Hebrew word · H8424

תּוּגָה

tugah

grief

Grief, sorrow, heaviness of heart. From the root ygh, 'to be grieved, afflicted'. It is a lasting inner weight, not a passing upset.

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

What it means

grief, heaviness, sorrow

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 10:1

Range of meaning

Grief, sorrow, heaviness of heart. From the root ygh, 'to be grieved, afflicted'. It is a lasting inner weight, not a passing upset.

Against the English

KJV's 'heaviness' keeps the sense of weight. 'Grief' is accurate but in modern English often suggests bereavement. 'Sorrow' is close.

Used elsewhere in the period

Rare: Prov 10:1; 14:13 ('the end of joy is grief'); 17:21; Ps 119:28 ('my soul melts from grief'). The Septuagint uses lypē, 'pain, sorrow'.

From the study of Psalm 119:28

Range of meaning

Grief, sorrow, heaviness of heart. From the root ygh, 'to grieve, afflict.' A rare word: Prov 10:1; 14:13; 17:21; Ps 119:28.

Against the English

KJV 'heaviness' (in older English this meant sorrow); most modern versions 'sorrow' or 'grief'; YLT 'affliction.'

Used elsewhere in the period

Prov 10:1, 'a foolish son is the grief of his mother'; Prov 14:13, 'the end of joy is grief.' It is the grief of real loss and disappointment. The Septuagint here renders it akēdia, 'weariness, listlessness,' the word later Christian monks used for spiritual apathy. That later sense is not in the Hebrew.

Where it appears

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 119:28 מִתּוּגָ֑ה from grief

    My soul melts with sorrow; strengthen me according to Your word.

    Here: 'From grief' gives the cause: sorrow is what makes the self leak away. Elsewhere tugah is the heavy grief a foolish son brings his mother (Prov 10:1), so it is deep, lasting distress and not a passing low mood.

Proverbs · 3

  1. Proverbs 10:1 תּוּגַ֥ת [is] [the] grief of

    The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.

    Here: A heavy, lingering sorrow. The form ties it to what follows: 'the grief of'. The second line has no verb, so the son does not just cause grief. He is his mother's grief.

  2. Proverbs 14:13 תוּגָֽה׃ [may be] grief

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

  3. Proverbs 17:21 לְת֣וּגָה to grief

    A man fathers a fool to his own grief; the father of a fool has no joy.

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