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בָּכָה

𐤁𐤊𐤄

bâkâh

H1058 verb

SILEX Entry

Root בכה to weep, to cry, to lament

Definition

To weep, express grief or deep emotional distress often audibly and with visible emotion; used for both mourning the dead and expressing sorrow for personal or communal misfortune. The word describes both silent and loud weeping, and can denote the act of lamenting, bewailing, or making lamentation for oneself or others.

Semantic Range

to weep, to cry, to express sorrow audibly, to mourn, to lament, to bewail, to shed tears, to express grief vocally or silently

Root / Etymology

From the root בכה meaning 'to weep, to cry.' The form בָּכָה is the qal verb form denoting the action itself (to weep), while related forms (e.g. pi'el) may intensify or nuance the type of weeping (e.g. wailing, lamentation).

Historical & Contextual Notes

בָּכָה appears widely in narratives, poetry, and prophetic oracles to denote the act of weeping for personal loss (e.g. bereavement, distress), national catastrophe (e.g. destruction of cities or exile), or in the context of penitence. In patriarchal and monarchic periods, it frequently marks responses to bereavement and misfortune, as well as ritual lament (cf. Jeremiah, Lamentations). Distinct from קוֹנֵן (to lament in an artistic or professional manner) and ספד (to perform mourning rites), בָּכָה is a more general, personal expression of grief or sorrow. Later prophetic and post-exilic texts may also use it in a communal sense, denoting collective mourning. Standard translations ('weep', 'mourn', 'lament') generally capture its basic meaning, but may miss cultural nuances such as public versus private lamentation, or distinctions between personal, familial, and national grief.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; to weep; generally to bemoan; [idiom] at all, bewail, complain, make lamentation, [idiom] more, mourn, [idiom] sore, [idiom] with tears, weep.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

בכה (b-k-h) — to weep, to cry, to lament

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1056 בָּכָא the Weeping-Valley
H1057 בָּכָא weeping-resin trees
H1059 בֶּכֶה weeping
H1065 בְּכִי in the weeping
H1066 בֹּכִים Weepers

Word Forms

42 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H1058-35 וַ/יִּבְכּֽוּ vayiveku HC/Vqw3mp and wept and they wept 17
H1058-34 וַ/יֵּֽבְךְּ vayevekhe HC/Vqw3ms and wept and he wept 17
H1058-30 וַ/תֵּֽבְךְּ vatevekhe HC/Vqw3fs and wept and she wept 7
H1058-16 תִבְכֶּֽה tivekeh HVqi3fs weep she will weep 5
H1058-22 וּ/בָכֹ֥ה uvakhoh HC/Vqa and weeping and weeping 4
H1058-09 בֹּכֶ֑ה bokheh HVqrmsa weeping weeping one 4
H1058-13 לִ/בְכּ֑וֹת livekot HR/Vqc to weep to weep 4
H1058-42 יִבְכּוּ֙ yiveku HVqi3mp they weep they will weep 4
H1058-19 תִּבְכּ֣וּ tiveku HVqj2mp weep may you weep 4
H1058-26 וָֽ/אֶבְכֶּ֑ה vaevekeh HC/Vqw1cs and wept and I wept 3

Occurrences in Scripture

116 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H1058-30 Genesis 21:16 וַ/תֵּֽבְךְּ vatevekhe HC/Vqw3fs and wept and she wept
H1058-37 Genesis 23:2 וְ/לִ/בְכֹּתָֽ/הּ velivekotah HC/R/Vqc/Sp3fs and to weep for her and to weep for her
H1058-34 Genesis 27:38 וַ/יֵּֽבְךְּ vayevekhe HC/Vqw3ms and wept and he wept
H1058-34 Genesis 29:11 וַ/יֵּֽבְךְּ vayevekhe HC/Vqw3ms wept and he wept
H1058-35 Genesis 33:4 וַ/יִּבְכּֽוּ vayiveku HC/Vqw3mp and they wept and they wept
H1058-34 Genesis 37:35 וַ/יֵּ֥בְךְּ vayevekhe HC/Vqw3ms and he wept and he wept
H1058-34 Genesis 42:24 וַ/יֵּ֑בְךְּ vayevekhe HC/Vqw3ms and wept and he wept
H1058-13 Genesis 43:30 לִ/בְכּ֑וֹת livekot HR/Vqc to weep to weep
H1058-34 Genesis 43:30 וַ/יֵּ֥בְךְּ vayevekhe HC/Vqw3ms wept and he wept
H1058-34 Genesis 45:14 וַ/יֵּ֑בְךְּ vayevekhe HC/Vqw3ms and wept and he wept
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