Lexical Summary
shaphel: To be low, to be abased, to humble
Original Word: שָׁפֵל
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: shaphel
Pronunciation: shah-fel'
Phonetic Spelling: (shaw-fale')
KJV: abase, bring (cast, put) down, debase, humble (self), be (bring, lay, make, put) low(-er)
NASB: abased, abase, lay low, lays it low, been abased, bring down, bring him low
Word Origin: [a primitive root]
1. to depress or sink (expec. figuratively, to humiliate, intransitive or transitive)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
abase, bring cast, put down, debase, humble self, be bring, lay, make,
A primitive root; to depress or sink (expec. Figuratively, to humiliate, intransitive or transitive) -- abase, bring (cast, put) down, debase, humble (self), be (bring, lay, make, put) low(-er).
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. root
Definitionto be or become low, to be abased
NASB Translationabase (4), abased (6), been abased (1), bring him low (1), bring down (1), brings down (1), brings low (1), brought low (1), cast down (1), go down (1), humbles (1), laid low (1), lay low (2), lays it low (2), lowly (1), made low (1), make him low (1), placed lower (1), puts down (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
(Late Hebrew, derived species; Assyrian
šapâlu, derived species and derivatives; Sabean noun
humility or
lowland DHM
xxix (1875), 604; Arabic
👁 Image,
👁 Image,
👁 Image be low (Lag
BN 48); Aramaic ,
👁 Image (derived species)); —
Perfect3masculine singular Isaiah 2:11; 2feminine singular Isaiah 29:4, etc.; Imperfect3masculine singular Isaiah 2:9; Isaiah 5:15; 3feminine plural Isaiah 5:15, etc.; Infinitive construct Ecclesiastes 12:4; Proverbs 16:19, see below; —
all Isaiah: become (be brought, laid) low, of trees Isaiah 10:33 ("" ), mountains Isaiah 40:4 (opposed to ), of Isaiah 2:12 (but read, for , [Kohler], or [Lag], so Du CheHpt Di-Kit Marti); figurative be humiliated, of man Isaiah 2:9; Isaiah 5:15, his loftiness Isaiah 2:17, haughty eyes Isaiah 2:11 (all "" ), Isaiah 5:15; of city Isaiah 32:19; as helping verb (= adverb) Isaiah 29:4 thou shalt speak low out of the ground (Ges§ 120g; "" ).
Proverbs 16:9 to be lowly of spirit, so Buhl SS Toy and others; Thes Rob Ges and others below .
Ecclesiastes 12:4.
Perfect3masculine singular Isaiah 25:12, etc.; Imperfect3masculine singular Psalm 75:8, suffix Isaiah 26:5 (but 2nd verb probably doublet), etc.; Imperative masculine plural (suffix) Job 40:11; Jeremiah 13:18; Infinitive construct suffix Proverbs 25:7 (Ezek 21:31 read absolute , "" , so Co Krae Ges§ 113bb R. 3); Participle 1 Samuel 2:7; Psalm 147:6; (Ges§ 90l) Psalm 113:6; —
usually figurative, subject, lay low, tree Ezekiel 17:24 (opposed to ); city Isaiah 26:5 ("" ); fortress Isaiah 25:12 (+ ; Du thinks doublet of Isaiah 26:5); humiliate pride Isaiah 26:11; Isaiah 13:11, compare Job 40:11; object Psalm 18:28, so read also "" 2 Samuel 22:28, 1 Samuel 2:7, Psalm 147:6; Psalm 75:8, compare Ezekiel 21:31.
hum. subject set one in a lower place Proverbs 25:7; subject hum. pride Proverbs 29:23; declar. Isaiah 57:9 thou didst shew abasement .
as helping verb: + verb coordinate, Jeremiah 13:18 make low, sit down = take a low seat (Ges§ 120g); + infinitive Psalm 113:6 he who maketh low to look upon heaven and earth (i.e. ; "" Psalm 113:5; Ges§ 114m). — Job 22:29 is dubious; "" favours as subject, which Bu conjecture For , read then , hath abased pride, so (in part) Du; > they cast (thee) down (RV); men are cast down ( intransitive; AV, compare LagBN 121); (thy ways) are brought low (Ew De Di).
[] (see Biblical Hebrew); —
bring low, humble: Perfect2masculine singular Daniel 5:22 thou hast not humbled thine heart; Imperfect3masculine singular Daniel 7:24, Infinitive Daniel 4:34, Participle Daniel 5:19, all with accusative of person bring low, put down.
Topical Lexicon
Concept OverviewShaphal describes the act of being made low or bringing low. In Scripture it functions both literally (topographic depressions) and figuratively (humbling persons, nations, and pride). The verb therefore serves as a vital vehicle for the biblical doctrine that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Geographical Sense: Low Places and Vulnerability
In several passages the root is employed of depressed terrain, underpinning the name “Shephelah,” the lowland that stretches between the Judean hill-country and the Mediterranean plain (for example, Joshua 10:40; 1 Kings 10:27 where the region is mentioned by its derivative noun). These occurrences subtly reinforce a theological motif: what is low is easily overrun unless the Lord protects (Judges 1:9). Geography becomes parable; the land’s position mirrors the spiritual posture God requires.
