עָמָל
𐤏𐤌𐤋
ʻâmâl
H5999 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Physical or mental hardship resulting from strenuous labor or exertion, affliction, or distress; often connotes exhausting or burdensome toil and the suffering or frustration that accompanies it. The term can refer to labor in the sense of difficult work as well as to the trouble, pain, or misery that are the consequences or experience of hardship. In some contexts, it carries a sense of suffering as a result of injustice, wrongdoing, or affliction by others.
Semantic Range
toil, burdensome work, hardship, affliction, distress, suffering from oppression, pain, misery, frustration, injustice, trouble, travail
Root / Etymology
Root: עמל. The root עמל means 'to labor, toil, work with difficulty' and is primarily associated with exhaustive or burdensome effort. The noun עָמָל derives directly from this root and denotes both the process (toil) and its painful or problematic outcomes (distress, suffering).
Historical & Contextual Notes
עָמָל appears throughout the Hebrew Bible in various contexts, ranging from descriptions of the hardship faced by individuals (such as in the Psalms, where personal pain and anguish are expressed) to depictions of collective suffering under oppression. In wisdom literature (e.g., Ecclesiastes), עָמָל is often used to describe the wearisome and seemingly futile effort humans make in life, highlighting existential themes of vanity and impermanence. In prophetic texts, עָמָל can be paired with terms like אָוֶן (iniquity) to underscore distress caused by injustice or violent actions, sometimes with a focus on societal corruption or exploitation. Unlike עָבֹדָה (work, service), which can carry neutral or positive connotations, עָמָל almost always emphasizes hardship, laboriousness, or the negative results of arduous effort. In post-exilic and later tradition, עָמָל retained its association with burdensome suffering but was sometimes interpreted metaphorically for moral or existential anguish. Modern translations often use 'trouble,' 'toil,' or 'affliction,' but these may not capture the word's full breadth, which ties physical and emotional effort to pain, frustration, and sometimes the destructive consequences of oppression or injustice.
Translation Consistency
Hardship best covers the full semantic range of עָמָל — physical or mental toil, burdensome work, affliction, distress, and suffering from oppression — while remaining natural English. It is broader than ‘toil’ (which emphasizes labor) and more specific than ‘trouble,’ so it fits the typical usage across contexts where the term denotes burdensome suffering or strenuous exertion.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from עָמַל; toil, i.e. wearing effort; hence, worry, wheth. of body or mind; grievance(-vousness), iniquity, labour, mischief, miserable(-sery), pain(-ful), perverseness, sorrow, toil, travail, trouble, wearisome, wickedness.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.
Root Family
עמל (ʿ-m-l) — to toil, labor with difficulty, suffer hardship
Word Forms
18 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H5999-01 |
עָמָ֖ל | amal | HNcbsa |
trouble | burdensome toil | burdensome hardship | 23 |
H5999-04 |
עֲמָל֣/וֹ | amalo | HNcbsc/Sp3ms |
his trouble | his burdensome toil | his burdensome toil | 6 |
H5999-03 |
עֲמָלִ֔/י | amali | HNcbsc/Sp1cs |
my toil | my hardship-toil | my hardship-toil | 5 |
H5999-18 |
וְ/עָמָ֣ל | veamal | HC/Ncbsa |
and trouble | and burdensome toil | and hardship | 3 |
H5999-17 |
וַ֝/עֲמָל֗/וֹ | vaamalo | HC/Ncbsc/Sp3ms |
and his trouble | his burdensome toil | and his hardship | 3 |
H5999-07 |
בַּ/עֲמָל֑/וֹ | baamalo | HR/Ncbsc/Sp3ms |
in his toil | in his toil | 2 | |
H5999-05 |
בַּ/עֲמַ֥ל | baamal | HR/Ncbsc |
in the trouble | in the burdensome toil | in the hardship | 2 |
H5999-13 |
וּ/בַ/עֲמָ֣לְ/ךָ֔ | uvaamalekha | HC/R/Ncbsc/Sp2ms |
and in your toil | and in your toilsome hardship | and in your toilsome hardship | 1 |
H5999-10 |
לְ/עָמָ֣ל | leamal | HR/Ncbsa |
to trouble | to burdensome toil | for burdensome toil | 1 |
H5999-08 |
בֶּ/עָמָ֣ל | beamal | HRd/Ncbsa |
with labor | in burdensome toil | with burdensome toil | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
55 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H5999-03 |
Genesis 41:51 | עֲמָלִ֔/י | amali | HNcbsc/Sp1cs |
my toil | my hardship-toil | my hardship-toil |
H5999-01 |
Numbers 23:21 | עָמָ֖ל | amal | HNcbsa |
trouble | burdensome toil | burdensome hardship |
H5999-02 |
Deuteronomy 26:7 | עֲמָלֵ֖/נוּ | amalenu | HNcbsc/Sp1cp |
our toil | our burdensome toil | our burdensome toil |
H5999-05 |
Judges 10:16 | בַּ/עֲמַ֥ל | baamal | HR/Ncbsc |
in the misery | in the burdensome toil | in the hardship |
H5999-01 |
Isaiah 10:1 | עָמָ֖ל | amal | HNcbsa |
oppression | burdensome toil | oppression |
H5999-11 |
Isaiah 53:11 | מֵ/עֲמַ֤ל | meamal | HR/Ncbsc |
from the anguish | from toil-hardship | from toil-hardship |
H5999-01 |
Isaiah 59:4 | עָמָ֖ל | amal | HNcbsa |
mischief | burdensome toil | burdensome hardship |
H5999-01 |
Jeremiah 20:18 | עָמָ֖ל | amal | HNcbsa |
labor | burdensome toil | burdensome hardship |
H5999-18 |
Habakkuk 1:3 | וְ/עָמָ֣ל | veamal | HC/Ncbsa |
and trouble | and burdensome toil | and hardship |
H5999-01 |
Habakkuk 1:13 | עָמָ֖ל | amal | HNcbsa |
iniquity | burdensome toil | burdensome hardship |