility, obedience, and God's redemptive work in the world.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) Fine, soft, hairy outgrowth from the skin or surface of animals or plants, not matted and fleecy like wool
2. (n.) The soft under feathers of birds. They have short stems with soft rachis and bards and long threadlike barbules, without hooklets.
3. (n.) The pubescence of plants; the hairy crown or envelope of the seeds of certain plants, as of the thistle.
4. (n.) The soft hair of the face when beginning to appear.
5. (n.) That which is made of down, as a bed or pillow; that which affords ease and repose, like a bed of down
6. (v. t.) To cover, ornament, line, or stuff with down.
7. (prep.) A bank or rounded hillock of sand thrown up by the wind along or near the shore; a flattish-topped hill; -- usually in the plural.
8. (prep.) A tract of poor, sandy, undulating or hilly land near the sea, covered with fine turf which serves chiefly for the grazing of sheep; -- usually in the plural.
9. (prep.) A road for shipping in the English Channel or Straits of Dover, near Deal, employed as a naval rendezvous in time of war.
10. (prep.) A state of depression; low state; abasement.
11. (adv.) In the direction of gravity or toward the center of the earth; toward or in a lower place or position; below; -- the opposite of up.
12. (adv.) From a higher to a lower position, literally or figuratively; in a descending direction; from the top of an ascent; from an upright position; to the ground or floor; to or into a lower or an inferior condition; as, into a state of humility, disgrace, misery, and the like; into a state of rest; -- used with verbs indicating motion.
13. (adv.) In a low or the lowest position, literally or figuratively; at the bottom of a decent; below the horizon; of the ground; in a condition of humility, dejection, misery, and the like; in a state of quiet.
14. (adv.) From a remoter or higher antiquity.
15. (adv.) From a greater to a less bulk, or from a thinner to a thicker consistence; as, to boil down in cookery, or in making decoctions.
16. (adv.) In a descending direction along; from a higher to a lower place upon or within; at a lower place in or on; as, down a hill; down a well.
17. (adv.) Hence: Towards the mouth of a river; towards the sea; as, to sail or swim down a stream; to sail down the sound.
18. (v. t.) To cause to go down; to make descend; to put down; to overthrow, as in wrestling; hence, to subdue; to bring down.
19. (v. i.) To go down; to descend.
20. (a.) Downcast; as, a down look.
21. (a.) Downright; absolute; positive; as, a down denial.
22. (a.) Downward; going down; sloping; as, a down stroke; a down grade; a down train on a railway.
Greek
2597. katabaino -- to godown... to go
down. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: katabaino Phonetic Spelling:
(kat-ab-ah'-ee-no) Short Definition: I go
down, come
down Definition: I go
down...2507. kathaireo -- to takedown, pulldown
... to takedown, pulldown. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: kathaireo Phonetic
Spelling: (kath-ahee-reh'-o) Short Definition: I takedown, depose, destroy...
2718. katerchomai -- to comedown
... to comedown. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: katerchomai Phonetic Spelling:
(kat-er'-khom-ahee) Short Definition: I comedown Definition: I comedown...
2523. kathizo -- to make to sitdown, to sitdown
... to make to sitdown, to sitdown. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: kathizo
Phonetic Spelling: (kath-id'-zo) Short Definition: I set, make to sit Definition...
2609. katago -- to bringdown
... to bringdown. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: katago Phonetic Spelling:
(kat-ag'-o) Short Definition: I leaddown, bringdown Definition: I leaddown...
2601. katabibazo -- to cause to godown.
... 2600, 2601. katabibazo. 2602 . to cause to godown. Part of Speech:
Verb Transliteration: katabibazo Phonetic Spelling: (kat-ab...
2596. kata --down, against, according to
...down, against, according to. Part of Speech: Preposition Transliteration: kata Phonetic
Spelling: (kat-ah') Short Definition:down from, against, according to...
2506. kathairesis -- a pullingdown
... a pullingdown. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: kathairesis Phonetic
Spelling: (kath-ah'-ee-res-is) Short Definition: takingdown, destroying...
2524. kathiemi -- to letdown
... to letdown. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: kathiemi Phonetic Spelling:
(kath-ee'-ay-mee) Short Definition: I letdown Definition: I send, letdown, lower...
2667. katapipto -- to falldown
... to falldown. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: katapipto Phonetic Spelling:
(kat-ap-ip'-to) Short Definition: I falldown Definition: I falldown, fall...
Strong's Hebrew
3381. yarad -- to come or godown, descend... 3380, 3381. yarad. 3382 . to come or go
down, descend. Transliteration: yarad
Phonetic Spelling: (yaw-rad') Short Definition:
down. Word Origin a prim.
...2040. haras -- to throwdown, break or teardown
... 2039, 2040. haras. 2041 . to throwdown, break or teardown. Transliteration:
haras Phonetic Spelling: (haw-ras') Short Definition:down. Word Origin a prim...
5422. nathats -- to pulldown, breakdown
... 5421, 5422. nathats. 5423 . to pulldown, breakdown. Transliteration: nathats
Phonetic Spelling: (naw-thats') Short Definition:down. Word Origin a prim....
7901. shakab -- to liedown
... 7900, 7901. shakab. 7902 . to liedown. Transliteration: shakab Phonetic Spelling:
(shaw-kab') Short Definition: slept. Word Origin a prim....
