Hebrew word · H584

אָנַח

vaiye'anechu

to sigh

To sigh or groan. It is always the sound of distress: grief, exhaustion, oppression, or dread of disaster.

Appears 13 times in 12 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) (Niphal) sigh, groan (in pain or grief), gasp

1a) moan (of cattle)

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 29:2

Range of meaning

To sigh or groan. It is always the sound of distress: grief, exhaustion, oppression, or dread of disaster.

Against the English

KJV "mourn" suggests grief over a death. Most modern versions have "groan," YLT "sigh." "Groan" fits best: it is the low sound of people bearing something heavy that they cannot remove.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 2:23: "the Israelites groaned (wayye'anchu) under their slavery and cried out." Lam 1:4, 8, 11, 21 (desolate Jerusalem sighing). Isa 24:7. Ezek 21:6–7 (Heb. 21:11–12). The word belongs to the language of oppression and lament.

From the study of Ezekiel 9:4

Range of meaning

To sigh or groan from deep inner distress: grief, exhaustion, anguish. It always appears in the Niphal stem, a verb form that here describes something happening inside the person. It is used of mourning Zion and her priests (Lamentations 1:4, 8, 11, 21), of Israel groaning under bondage (Exodus 2:23 uses the related noun), and of people groaning under wicked rule (Proverbs 29:2).

Against the English

“Sigh” (KJV, ESV, NASB, BSB) can sound mild in modern English, like mild annoyance or tiredness. NIV “grieve” and NLT “weep” bring out the emotion but lose the physical, breath-heavy picture.

How it drifted

Modern English “sigh” has weakened toward boredom or impatience. The Hebrew is the sound of anguish.

Used elsewhere in the period

God tells Ezekiel himself to “sigh, with breaking heart and bitter grief, before their eyes” (Ezekiel 21:11–12 [Eng. 21:6–7]), using this same verb. When people ask why, he is to say it is because of the coming disaster.

From the study of Jeremiah 22:23

Range of meaning

If from ʾānaḥ, the verb means to sigh or groan under distress. The longer form neʾĕnaḥt appears for example in Jeremiah 45:3. If from ḥānan ('be gracious'), the passive would mean 'be shown pity' or 'be pitied'.

Against the English

BSB and most modern versions: 'how you will groan'. WEB: 'how greatly to be pitied you will be'. KJV and YLT: 'how gracious'. The renderings split because the Hebrew form is irregular.

How it drifted

The KJV followed a derivation from ḥānan ('grace, favor'). In modern English 'gracious' means kind or elegant, which makes the line nearly unreadable.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint renders it with katastenazō ('groan deeply'), the Vulgate with congemo ('groan together'), and the Syriac similarly. BDB treats the form as probably standing for neʾĕnaḥt. Some medieval Jewish interpreters derived it from ḥānan ('how will you find favor' / 'how you will plead for favor'), and that line runs through to the KJV.

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 2:23 וַיֵּאָנְח֧וּ and they groaned

    After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned and cried out under their burden of slavery, and their cry for deliverance from bondage ascended to God.

    Here: A deep groan or moan of distress, pushed out by pain or exhaustion. It is not speech. Proverbs 29:2 uses the same verb: "when the wicked rule, the people groan." It comes first because the death of the king brought them no relief.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 29:2 יֵאָ֥נַֽח it sighs

    When the righteous flourish, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.

    Here: The groan of people who are worn down and cannot change their situation. The same verb describes Israel groaning under slavery in Egypt (Exod 2:23). It is a sound of oppression, not a protest.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 24:7 נֶאֶנְח֖וּ they have groaned

    The new wine dries up, the vine withers. All the merrymakers now groan.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 22:23 נֵּחַנְתְּ֙ you will groan

    O inhabitant of Lebanon, nestled in the cedars, how you will groan when pangs of anguish come upon you, agony like a woman in labor.”

    Here: 'You will groan.' The supplied data and the ancient translations take it as a shortened form of neʾĕnaḥt, from the root for groaning. Others derived it from a root meaning 'show favor', giving 'how you will be pitied' or the KJV's 'how gracious'. Either way, the picture is the proud city reduced to moaning.

Lamentations · 4

  1. Lamentations 1:4 נֶאֱנָחִ֑ים [are] groaning

    The roads to Zion mourn, because no one comes to her appointed feasts. All her gates are deserted; her priests groan, her maidens grieve, and she herself is bitter with anguish.

    Here: "Groaning": the deep audible sigh of someone in distress. The same verb comes back in 1:8, 11, 21 and 22, where Zion herself groans.

  2. Lamentations 1:8 נֶאֶנְחָ֖ה <she> has groaned

    Jerusalem has sinned greatly; therefore she has become an object of scorn. All who honored her now despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans and turns away.

    Here: A deep, audible groan of distress. The same verb is used for her priests (1:4), her people (1:11) and Zion herself (1:21–22), and it threads through the whole chapter.

  3. Lamentations 1:11 נֶאֱנָחִים֙ [are] groaning

    All her people groan as they search for bread. They have traded their treasures for food to keep themselves alive. Look, O LORD, and consider, for I have become despised.

  4. Lamentations 1:21 נֶאֱנָחָ֣ה [was] groaning

    People have heard my groaning, but there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that You have caused it. May You bring the day You have announced, so that they may become like me.

    Here: A feminine form describing an ongoing state: the woman Zion is groaning and has not stopped. It is the audible gasp of someone grieving or in pain, and it picks up the groaning of priests (v. 4), of Zion herself (v. 8) and of her people (v. 11). It returns in v. 22: 'my groans are many.'

Ezekiel · 4

  1. Ezekiel 9:4 הַנֶּֽאֱנָחִים֙ who sigh

    “Go throughout the city of Jerusalem,” said the LORD, “and put a mark on the foreheads of the men sighing and groaning over all the abominations committed there.”

    Here: “Those who keep sighing.” This is the deep, heavy breath of distress used in Lamentations for a mourning Zion. The participle describes an ongoing state, not one sigh.

  2. Ezekiel 21:6 הֵֽאָנַ֑ח תֵּֽאָנַ֖ח groan, you will groan

    But you, son of man, groan! Groan before their eyes with a broken heart and bitter grief.

  3. Ezekiel 21:7 נֶאֱנָ֑ח groaning

    And when they ask, ‘Why are you groaning?’ you are to say, ‘Because of the news that is coming. Every heart will melt, and every hand will go limp. Every spirit will faint, and every knee will turn to water.’ Yes, it is coming and it will surely happen, declares the Lord GOD.”

    Here: A participle, so it describes something ongoing: Ezekiel is in the middle of a sustained, audible groan. This is the deep moan of grief or distress, not a light sigh.

Joel · 1

  1. Joel 1:18 נֶּאֶנְחָ֣ה it has groaned

    How the cattle groan! The herds wander in confusion because they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep are suffering.

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