Hebrew word · H1672

דָּאַג

do'eg

be anxious

"To be anxious, worried, to dread." It is used of Saul's father worrying about his missing son (1 Sam 9:5; 10:2), of anxiety over sin (Ps 38:18 [Heb 38:19]), of Zedekiah fearing the Judeans (Jer 38:19), and of the famine "you dread" (Jer 42:16).

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to fear, be anxious, be concerned, be afraid, be careful

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to be anxious, be concerned

1a2) to fear, dread

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Jeremiah 17:8

Range of meaning

"To be anxious, worried, to dread." It is used of Saul's father worrying about his missing son (1 Sam 9:5; 10:2), of anxiety over sin (Ps 38:18 [Heb 38:19]), of Zedekiah fearing the Judeans (Jer 38:19), and of the famine "you dread" (Jer 42:16).

Against the English

KJV "careful" meant "full of care, anxious" in 1611, but today it means "cautious." YLT "sorrowful" is too narrow. BSB "worry" and WEB "be concerned" are closer.

How it drifted

English "careful" narrowed from "full of care (anxious)" to "taking care (cautious)" after the 17th century.

Used elsewhere in the period

About seven occurrences. Jer 42:16 is closest: there the people dread famine and flee to Egypt, the very "trust in man" this passage condemns.

From the study of Isaiah 57:11

Range of meaning

To be anxious, worried, troubled, to dread. Used for:

  • a father worrying about his missing son (1 Sam 9:5; 10:2)
  • a king afraid of what certain people might do to him (Jer 38:19)
  • a psalmist troubled over his sin (Ps 38:18 [Heb 19])
  • a tree that 'is not anxious in a year of drought' (Jer 17:8)

The related noun dĕʾāgāh means 'anxiety' (Prov 12:25: 'anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down').

Against the English

BSB, ESV and WEB have 'dreaded'. KJV has 'been afraid'. 'Dread' leans toward strong fear, but the Hebrew word is closer to chronic worry: anxious, preoccupied concern.

Used elsewhere in the period

Rare in the Bible (about seven uses of the verb), but consistent: it always means worry about a threat or an uncertain outcome. The Greek translation renders it here with eulabeomai, 'to be cautious, apprehensive'.

From the study of Psalm 38:18

Range of meaning

To be anxious, worried, apprehensive; to dread. It is mainly looking forward, at what might happen. Examples: Saul fears his father will start 'worrying about us' (1 Sam 9:5; 10:2). A tree planted by water 'is not anxious in a year of drought' (Jer 17:8). Zedekiah says 'I am afraid of the Judeans' (Jer 38:19). 'The famine you dread' (Jer 42:16). The related noun dəʾāgāh means 'anxiety' (Prov 12:25, 'anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down'; Ezek 12:18–19, eating bread 'with anxiety').

Against the English

The KJV and WEB say 'I will be sorry'. ESV 'I am sorry', NLT 'deeply sorry'. NIV/BSB 'troubled'. NASB 'full of anxiety' (closest to the Hebrew). In 1611 'sorry' still meant 'sore, distressed, grieved'. Today it mostly means apologetic regret, which is not what this verb names.

How it drifted

English 'sorry' comes from Old English sārig, 'sore, pained, distressed'. It was not related to 'sorrow' at first, though the two later influenced each other. In Tudor and Jacobean English (Elizabethan and King James era), 'sorry' covered real distress and grief. Over the following centuries it narrowed toward the polite or apologetic 'I regret it'. Modern versions that keep 'sorry' carry the narrower sense.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Greek Septuagint renders it merimnēsō, 'I will be anxious'. That is the same verb Jesus uses in 'do not be anxious about your life' (Matt 6:25). The Latin Vulgate (Gallican Psalter) has cogitabo, 'I will ponder / be concerned'.

Where it appears

1 Samuel · 2

  1. 1 Samuel 9:5 וְדָ֥אַג and he will be anxious

    When they reached the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant, “Come, let us go back, or my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and start worrying about us.”

  2. 1 Samuel 10:2 וְדָאַ֤ג and he is anxious

    When you leave me today, you will find two men at Rachel’s tomb in Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you seek have been found, and now your father has stopped worrying about the donkeys and started worrying about you, asking, “What should I do about my son?”’

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 38:18 אֶ֝דְאַ֗ג I am anxious

    Yes, I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.

    Here: 'I am anxious, I am full of worry.' This is the word for fretting dread about what is coming, the worry of a father over a missing son or of people facing famine. Here the sufferer is gripped by worry because of his sin and what it is bringing on him.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 57:11 דָּאַ֤גְתְּ did you dread

    Whom have you dreaded and feared, so that you lied and failed to remember Me or take this to heart? Is it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear Me?

    Here: 'You (a woman) were anxious about / dreaded.' This is the ordinary Hebrew word for anxious worry, not sudden terror. It pictures a nagging fear that drove her to look for protection elsewhere.

Jeremiah · 3

  1. Jeremiah 17:8 יִדְאָ֔ג it will be anxious

    He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.

    Here: An emotional word: anxious concern about what is coming. Applied to a tree, it shows that the picture is really about a person.

  2. Jeremiah 38:19 דֹאֵ֣ג [am] dreading

    But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have deserted to the Chaldeans, for the Chaldeans may deliver me into their hands to abuse me.”

  3. Jeremiah 42:16 דֹּאֲגִ֣ים [are] anxious

    then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow on your heels into Egypt, and you will die there.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.