Hebrew word · H2201

זְעָקָה

ze'akah

outcry

A loud cry or outcry. It is especially the cry of distress raised by people who are oppressed, an appeal for someone to step in. It can carry a legal sense, a public complaint about wrong done (Genesis 18:20; Nehemiah 5:6; Esther 4:1).

Appears 18 times in 18 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) cry, outcry

1a) outcry

1b) cry of distress

1c) outcry, clamour

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 21:13

Range of meaning

A loud cry or outcry. It is especially the cry of distress raised by people who are oppressed, an appeal for someone to step in. It can carry a legal sense, a public complaint about wrong done (Genesis 18:20; Nehemiah 5:6; Esther 4:1). Its twin word tsəʿāqāh is used of Israel's cry in Egypt (Exodus 3:7, 9) and in the law about the widow and orphan (Exodus 22:23).

Against the English

English 'cry' often means weeping. The Hebrew is a shout or appeal addressed to someone who could help. NLT's plural 'cries' is fine, but the main point is that this is a petition, not just sorrow.

How it drifted

In modern English 'cry' leans towards tears. In older English 'to cry' meant mainly to call out loud, as in a town crier.

Used elsewhere in the period

Genesis 18:20 speaks of the 'outcry (zaʿăqat) of Sodom' rising to God, the cry of victims that calls for divine judgment. In Nehemiah 5:6 Nehemiah is angry when he hears the 'outcry' of poor Judeans losing their land and children to creditors, and he acts on it. Job 34:28 says God hears 'the cry of the poor (tsaʿăqat dāl)'. Exodus 22:22–24 warns that if the vulnerable cry out, God 'will surely hear'. Ancient Near Eastern justice ideals used the same picture: in the epilogue of Hammurabi's laws, the wronged man is invited to come before the king's statue and have his case read.

From the study of Genesis 18:20

Range of meaning

A loud cry of distress, the scream of someone in pain, danger or injustice. It is above all a cry for help addressed to someone with power to act: a king, a judge, God. The related verb (zāʿaq / ṣāʿaq) is used for Israel crying out under Egyptian slave-masters (Exod 2:23; 3:7, 9), for the widow and orphan who cry to God when mistreated (Exod 22:22–23), for the people crying to Nehemiah about debt-slavery (Neh 5:1, 6), and for a petitioner appealing to the king for justice (2 Kgs 6:26; 8:3). Its closest relative in Genesis is the 'voice' of Abel's blood crying (ṣōʿăqîm) to God from the ground (Gen 4:10).

Against the English

'Cry' (KJV, WEB, YLT) is neutral and keeps the Hebrew's open phrasing. 'Outcry' (BSB, NIV, ESV, NASB) is stronger, but in modern English an 'outcry' is usually public protest or disapproval, not a victim's scream for rescue. 'Outcry against' (BSB, NIV, ESV) settles a question the Hebrew leaves open. NLT's 'outcry from' settles it the other way.

How it drifted

Modern 'outcry' has shifted toward 'public outrage' or 'complaint', as in a 'public outcry over a policy'. That makes the verse sound like general disapproval of Sodom, when the Hebrew word belongs to victims pleading with a judge.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Israel's legal and prophetic tradition this cry is what sets divine judgment in motion. Isaiah 5:7 plays on its sound: God 'looked for righteousness (ṣədāqâ), but behold, an outcry (ṣəʿāqâ)'. Job 34:28 speaks of 'the cry of the poor' reaching God. In the Greek Septuagint it becomes κραυγή, 'shout, cry', and in the Latin Vulgate clamor. Later Jewish retellings (Genesis Rabbah 49:6; b. Sanhedrin 109b) picture the cry as coming from a specific victim, a girl punished by the townspeople for feeding a poor man. R. N. Boyce's study The Cry to God in the Old Testament treats the word group as a legal appeal from the oppressed to the one responsible for justice.

From the study of Isaiah 65:19

Range of meaning

Outcry, cry of distress, cry for help. It is the shout raised in disaster, war, oppression or bitter anguish, often directed to someone (God, a king, a judge) as an appeal. It is closely related to tse'aqah, the same word with a different first consonant.

Against the English

KJV and WEB "crying" and BSB "crying" can sound like another word for tears, which would just repeat "weeping." The Hebrew is different. It is a loud outcry of the endangered or wronged. ESV's "cry of distress" is closer.

How it drifted

In modern English "crying" mostly means shedding tears. In older English "to cry" meant mainly to shout or call out (as in "town crier"). The KJV's "voice of crying" meant the latter, but readers now hear the former.

