G4098 — πίπτω (pipto)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G4098
Original: πίπτω
Transliteration: pipto
Pronunciation: pip'-to
Part of Speech: Verb
Root: Probably akin to G4072 (petomai) through the idea of alighting
Occurrences: 85 unique verses (93 tokens) across 10 books
First Occurrence: Mat 2:11 — "And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Probably akin to G4072 (petomai) through the idea of alighting; to fall.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domains¶

pipto appears in multiple Louw-Nida domains, reflecting its broad semantic range:

015012 — Fall (primary physical sense)
017005 — Prostrate as an Act of Reverence or Supplication
023007 — Live, Die
020003 — Destroy
087003 — High Status or Rank (loss thereof)
013002 — Change of State
068004 — Cease, Stop

Domain 015012 (Fall) neighbors:

Strong's	Lemma	Gloss
G0634	ἀποπίπτω (apopipto)	fall off
G0906	βάλλω (ballo)	throw, cast
G1601	ἐκπίπτω (ekpipto)	fall away, drop off
G1706	ἐμπίπτω (empipto)	fall into
G2667	καταπίπτω (katapipto)	fall down

Domain 017005 (Prostrate) neighbors:

Strong's	Lemma	Gloss
G2827	κλίνω (klino)	bow, incline
G4352	προσκυνέω (proskyneo)	worship, prostrate
G4363	προσπίπτω (prospipto)	fall before

UBS Semantic Domains¶

Code	Domain Label	Notes
015	Linear Movement	`search_relationships.py` places piptō first in the movement field: literal falling or descending.
017	Stances and Events Related to Stances	Covers prostration, falling down, and posture-change scenes.
020	Violence, Harm, Destroy, Kill	Captures collapse, ruin, and destructive-fall contexts.
023	Physiological Processes and States	Covers bodily falling, dying, and embodied collapse.
068	Aspect	Reflects resultative uses such as "is fallen" and cessation/collapse states.
013	Be, Become, Exist, Happen	Marks change-of-state uses where something comes to ruin or falls from a condition.
075	Adequate, Qualified	Includes "fall short" or failure-related extensions in the broader semantic field.
090	Case	Captures befalling/falling-upon patterns in case-like or circumstantial usage.
030	Think	Covers metaphorical falling into error or failure of judgment.
024	Sensory Events and States	Includes visible/cosmic falling phenomena such as stars falling from heaven.
087	Status	Captures falling from a position or rank.
056	Courts and Legal Procedures	Covers judicial-collapse or condemnation-adjacent uses in the broader semantic field.

Verb Form Distribution¶

Tense-Voice-Mood	Count	Notes
Aorist Active Indicative	45	Dominant form; narrative "fell"
Aorist Active Participle	17	Attendant circumstance ("falling down, he...")
Aorist Active Subjunctive	8	Warnings/conditions ("lest he fall")
Present Active Indicative	5	Gnomic/habitual ("falleth")
Future Middle/Passive Indicative	6	Prophetic ("shall fall")
Aorist Active Imperative	2	Commands ("Fall on us!" — Luk 23:30; Rev 6:16)
Perfect Active	3	State result ("is fallen" — Rev 2:5; 9:1; Acts 15:16)
Imperfect Active Indicative	1	Progressive past (Mar 14:35)
Aorist Active Infinitive	1	Purpose ("to fail" — Luk 16:17)
Present Active Participle	3	Ongoing action ("falling from")

The overwhelming preference for aorist forms (72/90 = 80%) marks pipto as a punctiliar action verb — the fall is treated as a decisive event, not a process.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
fell	25	29.4%
fell down	9	10.6%
fall	8	9.4%
it fell	4	4.7%
I fell	3	3.5%
and fell	3	3.5%
he fell	3	3.5%
shall fall	3	3.5%
is fallen	2	2.4%
Fall (imperative)	2	2.4%
falleth	2	2.4%
Other forms	21	24.7%

Over 95% of occurrences are translated with "fall/fell/fallen." The single instance of "light" (Rev 7:16) and "fail" (Luk 16:17) are the only departures.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Revelation	20	5.0
Matthew	18	1.7
Luke	18	1.6
Mark	7	1.0
Hebrews	3	1.0
Acts	9	0.9
James	1	0.9
1 Corinthians	3	0.7
Romans	3	0.7
John	3	0.3

Revelation has by far the highest density (5.0 per 100 verses) — nearly 3x the next-highest book. The Synoptic Gospels collectively account for 43 of 85 uses (51%), primarily in narrative. The word is absent from all Pastoral Epistles, General Epistles (except James and Hebrews), and all Pauline letters except Romans and 1 Corinthians.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Prostration in Worship or Reverence¶

Falling before a superior as an act of worship, awe, or submission. Frequently paired with proskyneo (G4352). - Mat 2:11 — wise men "fell down, and worshipped him" - Rev 4:10 — twenty-four elders "fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship" - Rev 5:14 — "the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped" - Rev 7:11 — angels "fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God" - Rev 11:16 — elders "fell upon their faces, and worshipped God" - Rev 19:4 — elders and beasts "fell down and worshipped God" - 1Co 14:25 — "falling down on his face he will worship God"

