Aramaic word · H598

אֲנַס

'anes

to constrain

To press, constrain, compel, overpower. It occurs only here in biblical Aramaic. The same root appears in Hebrew in Esther 1:8 ("no one was compelled", ʾên ʾōnēs). In later Aramaic and Hebrew it means "to force, oppress". The form here describes ongoing action: "is pressing".

A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?

Appears once in the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

(P'al) to oppress, compel, constrain

Aramaic of a.nas (אָנַס "to compel" H0597)

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 Daniel 4:9

Range of meaning

To press, constrain, compel, overpower. It occurs only here in biblical Aramaic. The same root appears in Hebrew in Esther 1:8 ("no one was compelled", ʾên ʾōnēs). In later Aramaic and Hebrew it means "to force, oppress". The form here describes ongoing action: "is pressing".

Against the English

KJV and WEB "troubles"; YLT "press" (closest to the root); BSB and NASB "baffles"; ESV and NIV "is too difficult for". All capture the sense. "Baffles" and "too difficult" bring out the result, while "press" keeps the picture of a weight bearing down.

How it drifted

KJV's "troubleth" now sounds like "worries" or "upsets". In 1611 it carried the sense of "afflicts, overburdens", which is closer to the Aramaic.

Used elsewhere in the period

Esther 1:8 (Hebrew, no compulsion at the banquet). It is common in later Jewish Aramaic and rabbinic Hebrew for compulsion and duress (e.g. ʾōnes, "one under constraint").

Where it appears

Daniel · 1

  1. Daniel 4:9 אָנֵ֣ס [is] oppressing

    “O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery baffles you. So explain to me the visions I saw in my dream, and their interpretation.

    Here: "Pressing hard on, overpowering". It occurs only here in biblical Aramaic. No secret leans on Daniel with a weight he can't handle: none is too hard for him.

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