ἔπεσαν

epesan

fell

probably akin to πέτομαι through the idea of alighting; to fall (literally or figuratively):--fail, fall (down), light on.

G4098

John 18:6 · Word #12

Lexicon G4098

Lemmaπίπτω
Transliterationpíptō
Strong'sG4098
In-contextfell
Literalthey-fell

Morphology V AOR ACT IND 3P PL All morphology codes

Part of Speech V — Verb — An action or state of being
Tense AOR — Aorist — Simple occurrence, often past
Voice ACT — Active — The subject performs the action
Mood IND — Indicative — States a fact or reality
Person 3P — 3rd person — The one spoken about ("he/she/it/they")
Number PL — Plural — More than one

Lexical Info

Lemmaπίπτω
Strong'sG4098

SIBI-P1 G4098-02

they were falling

Rootπίπτω (piptō)
Core Meaningsto fall, to fall down, to collapse, to fall away, to fail
Semantic Rangeliteral falling to the ground; collapse of structures; falling in battle; moral or spiritual downfall; failure; falling away from faith; sudden calamity
Conceptual SignificanceIn biblical narrative and theology, falling can signify physical judgment, defeat, or death, but also spiritual collapse or apostasy. The imagery of falling often conveys vulnerability before divine power or the consequences of disobedience.
Morphological NotesVerb; imperfect tense (past ongoing action), active voice (subject performs the action), indicative mood (statement of fact), 3rd person plural ("they").
Rendering RationaleThe root πίπτω conveys the action of falling or collapsing. The morphology (imperfect active indicative, 3rd person plural) indicates an ongoing or repeated action in past time performed by "they," which is preserved by rendering it "they were falling."

AI-generated (openai/gpt-5.2-chat-latest)

Words from Root πίπτω (to fall, to fall down, to collapse, to fall away, to fail)

SILEX Code Transliteration SIBI-P1
G4098-01 epesa I fell
G4098-06 peptokas you have fallen (and now stand fallen)
G4098-08 peptokuian the having-fallen (feminine) one

Word Usage (90 occurrences of G4098)

Location Form Transliteration Meaning
Matthew 2:11 πεσόντες pesontes falling
Matthew 4:9 πεσὼν peson
Matthew 7:25 ἔπεσεν epesen