A verb meaning to fall upon, rush upon, or come forcefully upon someone. Used in both violent and gracious senses: enemies falling on their prey, and the Holy Spirit falling upon believers at Pentecost and in the home of Cornelius.
The most theologically charged uses of epipiptō describe the Holy Spirit's sovereign arrival. Acts 10:44 — 'While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word' — is the Gentile Pentecost. The Spirit did not wait for Peter to finish his sermon. He did not wait for proper ritual preparation. He epepesen — fell upon — interrupting the proceedings with divine immediacy. The same verb describes the embrace of the father in Luke 15:20: 'he ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.' Whether it is the Spirit's arrival or the Father's embrace, epipiptō captures the force of love that will not wait.