prostrate
part of speech
adjective; verb (prostrate, prostrates, prostrated, prostrating)
meaning for a pupil
1) Lying flat on the ground with your face down: «He lay prostrate on the floor.» tree →
2) (verb) To prostrate yourself: to lie face down, especially to worship, pray or show great respect or obedience. tree →
3) Completely exhausted, weak or overcome: «prostrate with grief», «prostrate with heat». tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: In the Torah it means to bow down with the face to the ground. It is a way to worship or to show deep respect. In the Prophets and Writings it is also a way of honoring a king, as Bath-sheba did before David, and Mordecai refused to do before Haman. Kings of the earth are said to prostrate themselves before the ideal king. Interpretation: Tradition keeps prostration as an act of worship, as in some prayers. Eliezer's act shows thanks to God for help on his journey. Mordecai's refusal is read as keeping bowing for God alone, and the Psalm is read as a hope for a just king honored by all nations. In the primary lessons: In religious education people prostrate themselves in prayer (Muslims in sujood, some Christian ceremonies, Bible stories of people bowing down to God or kings). In stories it shows someone collapsed or overcome by feeling. Phrases: «lie prostrate», «prostrate oneself», «prostrate with grief».
examples
- And the man bowed his head, and prostrated himself before the LORD. (Torah GEN.24.26, JPS 1917) tree →
- And I bowed my head, and prostrated myself before the LORD, and blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter for his son. (Torah GEN.24.48, JPS 1917) tree →
- The Word is in them as they rush forth and as they return, they speak as from the whirlwind, and returning fall prostrate in adoration before the Throne. (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893) tree →
- And Bath-sheba bowed, and prostrated herself unto the king. (Prophets 1KI.1.16, JPS 1917) tree →
- But Mordecai bowed not down, nor prostrated himself before him. (Writings EST.3.2, JPS 1917) tree →
- Yea, all kings shall prostrate themselves before him; all nations shall serve him. (Writings PSA.72.11, JPS 1917) tree →
- The tired runner lay prostrate on the grass. tree →
- In the Bible story, the brothers prostrated themselves before Joseph. tree →
- Muslims prostrate themselves during their prayers. tree →
- She was prostrate with grief after her dog died. tree →
- The heat left us almost prostrate. tree →
- The soldier fell prostrate before the king. tree →
- These words troubled the heart of Baba-Abdalla, who prostrated himself at the feet of the Caliph. tree →
note
Spelling trap: «prostrate» (lying flat) has an r after the t; «prostate» (no second r) is a gland in men's bodies — a different word. Prostrate means face down; lying on your back is «supine».
In the corpora
- And the man bowed his head, and prostrated himself before the LORD.
- And Bath-sheba bowed, and prostrated herself unto the king.
- And he came and prostrated himself before king Solomon; and Solomon said unto him: 'Go to thy house.'
- Yea, all kings shall prostrate themselves before him; all nations shall serve him.
- All nations whom Thou hast made shall come and prostrate themselves before Thee, O Lord; and they shall glorify Thy name.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «prostrate» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.