Hebrew word · H7775

שַׁוְעָה

veshav'ati

cry

A cry for help, an outcry from distress. It comes from the verb shiwwa', 'to cry out for help'. The word is used almost only for people in trouble calling on God.

Appears 11 times in 11 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

cry for help

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 145:19

Range of meaning

A cry for help, an outcry from distress. It comes from the verb shiwwa', 'to cry out for help'. The word is used almost only for people in trouble calling on God.

Against the English

'Cry' (KJV, BSB, ESV, NIV) is accurate but can sound like weeping. NLT's 'cries for help' brings out the meaning better.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 2:23: 'their cry for help (shav'atam, the identical form) went up to God' from slavery in Egypt. Ps 18:6 (Heb 18:7): 'my cry came before him'; Ps 34:15 (Heb 34:16): 'his ears are open to their cry'; also Ps 39:12; 40:1; 102:1. The Septuagint uses deēsis, 'petition, plea'.

From the study of Psalm 34:15

Range of meaning

A cry for help or a shout for rescue. It comes from the verb šāwaʿ (in the form šiwwaʿ), 'to cry out for help'. It occurs about eleven times, almost always in prayer from distress (Exod 2:23 of Israel in Egypt; Ps 18:6; 39:12; 102:1; Lam 3:56).

Against the English

English 'cry' is ambiguous. It can mean weeping or shouting. Here it is the shout. NIV and NLT give 'cry/cries'. The Greek Septuagint makes it more formal, deēsis, 'petition'.

How it drifted

Most modern readers hear 'cry' as tears. The Hebrew word is a call for rescue: urgent and loud, aimed at someone who can save.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 2:23, where the šawʿâ of the enslaved Israelites 'went up to God'. That is the classic scene in which God hears the oppressed and acts. Ps 18:6 (= 2 Sam 22:7) pairs it with God hearing 'from his temple'.

From the study of Psalm 40:1

Range of meaning

A cry for help, a shout of distress, a call for rescue. It is related to the verb shivvaʿ, 'cry out for help'. It is the cry of someone in danger or oppression, not a calm request.

Against the English

KJV/BSB/WEB 'cry' is fine. Some modern versions add 'for help', which makes it clearer that this is a distress call.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 2:23: Israel's shavʿāh in slavery 'went up to God'. Ps 18:7 (Eng 18:6): 'my cry came before him, into his ears'. Ps 34:16 (Eng 34:15): 'his ears are toward their cry'. Most striking, Ps 39:13 (Eng 39:12), the line just before this psalm: shimʿāh təfillātî YHWH wəshavʿātî haʾăzînāh, 'Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry'. The LXX here has deēsis, 'petition'.

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 2:23 שַׁוְעָתָ֛ם cry for help their

    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: "Their cry for help": a call for rescue. Outside this verse the noun appears almost only in poetry, especially the Psalms, where it is the cry that reaches God's ears (Ps 18:6).

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 5:12 שַֽׁוְעַ֥ת [the] cry for help of

    Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 22:7 וְשַׁוְעָתִ֖י and cry for help my

    In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried out to my God. And from His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for help reached His ears.

    Here: 'And my cry for help'. This is a scream for rescue, the cry of someone calling 'Help!', which is stronger than a general prayer.

Psalms · 6

  1. Psalm 18:6 וְ֝שַׁוְעָתִ֗י and cry for help my

    In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears.

    Here: 'And my cry for help'. This noun comes from the same root as 'I cried for help' earlier in the verse, so the very cry the speaker sent out is the one that arrives.

  2. Psalm 34:15 שַׁוְעָתָֽם׃ cry for help their

    The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their cry.

    Here: 'Their cry for help'. This is a shout for rescue from someone in trouble, not quiet weeping. It looks back to v. 6 ('this poor man called out, and the LORD heard him') and forward to v. 17 ('the righteous cry out, and the LORD hears').

  3. Psalm 39:12 וְשַׁוְעָתִ֨י׀ and cry for help my

    Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping. For I am a foreigner dwelling with You, a stranger like all my fathers.

    Here: 'And my cry for help': a loud call of someone in distress shouting for rescue. A step more desperate than 'prayer'.

  4. Psalm 40:1 שַׁוְעָתִֽי׃ cry for help my

    For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry.

    Here: 'My cry for help.' This is a loud, desperate call for rescue, not a quiet request. It shows that the 'waiting' of the first half went along with crying out.

  5. Psalm 102:1 וְ֝שַׁוְעָתִ֗י and cry for help my

    A prayer of one who is afflicted, when he grows faint and pours out his lament before the LORD. Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry for help come before You.

    Here: 'And my cry for help.' A loud call for rescue from someone in danger. The word sharpens 'prayer': this is not calm speech but a shout of distress.

  6. Psalm 145:19 שַׁוְעָתָ֥ם cry for help their

    He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them.

    Here: 'Their cry for help.' This is the shout of someone in trouble calling for rescue, not polite or formal prayer. The exact same form appears in Exodus 2:23, where Israel's cry from slavery in Egypt went up to God.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 8:19 שַֽׁוְעַ֣ת [the] cry for help of

    Listen to the cry of the daughter of my people from a land far away: “Is the LORD no longer in Zion? Is her King no longer there?” “Why have they provoked Me to anger with their carved images, with their worthless foreign idols?”

    Here: Not just weeping but an outcry for rescue, the kind of shout a victim raises hoping someone powerful will step in. It is the word used of Israel's cry in Egypt (Exod 2:23).

Lamentations · 1

  1. Lamentations 3:56 לְשַׁוְעָתִֽי׃ to cry for help my

    You heard my plea: “Do not ignore my cry for relief.”

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