'Down' in the Bible

Then Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower that {humankind} was building.

Come, let us go down and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand {each other's language}."

And there was a famine in the land. And Abram went down to Egypt to dwell as an alien there, for the famine was severe in the land.

And he took for him all these and cut them in pieces down the middle. And he put each piece opposite {the other}, but the birds he did not cut.

And the birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

And it happened, as the sun {went down}, then a deep sleep fell upon Abram and, behold, a great terrifying darkness fell upon him.

And after the sun had gone down and it [was] dusk, behold, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch passed between those half pieces.

And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, three men were standing near him. And he saw [them] and ran from the doorway of the tent to meet them. And he bowed down to the ground.

Then the men set out from there, and they looked down upon Sodom. And Abraham went with them {to send them on their way}.

I will go down and I will see. Have they done altogether according to its cry of distress [which] has come to me? If not, I will know."

And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening. And Lot was sitting in the gateway of Sodom. Then Lot saw [them] and stood up to meet them. And he bowed down [with his] face to the ground.

Before they laid down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people {to the last man}, surrounded the house.

Yahweh rained down from heaven upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Yahweh.

And he looked down upon the surface of Sodom and Gomorrah, and upon the whole surface of the land, the plain. And he saw that, behold, the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a smelting furnace.

And they gave their father wine to drink that night, and the firstborn went and lay with her father, but he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.

And they gave their father wine to drink again that night, and the younger got up and lay with him, but he did not know when she lay down or when she got up.

Now the girl [was] very pleasing in appearance. [She was] a virgin; no man had known her. And she went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up.

And the man knelt down and worshiped Yahweh.

I had not yet finished speaking to myself when, behold, Rebekah [was] coming out with her jar on her shoulder. And she went down to the spring and drew water. And I said to her, 'Please give me a drink.'

And she hastened and let down her jar {from her shoulder} and said, 'Drink, and I will give a drink to your camels also.' Then I drank and she gave a drink to the camels also.

And I knelt down and worshiped Yahweh, and I praised Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, who led me on the right way, to take the daughter of the brother of my master for his son.

And it happened [that] when the servant of Abraham heard their words he bowed down to the ground to Yahweh.

And Rebekah lifted up her eyes and saw Isaac. And she got down from the camel.

And Esau said to Jacob, "Give me {some of that red stuff} to gulp down, for I am exhausted!" (Therefore his name was called Edom).

And Yahweh appeared to him and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land which I will show to you.

Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you; Be lord of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. Cursed be those cursing you, and blessed be those blessing you."

And he dreamed, and behold, a stairway was set on the earth, and its top touched the heavens. And behold, angels of God [were] going up and going down on it.

And he himself passed on before them and bowed down to the ground seven times until he came to his brother.

Then the female servants drew near, they and their children, and they bowed down.

Then Leah and her children drew near and bowed down, and afterward Joseph and Rachel drew near and they bowed down.

Now behold, we were binding sheaves in the midst of the field and, behold, my sheaf stood up and it remained standing. Then behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf."

Then he dreamed yet another dream and told it to his brothers. And he said, "Behold, I dreamed a dream again, and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me."

And he told [it] to his father and to his brothers. And his father rebuked him and said to him, "What [is] this dream that you have dreamed? Will I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the ground to you?"

Then they sat down to eat [some] food. And they lifted up their eyes and looked, and behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead. And their camels were carrying aromatic gum and balm and spices {on the way} to Egypt.

And all his sons and daughters tried to console him, but he refused to be consoled. And he said, "No, I shall go down to my son, to Sheol, mourning." And his father wept for him.

And it happened [that] at that time Judah went down from his brothers and pitched his tent near a certain Adullamite, whose name [was] Hirah.

Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, a court official of Pharaoh, commander of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the hand of the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there.

Then he said, "Look, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy grain for us there that we may live and not die."

And the ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain from Egypt.

Now Joseph was the governor over the land. He [was] the one who sold [food] to all the people of the land. And the brothers of Joseph came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.

But he said, "My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he alone remains. [If] harm meets him on the journey that you would take, you would bring down my gray head in sorrow to Sheol."

{If you will send} our brother with us, we will go down and buy food for you,

but {if you will not send} [him], we will not go down, for the man said to us, 'You shall not see my face unless your brother [is] with you.'"

And they said, "The man asked explicitly about us and about our family, saying, 'Is your father still alive? Do you have a brother?' And we answered him according to these words. How could we know that he would say, 'Bring down your brother'?"

Then their father Israel said to them, "If [it must be] so then do this. Take some of the best products of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift--a little balm and honey, aromatic gum and myrrh, and pistachios and almonds.

So the men took this gift, and they took double money in their hands, and Benjamin, and they rose up and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

And they said, "Please, my lord, we surely came down once before to buy food,

Now, other money we have brought down in our hand to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks."

And when Joseph came into the house they brought the gift that [was] in their hand into the house to him, and they bowed down before him to the ground.

And they said, "Your servant our father [is] well; he is still alive." And they knelt and bowed down.

Then each man quickly brought down his sack to the ground, and each one opened his sack.

Then you said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me that I may set my eyes upon him.'

Then you said to your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall not again see my face.'

then we said, 'We cannot go down. If our youngest brother [is] with us, then we shall go down. For we will not be able to see the face of the man unless our youngest brother [is] with us.'

And if you take this one also from me, and he encounters harm, you will bring down my gray head in sorrow to Sheol.'

it shall happen [that] when he sees that the boy is gone, he will die. And your servants will bring down the gray head of your servant, our father, to Sheol with sorrow.

Hurry, and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me and do not delay.

Then he said, "I [am] the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there.

I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I myself will also bring you up. And Joseph will place his hand over your eyes."

Then Joseph removed them from his knees and bowed down with his face to the ground.

Judah, [as for] you, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand [shall be] on the neck of your enemies. The sons of your father shall bow down to you.

Judah [is] a lion's cub. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bowed down; he crouched like a lion and as a lioness. Who shall rouse him?