Hebrew word · H2196

זָעַף

zo'afim

to enrage

To be vexed, resentful, sullen or enraged. As an adjective it means sullen or dejected. As a noun (zaʿap) it means rage or storming. The range runs from a dark, sulky face to open fury, and it is used of a raging sea.

Appears 5 times in 4 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to fret, be sad, be wroth, be vexed, be enraged, be out of humour

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to be out of humour

1a2) to be enraged, be angry

2) (Qal)

2a) to appear perplexed, appear troubled

2b) to be sad-looking

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 Proverbs 19:3

Range of meaning

To be vexed, resentful, sullen or enraged. As an adjective it means sullen or dejected. As a noun (zaʿap) it means rage or storming. The range runs from a dark, sulky face to open fury, and it is used of a raging sea.

Against the English

Most English versions have 'rages'. That suits the strong end of the range but can suggest shouting. KJV 'fretteth' meant 'chafes, is galled', which is close, but modern readers hear 'worries'. The Hebrew also covers a smouldering grudge.

Used elsewhere in the period

Gen 40:6: the cupbearer and baker look 'downcast' (zoʿapim). 1 Kgs 20:43 and 21:4: Ahab goes home 'sullen and vexed'. 2 Chr 16:10: Asa is in a rage (zaʿap) at the seer. 2 Chr 26:19: Uzziah rages at the priests. Prov 19:12: the king's rage is like a lion's roar. Jonah 1:15: the sea stops its raging. Dan 1:10: faces 'looking worse'.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 40:6 זֹעֲפִֽים׃ looking dejected

    When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were distraught.

2 Chronicles · 2

  1. 2 Chronicles 26:19 וַיִּזְעַף֙ וּבְזַעְפּ֣וֹ and he was enraged, and when enraging he

    Uzziah, with a censer in his hand to offer incense, was enraged. But while he raged against the priests in their presence in the house of the LORD before the altar of incense, leprosy broke out on his forehead.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 19:3 יִזְעַ֥ף it rages

    A man’s own folly subverts his way, yet his heart rages against the LORD.

    Here: Qal imperfect: 'it storms' or 'it seethes'. The word ranges from sullen, sulky resentment to open fury. Here it describes an inner seething, the habit of the fool.

Daniel · 1

  1. Daniel 1:10 זֹֽעֲפִ֗ים looking thin

    but he said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking thinner than those of the other young men your age? You would endanger my head before the king!”

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