Personal Humility and Worship
Shaphal most frequently addresses persons rather than places. Job 22:29 observes, “When men are brought low and you say, ‘Lift them up,’ then He will save the lowly”. The humbled person is the one whom God delights to exalt (cf. Job 5:11). The Psalter echoes the theme: “For You save an afflicted people, but haughty eyes You bring low” (Psalm 18:27). Israel’s praise is inseparable from her confession of smallness, teaching worshippers that true exaltation begins with self-abasement before the covenant LORD.
National Reversal: Kings and Kingdoms Brought Low
Prophets repeatedly press shaphal into service when announcing judgment on arrogant regimes. Isaiah declares, “The pride of man will be humbled and the loftiness of men brought low; and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day” (Isaiah 2:17). The downfall of proud Babylon (Isaiah 13:11), the humiliation of Egypt (Ezekiel 32:24), and the warning to Edom (Obadiah 4, using a cognate) all weave shaphal into a wider tapestry: every power that magnifies itself will be levelled.
Moral Instruction in Wisdom Literature
Proverbs frames shaphal as the wiser course of life: “It is better to be lowly in spirit with the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud” (Proverbs 16:19). Pride courts downfall; humility secures honor (Proverbs 29:23). In these instructional settings the verb urges voluntary self-abasement now to avoid enforced humiliation later—a principle Jesus will later recast in parable form (Luke 14:11).
Covenantal Significance and Messianic Foreshadowing
The Davidic portrait in 2 Samuel 22:28—“You save the humble, but Your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low”—prefigures the Messiah whose kingdom belongs to the “poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3). The Servant Songs of Isaiah amplify the paradox: the One marred and despised becomes high and lifted up (Isaiah 52:13). The trajectory from shaphal to exaltation culminates at the cross and resurrection, validating the Old Testament pattern.
Pastoral and Ministry Applications
1. God still chooses the foolish and weak to shame the strong (1 Corinthians 1:27). Shaphal warns leaders against self-reliance and encourages dependence on grace.
2. Congregational worship should model humility—confession, lament, and lowliness—before petition and praise.
3. Discipleship entails embracing low estate now, trusting divine vindication later (James 4:10).
4. Social ministry reflects God’s heart when it lifts the down-trodden (Psalm 113:7–8), embodying the reversal embedded in shaphal.
Key Passages
Job 5:11; Job 22:29
2 Samuel 22:28
Psalm 18:27; Psalm 147:6
Proverbs 15:33; Proverbs 16:19; Proverbs 29:23
Isaiah 2:12-17; Isaiah 5:15; Isaiah 10:33; Isaiah 13:11
Ezekiel 21:26; Ezekiel 32:24
These and the remaining occurrences (approximately twenty-nine in total) consistently proclaim the same lesson: every height not founded on reverence for God will be levelled, while those who willingly take the low place will be raised up by His mighty hand.
Forms and Transliterations
אַשְׁפִּֽיל׃ אשפיל׃ הִ֭שְׁפִּילוּ הִשְׁפִּ֛יל הִשְׁפַּ֣לְתִּי ׀ הַֽמַּשְׁפִּילִ֥י הַשְׁפִּ֣ילוּ המשפילי השפיל השפילו השפלתי וְהִשְׁפִּיל֙ וְהַגָּבֹ֖הַ וְהַשְׁפִּילֵֽהוּ׃ וְשָׁפֵ֖ל וְשָׁפֵֽל׃ וְשָׁפַלְתְּ֙ וַיִּשְׁפַּל־ וַתַּשְׁפִּ֖ילִי והגבה והשפיל והשפילהו׃ וישפל־ ושפל ושפל׃ ושפלת ותשפילי יִשְׁפָּ֑לוּ יִשְׁפָּֽלוּ׃ יַ֝שְׁפִּ֗יל יַשְׁפִּילֶ֤נָּה יַשְׁפִּילָהּ֙ ישפיל ישפילה ישפילנה ישפלו ישפלו׃ מֵֽ֭הַשְׁפִּ֣ילְךָ מַשְׁפִּ֖יל מהשפילך משפיל שָׁפֵ֔ל שפל תִּשְׁפַּ֥ל תִּשְׁפַּֽלְנָה׃ תַּשְׁפִּֽיל׃ תַּשְׁפִּילֶ֑נּוּ תשפיל׃ תשפילנו תשפל תשפלנה׃ ’aš·pîl ’ašpîl ashPil ham·maš·pî·lî hammashpiLi hammašpîlî haš·pî·lū hashPilu hašpîlū hiš·pal·tî hiš·pî·lū hiš·pîl hishPalti hishPil Hishpilu hišpaltî hišpîl hišpîlū maš·pîl mashPil mašpîl mê·haš·pî·lə·ḵā mehashPilecha mêhašpîləḵā šā·p̄êl šāp̄êl shaFel taš·pî·len·nū taš·pîl tashPil tashpiLennu tašpîl tašpîlennū tiš·pal tiš·pal·nāh tishPal tishPalnah tišpal tišpalnāh vaiyishpal vattashPili vehaggaVoha vehashpiLehu vehishPil veshafalT veshaFel wat·taš·pî·lî wattašpîlî way·yiš·pal- wayyišpal- wə·hag·gā·ḇō·ha wə·haš·pî·lê·hū wə·hiš·pîl wə·šā·p̄alt wə·šā·p̄êl wəhaggāḇōha wəhašpîlêhū wəhišpîl wəšāp̄alt wəšāp̄êl yaš·pî·lāh yaš·pî·len·nāh yaš·pîl yashPil yashpiLah yashpiLennah yašpîl yašpîlāh yašpîlennāh yiš·pā·lū yishPalu yišpālū
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