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דָּאַג

𐤃𐤀𐤂

dâʼag

H1672 verb

SILEX Entry

Definition

To experience anxiety, worry, or distress; to be troubled or concerned, especially with regard to future misfortune or wellbeing. The verb often expresses emotional unease or apprehension, typically directed at circumstances involving danger, loss, or the fate of others. In some contexts, it conveys a sense of being burdened with care or sorrow.

Semantic Range

to be anxious, to worry, to be troubled, to be concerned, to be uneasy, to be sorrowful

Root / Etymology

Root דאג (dalet-aleph-gimel), likely conveys the sense of apprehension or fear. The core idea is 'to be anxious' or 'to worry,' and from this base sense, it gives rise to related words meaning 'anxiety' and 'worry.' No substantive cognates outside Hebrew are attested, making the root's ultimate linguistic origin uncertain.

Historical & Contextual Notes

The verb דָּאַג appears primarily in poetic and sapiential texts (e.g., Psalms, Jeremiah, Proverbs), often describing both individual and communal apprehension. It is frequently contrasted with verbs like יָרֵא (to fear), which denotes immediate fear of present danger, whereas דָּאַג indicates anxiety about future outcomes or ongoing situations. In post-exilic texts, the nuance shifts slightly toward the care or sorrow one feels out of concern for another's wellbeing (e.g. Nehemiah 13:10). English translations such as 'anxious,' 'worried,' or 'concerned' typically capture the main sense, but translations like 'sorry' or 'careful' (in the sense of 'full of care') can obscure the word's emotional coloration. Later Hebrew develops דְּאָגָה (anxiety, worry) as a noun from this root. Over time, the focus on inner emotional agitation remains central, in contrast to other terms for fear or regret.

Translation Consistency

primary "worry" 0 occurrences

Worry is a natural, common English verb that captures the primary sense of דָּאַג — to feel anxious, troubled, or concerned about future harm or the fate of others. It fits the typical uses in the SILEX range (anxious, concerned, troubled) and can be consistently inflected across all forms while remaining idiomatic.

Alternatives (7 occurrences):
"anxious" (4x) "worried" (1x) "afraid" (1x) "anxious ones" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; be anxious; be afraid (careful, sorry), sorrow, take thought.

Bantu Hebrew

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.

Root Family

דאג (Doeg) — to be anxious, to worry, to be concerned

Root דאג to be anxious, to worry, to be concerned
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1673 דֹּאֵג Anxious One
H1674 דְּאָגָה in anxiety

Word Forms

6 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H1672-05 וְ/דָ֥אַג vedaag HC/Vqp3ms and be anxious and he was anxious and be anxious 2
H1672-01 דָּאַ֤גְתְּ daagete HVqp2fs have you been anxious you were anxious you were anxious 1
H1672-02 דֹּאֲגִ֣ים doagim HVqrmpa are afraid the anxious ones anxious ones 1
H1672-03 דֹאֵ֣ג doeg HVqrmsa am afraid anxious one am afraid 1
H1672-04 אֶ֝דְאַ֗ג edeag HVqi1cs I am anxious I will be anxious I am anxious 1
H1672-06 יִדְאָ֔ג yideag HVqi3ms be anxious he will be anxious it will be anxious 1

Occurrences in Scripture

7 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H1672-05 1 Samuel 9:5 וְ/דָ֥אַג vedaag HC/Vqp3ms and be anxious and he was anxious and be anxious
H1672-05 1 Samuel 10:2 וְ/דָאַ֤ג vedaag HC/Vqp3ms and is anxious and he was anxious and he worried
H1672-01 Isaiah 57:11 דָּאַ֤גְתְּ daagete HVqp2fs have you been anxious you were anxious you were anxious
H1672-06 Jeremiah 17:8 יִדְאָ֔ג yideag HVqi3ms be anxious he will be anxious it will be anxious
H1672-03 Jeremiah 38:19 דֹאֵ֣ג doeg HVqrmsa am afraid anxious one am afraid
H1672-02 Jeremiah 42:16 דֹּאֲגִ֣ים doagim HVqrmpa are afraid the anxious ones anxious ones
H1672-04 Psalms 38:19 אֶ֝דְאַ֗ג edeag HVqi1cs I am anxious I will be anxious I am anxious
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