Hebrew word · H3510

כָּאַב

ko'avim

to pain

To be in pain, to hurt, to suffer, physically or mentally. Related noun: mak'ov, 'pain, sorrow' (Isa 53:3, 'a man of sorrows').

Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to be in pain, be sore, have pain, be sorrowful

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to be in pain (physical)

1a2) to be in pain (mental)

1b) (Hiphil)

1b1) to cause pain, hurt, mar

1b2) pain, mar (participle)

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 Psalm 69:29

Range of meaning

To be in pain, to hurt, to suffer, physically or mentally. Related noun: mak'ov, 'pain, sorrow' (Isa 53:3, 'a man of sorrows').

Against the English

KJV 'sorrowful' leans toward emotional grief. BSB/WEB 'pain' leans toward the physical. The Hebrew covers both.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used of bodily pain (Gen 34:25, the men of Shechem after circumcision; Job 14:22) and of anguish of heart (Prov 14:13). The LXX here has algōn, 'feeling pain'.

From the study of Job 5:18

Range of meaning

In its basic form: to be in pain, to ache, to be sore. It is used of the body (Gen 34:25, the men of Shechem 'in pain' after circumcision) and of the mind (Prov 14:13, 'even in laughter the heart may ache'). In the causative form used here it means to cause pain or to grieve someone: Ezek 13:22, 'you have grieved the heart of the righteous'; Ezek 28:24, a 'painful thorn'; 2 Kgs 3:19, ruining good land with stones.

Against the English

KJV 'maketh sore' and YLT 'doth pain' are exact. BSB, WEB and other modern versions say 'wounds', which pictures an injury that breaks the skin. The Hebrew points to the hurt itself, which can be grief as much as injury.

How it drifted

Modern versions choose 'wounds' so the verb pairs neatly with 'binds up' (a bandage needs a wound). That is reasonable, but it narrows a word that also covers inner grief.

Used elsewhere in the period

The noun from the same root, makʾov, means pain or sorrow. It appears in Job's own complaint (Job 33:19) and in the Servant of Isa 53:3–4, 'a man of sorrows', 'carried our sorrows'.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 34:25 כֹּֽאֲבִ֗ים in pain

    Three days later, while they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons (Dinah’s brothers Simeon and Levi) took their swords, went into the unsuspecting city, and slaughtered every male.

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 3:19 תַּכְאִ֖בוּ you will spoil

    And you shall attack every fortified city and every city of importance. You shall cut down every good tree, stop up every spring, and ruin every good field with stones.”

Job · 2

  1. Job 5:18 יַכְאִ֣יב he causes pain

    For He wounds, but He also binds; He strikes, but His hands also heal.

    Here: The causative form of 'to be in pain'. It means 'he makes (someone) hurt'. The pain can be of body or heart. The word is about the ache, not about a cut or an open wound.

  2. Job 14:22 יִכְאָ֑ב it is in pain

    He feels only the pain of his own body and mourns only for himself.”

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 69:29 וְכוֹאֵ֑ב and [am] in pain

    But I am in pain and distress; let Your salvation protect me, O God.

    Here: A participle, a verb form describing an ongoing state: 'and I am hurting'. The verb covers physical pain and emotional anguish, and here it fits the psalm's picture of a body and spirit worn out (vv. 3, 20).

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 14:13 יִכְאַב־ it is in pain

    Even in laughter the heart may ache, and joy may end in sorrow.

Ezekiel · 2

  1. Ezekiel 13:22 הִכְאַבְתִּ֑יו I caused pain him

    Because you have disheartened the righteous with your lies, even though I have caused them no grief, and because you have encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways to save their lives,

    Here: 'I had not pained him.' It sounds almost the same as hakhʾot earlier in the verse. The wordplay says that the pain the women caused had no backing from God. 'Him' is the righteous person, or possibly his heart.

  2. Ezekiel 28:24 מַכְאִ֔ב [which] causes pain

    For the people of Israel will no longer face a pricking brier or a painful thorn from all around them who treat them with contempt. Then they will know that I am the Lord GOD.’

    Here: "Inflicting pain". A participle that matches "festering", so each plant gets a word for the injury it does.

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