King James Version

Genesis 15:12

And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.

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Hebrew

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וַיְהִ֤יvayhiand beהָיָהconjunction, verb, qal, sequential imperfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular — “and be”, the next action in the storyH1961to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary)beacon, [idiom] altogether, be(-come), accomplished, committed, like), break, cause, come (to pass), do, faint, fall, [phrase] follow, happen, [idiom] have, last, pertain, quit (one-) self, require, [idiom] use.הַשֶּׁ֨מֶשׁ֙hashemeshthe sunשֶׁמֶשׁdefinite article, noun, common, both genders, singular, absolute — “the sun”, the ordinary formH8121the sun; by implication, the east; figuratively, a ray, i.e. (architectural) a notched battlement[phrase] east side(-ward), sun (rising), [phrase] west(-ward), window. See also H1053 (בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ).לָב֔וֹאlavoto to comeבּוֹאpreposition, verb, qal, infinitive construct — “to to come”, the to-form of the verbH935to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)abide, apply, attain, [idiom] be, befall, [phrase] besiege, bring (forth, in, into, to pass), call, carry, [idiom] certainly, (cause, let, thing for) to come (against, in, out, upon, to pass), depart, [idiom] doubtless again, [phrase] eat,…וְתַרְדֵּמָ֖הvetardemahand deep sleepתַּרְדֵּמָהconjunction, noun, common, feminine, singular, absolute — “and deep sleep”, the ordinary formH8639a lethargy or (by implication) trancedeep sleep.נָפְלָ֣הnafelahfallנָפַלverb, qal, perfect, 3rd person, feminine, singular — “fall”, a completed actionH5307to fall, in a great variety of applications (intransitive or causative, literal or figurative)be accepted, cast (down, self, (lots), out), cease, die, divide (by lot), (let) fail, (cause to, let, make, ready to) fall (away, down, -en, -ing), fell(-ing), fugitive, have (inheritance), inferior, be judged (by mistake for H6419 (פָּלַל…עַלalaboveעַלpreposition — “above”H5921above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsabove, according to(-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, [idiom] as, at, because of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, [idiom] both and, by (reason of), [idiom] had the charge of, concerning for, in (that), (forth, out) of,…אַבְרָ֑םavramAbramאַבְרָםnoun, proper name — “Abram”H87Abram, the original name of AbrahamAbram.וְהִנֵּ֥הvehinehand loהִנֵּהconjunction, particle, demonstrative — “and lo”H2009lo!behold, lo, see.אֵימָ֛הeymahidolאֵימָהnoun, common, feminine, singular, absolute — “idol”, the ordinary formH367fright; concrete, an idol (as a bugbear)dread, fear, horror, idol, terrible, terror.חֲשֵׁכָ֥הchashekhahdarknessחֲשֵׁכָהnoun, common, feminine, singular, absolute — “darkness”, the ordinary formH2825darkness; figuratively, miserydarkness.גְדֹלָ֖הgedolahgreatגָּדוֹלadjective, adjective, feminine, singular, absolute — “great”, the ordinary formH1419great (in any sense); hence, older; also insolent[phrase] aloud, elder(-est), [phrase] exceeding(-ly), [phrase] far, (man of) great (man, matter, thing,-er,-ness), high, long, loud, mighty, more, much, noble, proud thing, [idiom] sore, ([idiom]) very.נֹפֶ֥לֶתnofeletfallנָפַלverb, qal, participle, absolute — “fall”, a verb used as a describing wordH5307to fall, in a great variety of applications (intransitive or causative, literal or figurative)be accepted, cast (down, self, (lots), out), cease, die, divide (by lot), (let) fail, (cause to, let, make, ready to) fall (away, down, -en, -ing), fell(-ing), fugitive, have (inheritance), inferior, be judged (by mistake for H6419 (פָּלַל…עָלָֽיוalayvaboveעַלpreposition, suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular — “above”H5921above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsabove, according to(-ly), after, (as) against, among, and, [idiom] as, at, because of, beside (the rest of), between, beyond the time, [idiom] both and, by (reason of), [idiom] had the charge of, concerning for, in (that), (forth, out) of,…

Jewish translation (JPS 1917)

And it came to pass, that, when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a dread, even a great darkness, fell upon him.

Compare Public-Domain Translations

The King James Version remains the text of this page and the canonical URL.

American Standard Version (1901)

And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him.

Young’s Literal Translation

And the sun is about to go in, and deep sleep hath fallen upon Abram, and lo, a terror of great darkness is falling upon him;

World English Bible

When the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. Now terror and great darkness fell on him.

Darby Translation

And as the sun was just going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, a horror, a great darkness, fell upon him.

Douay-Rheims

And when the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a great and darksome horror seized upon him.

Jewish Publication Society (1917)

And it came to pass, that, when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a dread, even a great darkness, fell upon him.

Brenton’s Septuagint (1851), English

And about sunset a trance fell upon Abram, and lo! a great gloomy terror falls upon him.

Septuagint (Brenton’s Greek, 1851)

Περὶ δὲ ἡλίου δυσμὰς ἔκστασις ἐπέπεσε τῷ Ἅβραμ, καὶ ἰδοὺ φόβος σκοτεινὸς μέγας ἐπιπίπτει αὐτῷ.