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אָנַשׁ

𐤀𐤍𐤔

ʼânash

H605 adjective

SILEX Entry

Root אנשׁ to be frail, to be weak, to be sick

Definition

To be weak, frail, sick, or desperately ill—most often referring to a condition that is severe, incurable, or beyond human remedy. Figuratively, to be in a state of moral, social, or existential hopelessness or decline. The term is frequently used of illnesses (physical or metaphorical) whose severity removes hope of healing.

Semantic Range

to be sick, to be incurable, to be desperately ill, to be feeble, to be in a hopeless condition (figuratively: of moral or social decline), to be woeful, to be beyond remedy

Root / Etymology

Root: אנשׁ, core meaning 'to be weak, feeble, frail.' The verb derives directly from the root and in Hebrew is typically used in the Niphal or Hophal forms, reflecting states or conditions rather than actions.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Throughout the Hebrew Bible, אָנַשׁ appears primarily in poetic and prophetic literature (e.g., Jeremiah, Isaiah, Micah) and is almost always used to describe states of physical illness that cannot be healed by ordinary means, or, metaphorically, to describe a person's condition or the morally degraded state of society as beyond remedy. In prophetic literature (Jeremiah 17:9), it famously describes the heart as 'desperately sick,' indicating moral depth and a state of hopeless corruption—though it is the condition, not the disposition, that is emphasized. In some later translation traditions (especially in English), the word has been understood as 'desperately wicked,' though this moral connotation is a development rather than the primary lexical sense; the Hebrew emphasis is on intractability, not on an intensified degree of evil. It contrasts with חלה (ḥālāh, 'to be sick, weak'), which has a broader and less severe semantic range, and חלש (ḥālâsh, 'to be weak, powerless'), which does not inherently denote incurability. The sense of melancholy or woe emerges in contexts where incurability leads to despair, but the word itself is not primarily emotional in meaning. Its use spans the monarchic through post-exilic periods, with increasing metaphorical application in later prophetic literature. English translations often render it as 'incurable,' 'sick,' or 'woeful,' but these sometimes undertranslate the severity of the term.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; to be frail, feeble, or (figuratively) melancholy; desperate(-ly wicked), incurable, sick, woeful.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

אנשׁ (ʾ-n-sh) — frailty, weakness, sickness

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H582 אֱנוֹשׁ frail mortal

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H605-01 אָנֽוּשׁ anush HAamsa incurable incurably sick 5
H605-02 אֲנוּשָׁ֑ה֙ anushah HAafsa incurable incurably sick 2
H605-03 וַ/יֵּאָנַֽשׁ vayeanash HC/VNw3ms and it became very sick and he became desperately ill 1
H605-04 וְ/אָנֻ֣שׁ veanush HC/Aamsa and desperately sick incurably sick 1

Occurrences in Scripture

9 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H605-03 2 Samuel 12:15 וַ/יֵּאָנַֽשׁ vayeanash HC/VNw3ms and it became very sick and he became desperately ill
H605-01 Isaiah 17:11 אָנֽוּשׁ anush HAamsa incurable incurably sick
H605-02 Jeremiah 15:18 אֲנוּשָׁ֑ה֙ anushah HAafsa incurable incurably sick
H605-04 Jeremiah 17:9 וְ/אָנֻ֣שׁ veanush HC/Aamsa and desperately sick incurably sick
H605-01 Jeremiah 17:16 אָנ֛וּשׁ anush HAamsa woeful incurably sick
H605-01 Jeremiah 30:12 אָנ֣וּשׁ anush HAamsa incurable incurably sick
H605-01 Jeremiah 30:15 אָנ֖וּשׁ anush HAamsa incurable incurably sick
H605-02 Micah 1:9 אֲנוּשָׁ֖ה anushah HAafsa is incurable incurably sick
H605-01 Job 34:6 אָנ֖וּשׁ anush HAamsa incurable incurably sick
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