Used elsewhere in the period

Gen 18:20: "the outcry (za'aqat) against Sodom." Neh 5:6: the poor's outcry against debt-slavery. Prov 21:13: "whoever shuts his ears to the cry (za'aqat) of the poor." 1 Sam 4:14: the uproar in Shiloh at the news of the lost ark. Esth 4:1: Mordecai's "loud and bitter cry." Isa 15:5, 8: the cry going round Moab's borders in war. Isa 5:7 builds a famous pun on the near-identical form: God looked for "righteousness" (tsedaqah) but found an "outcry" (tse'aqah).

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 18:20 זַעֲקַ֛ת [the] outcry of

    Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great. Because their sin is so grievous,

    Here: This is the scream or appeal of people being wronged, a cry for someone to step in. The form ties it to the next word: 'the outcry of Sodom', meaning the cry that rises from or about the city.

Nehemiah · 2

  1. Nehemiah 5:6 זַֽעֲקָתָ֔ם outcry their

    When I heard their outcry and these complaints, I became extremely angry,

  2. Nehemiah 9:9 זַעֲקָתָ֥ם outcry their

    You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt; You heard their cry at the Red Sea.

    Here: A loud shout for help from people in distress, often an appeal to a superior for justice. It is not weeping. At the sea, this is the cry of Exodus 14:10 when Pharaoh's army closed in.

Esther · 2

  1. Esther 4:1 זְעָקָ֥ה a cry

    When Mordecai learned of all that had happened, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the middle of the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.

    Here: The noun from the same root as the verb: 'he cried a cry.' The doubling makes it stronger. The same word is used for the outcry against Sodom that reaches God (Gen 18:20–21).

  2. Esther 9:31 וְזַעֲקָתָֽם׃ and cry of distress their

    in order to confirm these days of Purim at their appointed time, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established them and had committed themselves and their descendants to the times of fasting and lamentation.

Job · 1

  1. Job 16:18 לְזַעֲקָתִֽי׃ to outcry my

    O earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry for help never be laid to rest.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 21:13 מִזַּעֲקַת־ from [the] cry of

    Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too shall cry out and receive no answer.

    Here: 'From the outcry of'. The preposition 'from' gives a picture of the ear being sealed away from the cry. Zeʿaqah is a loud public shout for help or justice, the cry of someone being wronged, not quiet weeping.

Ecclesiastes · 1

  1. Ecclesiastes 9:17 מִזַּעֲקַ֥ת more than [the] cry of

    The calm words of the wise are heeded over the shouts of a ruler among fools.

Isaiah · 3

  1. Isaiah 15:5 זַעֲקַת־ a cry of

    My heart cries out over Moab; her fugitives flee as far as Zoar, as far as Eglath-shelishiyah. With weeping they ascend the slope of Luhith; they lament their destruction on the road to Horonaim.

    Here: The noun form of the verb at the start of the verse ('cries out'). The verse opens and closes with this outcry: the speaker's heart cries, and the refugees raise the cry.

  2. Isaiah 15:8 הַזְּעָקָ֖ה the cry

    For their outcry echoes to the border of Moab. Their wailing reaches Eglaim; it is heard in Beer-elim.

  3. Isaiah 65:19 זְעָקָֽה׃ a cry of distress

    I will rejoice in Jerusalem and take delight in My people. The sounds of weeping and crying will no longer be heard in her.

    Here: "Outcry": the shout of people in danger, under attack or oppressed, crying for help or justice (compare "the outcry of Sodom," "the cry of the poor"). Its removal means no more violence, disaster or injustice. The point is wider than no more sadness.

Jeremiah · 6

  1. Jeremiah 18:22 זְעָקָה֙ a cry of distress

    Let a cry be heard from their houses when You suddenly bring raiders against them, for they have dug a pit to capture me and have hidden snares for my feet.

    Here: A loud scream of alarm or a call for help as disaster strikes. It is not quiet weeping. Jeremiah uses the same word for the cry he wishes on the man who announced his own birth (20:16).

  2. Jeremiah 20:16 זְעָקָה֙ a cry of distress

    May that man be like the cities that the LORD overthrew without compassion. May he hear an outcry in the morning and a battle cry at noon,

  3. Jeremiah 48:4 זְּעָקָ֖ה a cry of distress

    Moab will be shattered; her little ones will cry out.

  4. Jeremiah 48:34 מִזַּעֲקַ֨ת from [the] cry of distress of

    There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they raise their voices to Jahaz, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim have dried up.

  5. Jeremiah 50:46 וּזְעָקָ֖ה and a cry of distress

    At the sound of Babylon’s capture the earth will quake; a cry will be heard among the nations.

  6. Jeremiah 51:54 זְעָקָ֖ה a cry of distress

    “The sound of a cry comes from Babylon, the sound of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 27:28 זַעֲקַ֣ת [the] outcry of

    The countryside will shake when your sailors cry out.

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