2. Prostration in Awe, Fear, or Supplication¶

Falling before someone out of fear, desperation, or supplication — not necessarily worship. - Mat 17:6 — disciples "fell on their face, and were sore afraid" - Mat 18:26 — servant "fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience" - Mat 18:29 — fellowservant "fell down at his feet, and besought him" - Rev 1:17 — "I fell at his feet as dead" - Rev 19:10 — "I fell at his feet to worship him" (corrected by the angel) - Rev 22:8 — "I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel"

3. Destruction or Ruin of Cities and Powers¶

Catastrophic collapse of kingdoms, cities, or institutions — a definitive end. - Rev 14:8 — "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city" - Rev 18:2 — "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen" - Rev 16:19 — "the cities of the nations fell" - Rev 17:10 — "five are fallen, and one is" - Luk 11:17 — "a house divided against a house falleth" - Heb 11:30 — "the walls of Jericho fell down"

4. Physical Falling — Seeds and Objects¶

Literal downward movement of objects, seeds, or persons. - Mat 13:4–8 — seeds "fell by the way side... upon stony places... among thorns... into good ground" - Mat 7:25, 27 — house "fell not" / "it fell: and great was the fall of it" - Mat 10:29 — sparrow "shall not fall on the ground without your Father" - Rev 8:10 — "there fell a great star from heaven" - Rev 6:13 — "the stars of heaven fell unto the earth" - Mat 24:29 — "the stars shall fall from heaven"

5. Cosmic and Angelic Falling¶

Stars or angelic beings cast down from heavenly position. - Luk 10:18 — "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven" - Rev 9:1 — "I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth" - Rev 8:10 — "there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp"

6. Spiritual or Moral Falling¶

Loss of standing, faith, or spiritual position. - Rom 11:11 — "Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid" - Rom 11:22 — "on them which fell, severity" - 1Co 10:12 — "let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall" - Heb 4:11 — "lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief" - Rev 2:5 — "remember therefore from whence thou art fallen"

7. Judgment Falling Upon / Crushing¶

The stone or mountains falling upon someone in judgment. - Mat 21:44 — "on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder" - Luk 20:18 — "on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder" - Luk 23:30 — "Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us" - Rev 6:16 — "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him" - Luk 13:4 — "the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
γῆ (ge)	G1093	15x (18%)	"fell to the earth/ground" — physical or cosmic descent
προσκυνέω (proskyneo)	G4352	12x (14%)	"fell down and worshipped" — worship formula
πούς (pous)	G4228	11x (13%)	"fell at his feet" — prostration posture
μέγας (megas)	G3173	10x (12%)	"great was the fall" / "great city... is fallen"
οὐρανός (ouranos)	G3772	10x (12%)	"fall from heaven" — cosmic descent
πρόσωπον (prosopon)	G4383	8x (9%)	"fell on their face(s)" — worship/fear posture
εἴκοσι (eikosi)	G1501	6x (7%)	"twenty [four] elders fell" — Revelation worship scenes
κύριος (kyrios)	G2962	6x (7%)	"fell before the Lord" — divine encounter

Word Family (pipt- compounds)¶

G4363 προσπίπτω (prospipto) — fall before, fall at (8x) — directional: falling toward someone
G1601 ἐκπίπτω (ekpipto) — fall away, drop off (10x) — separation: falling out of
G1706 ἐμπίπτω (empipto) — fall into (7x) — entry: falling into (trap, pit, hands)
G2667 καταπίπτω (katapipto) — fall down (3x) — direction: falling down
G634 ἀποπίπτω (apopipto) — fall off (1x) — detachment: falling away from
G1968 ἐπιπίπτω (epipipto) — fall upon (11x) — attack/embrace: falling upon
G3895 παραπίπτω (parapipto) — fall aside (1x) — deviation: falling beside (Heb 6:6)
G4045 περιπίπτω (peripipto) — fall among (3x) — encounter: falling around/among
G4417 πταίω (ptaio) — stumble, trip (5x) — related root; partial fall vs. complete fall

Synonyms¶

No direct synonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G4098.

Antonyms¶

G2476 ἵστημι / ἑστόναι (histēmi / hestonai) — to stand; search_relationships.py returned ἑστόναι as the opposite posture/state to falling

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
נָפַל (naphal)	H5307	"fell," "fall," "shall fall"	Hebrew equivalent; pipto is the standard LXX/NT rendering of naphal
κάμπτω (kampto)	G2578	—	kampto = "bend the knee" (voluntary); pipto = whole-body falling
κλίνω (klino)	G2827	—	klino = "incline, bow" (partial); pipto = full prostration
σκανδαλίζω (skandalizo)	G4624	—	skandalizo = cause to stumble/offend; pipto = the actual fall
πταίω (ptaio)	G4417	—	ptaio = stumble/trip; pipto = completed fall

Hebrew Source¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI Score
נָפַל (naphal)	H5307	239	30.42
חָלָל (chalal)	H2491	22	13.66
חֶרֶב (chereb)	H2719	50	13.48
נְפַל (nephal, Aramaic)	H5308	7	11.72
כָּשַׁל (kashal)	H3782	12	10.37

The dominant Hebrew source is naphal (H5307) with 239 co-occurrences — an overwhelming LXX alignment. The chalal/chereb co-occurrences reflect the frequent OT collocation "fell by the sword" / "the slain (chalal) fell."