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מַכְאֹב

𐤌𐤊𐤀𐤁

makʼôb

H4341 noun

SILEX Entry

Root כאב to hurt, feel pain, suffer, grieve

Definition

Physical pain or suffering, or metaphorically, emotional affliction or distress. The word expresses the experience of pain from wounds, illness, or hardship, and by extension, deep sorrow, especially that which is visible or externally discerned. Its senses include literal bodily pain and figurative applications describing inward grief, mental agony, or the distress associated with personal or communal tragedy.

Semantic Range

bodily pain, physical suffering, hurt from wounds or illness, mental or emotional pain, affliction, grief, sorrow, distress

Root / Etymology

From the root כָּאַב (ka'av), meaning 'to hurt, suffer pain, feel grief.' מַכְאֹב is a noun derived from this root, functioning as a concrete or abstract expression of 'pain' or 'suffering.' The feminine form is מַכְאֹבָה (mak'ovah).

Historical & Contextual Notes

The term מַכְאֹב most often denotes tangible bodily pain, as seen in contexts involving physical illness or injury (e.g., Job 33:19). Its figurative usage broadens to encompass emotional or existential grief, especially in later or poetic literature (e.g., Isaiah 53:3–4), where it describes profound suffering, often communal or representative in nature. In post-exilic and prophetic literature, מַכְאֹב appears in contexts of collective distress or lamentation. English translations typically render מַכְאֹב as 'pain,' 'grief,' or 'sorrow,' but each term captures only part of its semantic scope, as the Hebrew word is not restricted to emotional states and frequently retains a strong sense of physicality. It can also be differentiated from related terms such as צַעַר (distress), חֳלִי (sickness), and עָצֶב (sorrow), each emphasizing different aspects of suffering.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

sometimes מַכְאוֹב; also (feminine Isaiah 53:3) מַכְאֹבָה; from כָּאַב; anguish or (figuratively) affliction; grief, pain, sorrow.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

כאב (k-ʾ-v) — to hurt, feel pain, suffer, grieve

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H3510 כָּאַב I caused him pain
H3511 כְּאֵב the pain

Word Forms

12 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H4341-04 מַכְא֖וֹב makheov HNcmsc pain pain 3
H4341-07 מַכְאֹבִ֑/י makheovi HNcmsc/Sp1cs my pain my pain 2
H4341-08 מַכְאוֹבִ֗ים makheovim HNcmpa sorrows pains 2
H4341-12 וּ/מַכְאֹב֔/וֹ umakheovo HC/Ncmsc/Sp3ms and his grief and his pain 1
H4341-01 בְּ֭/מַכְאוֹב bemakheov HR/Ncmsa with-pain in pain 1
H4341-02 כְּ/מַכְאֹבִ֔/י kemakheovi HR/Ncmsc/Sp1cs like my suffering like my pain 1
H4341-03 לְ/מַכְאוֹבָ֔/הּ lemakheovah HR/Ncmsc/Sp3fs for her pain to her pain 1
H4341-11 וּ/מַכְאוֹבִ֖/י umakheovi HC/Ncmsc/Sp1cs and my pain and my pain 1
H4341-05 מַכְאֹבָֽי/ו makheovayv HNcmpc/Sp3ms their sufferings. his pains 1
H4341-10 וּ/מַכְאֹבֵ֖י/נוּ umakheoveynu HC/Ncmpc/Sp1cp and our pains and our pains 1

Occurrences in Scripture

16 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H4341-05 Exodus 3:7 מַכְאֹבָֽי/ו makheovayv HNcmpc/Sp3ms their sufferings. his pains
H4341-09 Isaiah 53:3 מַכְאֹב֖וֹת makheovot HNcmpa of sorrows pains
H4341-10 Isaiah 53:4 וּ/מַכְאֹבֵ֖י/נוּ umakheoveynu HC/Ncmpc/Sp1cp and our pains and our pains
H4341-06 Jeremiah 30:15 מַכְאֹבֵ֑/ךְ makheovekhe HNcmsc/Sp2fs your pain your pain
H4341-07 Jeremiah 45:3 מַכְאֹבִ֑/י makheovi HNcmsc/Sp1cs my pain my pain
H4341-03 Jeremiah 51:8 לְ/מַכְאוֹבָ֔/הּ lemakheovah HR/Ncmsc/Sp3fs for her pain to her pain
H4341-08 Psalms 32:10 מַכְאוֹבִ֗ים makheovim HNcmpa sorrows pains
H4341-11 Psalms 38:18 וּ/מַכְאוֹבִ֖/י umakheovi HC/Ncmsc/Sp1cs and my pain and my pain
H4341-04 Psalms 69:27 מַכְא֖וֹב makheov HNcmsc pain pain
H4341-01 Job 33:19 בְּ֭/מַכְאוֹב bemakheov HR/Ncmsa with-pain in pain
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