Hebrew word · H1742

דַּוָּי

davai

faint

Sick, faint, languishing. It describes the drained weakness of illness or deep grief. The same root gives dawah, "to be unwell" (used of menstrual weakness in Lev 12:2; 15:33), and dewai, "sickness" (Ps 41:3 "sickbed").

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

faint (of heart)

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 Isaiah 1:5

Range of meaning

Sick, faint, languishing. It describes the drained weakness of illness or deep grief. The same root gives dawah, "to be unwell" (used of menstrual weakness in Lev 12:2; 15:33), and dewai, "sickness" (Ps 41:3 "sickbed").

Against the English

KJV/WEB/ESV "faint," NIV/BSB "afflicted," YLT "sick." In 1611 "faint" meant weak and sick. Today it suggests dim, slight, or about to pass out.

How it drifted

"Faint" has narrowed in modern English (a faint sound, to faint, faint-hearted = timid). In older English it meant enfeebled, exhausted, sick.

Used elsewhere in the period

This exact adjective occurs only here and in Jer 8:18 ("my heart is faint within me") and Lam 1:22 ("my heart is faint"). The verb appears in Lam 5:17: "our heart has become sick." All of these describe the sick heart of a ruined Jerusalem.

Where it appears

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 1:5 דַּוָּֽי׃ [is] faint

    Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep rebelling? Your head has a massive wound, and your whole heart is afflicted.

    Here: "Sick, wasting, drained." It is a rare word used for a heart worn down by suffering and grief (Jer 8:18; Lam 1:22). It is related to words for illness and a sickbed (Ps 41:3).

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 8:18 דַוָּֽי׃ [is] faint

    My sorrow is beyond healing; my heart is faint within me.

Lamentations · 1

  1. Lamentations 1:22 דַוָּֽי׃ פ [is] faint

    Let all their wickedness come before You, and deal with them as You have dealt with me because of all my transgressions. For my groans are many, and my heart is faint.

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