עוֹנָה
𐤏𐤅𐤍𐤄
ʻôwnâh
H5772 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Sexual intercourse within the context of marriage, specifically the conjugal rights or responsibilities of a spouse, most commonly referring to a husband’s regular obligation to sexual union with his wife. The term primarily denotes the due portion or scheduled occurrence of cohabitation, as prescribed within marital relations in legal or ethical contexts.
Semantic Range
assignment, allotted portion (of time or duty), period of regular cohabitation, marital sexual duty, conjugal rights
Root / Etymology
Derived from the root ענה (ʿ-n-h), whose core meaning relates to 'turning', 'responding', or 'assigning'. In the form עוֹנָה, it likely has the sense of an 'assigned portion' or 'time', in this case the regular interval or assignment of marital intimacy. The specific usage as 'sexual duty' seems to have evolved from the root idea of 'apportioning' or 'assigning'.
Historical & Contextual Notes
עוֹנָה appears only once in the Hebrew Bible (Exodus 21:10), where it refers to the conjugal rights or marital sexual duty owed by a husband to his wife. In later Rabbinic literature, the term further develops to refer to the legally prescribed frequency of marital intercourse, reflecting social and economic status. This specific technical use sets it apart from other terms for sexual activity (such as שָׁכַב, 'to lie [with]'). The Septuagint and later translations sometimes render the term generically, but its original nuance was more technical and precise. The term does not appear to have referred to romantic or emotional aspects of marriage, but rather to the concrete legal/physical responsibility. Later usage (post-biblical) sometimes conflated the term with the broader concept of marital rights in general. The translation as 'duty of marriage' in older sources reflects these later developments and may not capture the precise technical nuance of the biblical period.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from an unused root apparently meaning to dwell together; sexual (cohabitation); duty of marriage.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.
Root Family
ענה (Baana) — to afflict, humble, oppress
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H1195 | בַּעֲנָא | Son of Affliction |
| H1196 | בַּעֲנָה | In Affliction |
| H2057 | וַנְיָה | Yah Answers |
| H3283 | יָעֵן | ostriches |
| H3284 | יַעֲנָה | the female ostrich |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H5772-01 |
וְ/עֹנָתָ֖/הּ | veonatah | HC/Ncfsc/Sp3fs |
and her marital rights | and her allotted conjugal-duty | and her marital rights | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H5772-01 |
Exodus 21:10 | וְ/עֹנָתָ֖/הּ | veonatah | HC/Ncfsc/Sp3fs |
and her marital rights | and her allotted conjugal-duty | and her marital rights |