7812. shachah -- to bowdown
... 7811, 7812. shachah. 7813 . to bowdown. Transliteration: shachah Phonetic
Spelling: (shaw-khaw') Short Definition: worship. Word Origin a prim....
3766. kara -- to bowdown
... 3765, 3766. kara. 3767 . to bowdown. Transliteration: kara Phonetic Spelling:
(kaw-rah') Short Definition:down. Word Origin a prim....
7257. rabats -- stretch oneself out, liedown, lie stretched out
... 7256, 7257. rabats. 7258 . stretch oneself out, liedown, lie stretched out.
Transliteration: rabats Phonetic Spelling: (raw-bats') Short Definition:down....
5181. nacheth -- to godown, descend
... 5180, 5181. nacheth. 5182 . to godown, descend. Transliteration: nacheth Phonetic
Spelling: (naw-khath') Short Definition: bend. Word Origin a prim....
947. bus -- to treaddown, trample
... 946, 947. bus. 948 . to treaddown, trample. Transliteration: bus Phonetic
Spelling: (boos) Short Definition: squirming. Word Origin a prim....
1438. gada -- to hew, hewdown or off
... 1437, 1438. gada. 1439 . to hew, hewdown or off. Transliteration: gada Phonetic
Spelling: (gaw-dah') Short Definition:down. Word Origin a prim....
Library
Down to the Mothers
...DOWN TO THE MOTHERS....Down to the mothers, as Faust went, I go, to the roots of our
manhood, Mothers of us in our cradles; of us once more in our glory....
Barriers BrokenDown
... Barriers BrokenDown. A Sermon (No.2214).... Let us take care that the ploughshare goes
down deep. Some soil wants even cross-ploughing and scarifying....
On the TakingDown from the Cross.
... PART THE FIRST. CHAPTER XIX. On The TakingDown From the Cross.... And when they came
to take Himdown, it was as if I had been roused from the dead....
Of those ThingsDown to the Times of the Saviour which have Been...
... Book XVIII. Chapter 1."Of Those ThingsDown to the Times of the Saviour Which
Have Been Discussed in the Seventeen Books. I Promised...
The World Turned UpsideDown
... The World Turned UpsideDown. A Sermon... at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens.
"These that have turned the world upsidedown are come hither also.""Acts 17:6....
The Dream of the Tree CutDown
... STORIES VI THE DREAM OF THE TREE CUTDOWN.... I saw in the visions of my head upon my
bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one camedown from heaven....
He Maketh Me to LieDown
... TALK FOUR. HE MAKETH ME TO LIEDOWN.... "He maketh me to liedown." He doth not compel
me. That is not the Lord's method; he findeth a better way....
The Lord of Life to Earth cameDown
... CHRISTMAS The Lord of Life to earth camedown. 8,8,8,8,8,6,8,8,8,6 tr., John Brownlie.
CAROL [1].... Refrain. I. The Lord of Life to earth camedown,"....
Whether the Gifts are SetDown by Isaias in their Order of Dignity...
... OF THE GIFTS (EIGHT ARTICLES) Whether the gifts are setdown by Isaias
in their order of dignity? Objection 1: It would seem that...
Barriers BrokenDown
... The DESIRE of AGES Chapter 43 Barriers BrokenDown. [This chapter is based on
Matt.15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30.]... But these barriers were to be brokendown....
Thesaurus
Down (12601 Occurrences)... 5. (n.) That which is made of
down, as a bed or pillow; that which affords ease
and repose, like a bed of
down. 6. (vt) To cover, ornament
...Down-sitting (1 Occurrence)
Down-sitting. Downsitting,Down-sitting. Downstairs . Multi-Version
ConcordanceDown-sitting (1 Occurrence). Psalms...
Cast-down (1 Occurrence)
Cast-down. Cast-away, Cast-down. Castedst . Multi-Version Concordance
Cast-down (1 Occurrence). 2 Corinthians 7:6 but...
Hanging-down (1 Occurrence)
Hanging-down. Hanging, Hanging-down. Hangings . Multi-Version
Concordance Hanging-down (1 Occurrence). Hebrews 12:12...
Sunset (18 Occurrences)
... (WEB NIV). Exodus 22:26 If thou at all take thy neighbour's garment to pledge, thou
shalt restore it unto him by that the sun goethdown; (See NIV)....
Smashed (22 Occurrences)
... 2 Kings 11:18 All the people of the land went to the house of Baal, and broke it
down; his altars and his images broke they in pieces thoroughly, and killed...
Kneel (10 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (vi) To bend the knee; to fall or rest on the knees; --
sometimes withdown. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. KNEE; KNEEL....
Knelt (20 Occurrences)
... RSV NIV). Matthew 17:14 And when they came unto the multitude, there came
to him a man, kneelingdown to him, (See NIV). Matthew 20...
Kneeled (12 Occurrences)
... Matthew 18:26 The servant therefore felldown and kneeled before him,
saying,'Lord, have patience with me, and I will repay you all!' (WEB)....
Stooped (15 Occurrences)
... Mark 1:7 and he proclaimed, saying, 'He doth come -- who is mightier than I -- after
me, of whom I am not worthy -- having stoopeddown -- to loose the latchet...
Resources
How should Christian parents respond to having a child with Down syndrome? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the meaning of an upside-down / inverted cross? | GotQuestions.orgWhat does it mean to not let the sun go down on your anger? | GotQuestions.orgDown: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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