Hebrew word · H5009

נְאָקָה

na'akatam

groan

A groan or moan, the deep sound of someone in extreme pain or distress. The noun is rare: Exod 2:24; 6:5; Judg 2:18; Ezek 30:24. The related verb appears in Job 24:12 ('from the city the dying groan') and Ezek 30:24.

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

What it means

groan, groaning

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 Exodus 2:24

Range of meaning

A groan or moan, the deep sound of someone in extreme pain or distress. The noun is rare: Exod 2:24; 6:5; Judg 2:18; Ezek 30:24. The related verb appears in Job 24:12 ('from the city the dying groan') and Ezek 30:24.

Against the English

'Groaning' is a good match. It is not a word for prayer or a request but for wordless pain.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Ezek 30:24 Pharaoh will 'groan… with the groans of a mortally wounded man.' Judg 2:18 uses the same word for Israel's groaning under oppressors, which moves God to raise up judges. The Septuagint uses stenagmos, 'sighing, groaning'. Acts 7:34 quotes Exod 3:7 with that Greek word ('I have heard their groaning').

From the study of Exodus 6:5

Range of meaning

A groan or moan of acute distress. The related verb nāʾaq means "to groan". Both are rare. The sound comes from pain, oppression or a fatal wound, more than from sorrow alone.

Against the English

All the major versions say "groaning", which is accurate. English readers can still miss two things. The word is rare and strong, and it names a sound, not a prayer. Neither 2:23–24 nor this verse says Israel addressed God.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Hebrew Bible the noun appears in Exod 2:24 ("God heard their groaning"), Exod 6:5, Judg 2:18 ("their groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them") and Ezek 30:24 (Pharaoh "will groan before him with the groanings of a mortally wounded man"). The verb is in Job 24:12 ("from the city the dying groan"). The Septuagint uses stenagmos, "groaning". Stephen's speech in Acts 7:34 uses the same word when it retells the call of Moses.

From the study of Judges 2:18

Range of meaning

Groaning or moaning: the inarticulate sound of people in pain or under a heavy burden. Rare: Exod 2:24; 6:5; Judg 2:18; Ezek 30:24 (the groans of a mortally wounded man).

Against the English

English versions agree on 'groaning'. The point that gets missed is what groaning is not: it is not prayer, confession or repentance. It is the sound of suffering.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 2:24, 'God heard their groaning (naʾăqātām) and God remembered his covenant'; Exod 6:5, 'I have heard the groaning of the Israelites whom the Egyptians enslave.' The suffix form in Judg 2:18 (naʾăqātām, 'their groaning') matches Exod 2:24 exactly.

Where it appears

Exodus · 2

  1. Exodus 2:24 נַאֲקָתָ֑ם groaning their

    So God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

    Here: A rare word for a deep, involuntary groan of pain. Elsewhere it is the moan of a man dying from his wounds (Ezek 30:24). This is not a worded prayer. It is the sound of people crushed by forced labour, and God hears even that.

  2. Exodus 6:5 נַאֲקַת֙ [the] groaning of

    Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered My covenant.

    Here: The deep groan of someone crushed by pain, the sound in Ezekiel 30:24 of a man fatally wounded. It is a wordless sound of misery, not a worded prayer, and God says he has heard it.

Judges · 1

  1. Judges 2:18 מִנַּֽאֲקָתָ֔ם from groaning their

    Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for the Israelites, He was with that judge and saved them from the hands of their enemies while the judge was still alive; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning under those who oppressed them and afflicted them.

    Here: Their groaning, the moaning of people in pain, is what moves God. It is the word used of Israel's groaning in Egypt (Exod 2:24; 6:5). It describes distress, not confession.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 30:24 נַאֲק֥וֹת [the] groans of

    I will strengthen the arms of Babylon’s king and place My sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, who will groan before him like a mortally wounded man.

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