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תַּעֲנִית

𐤕𐤏𐤍𐤉𐤕

taʻănîyth

H8589 noun

SILEX Entry

Root ענה to afflict, humble, oppress

Definition

A period or act of self-denial, especially through abstention from food and drink (fast); an occasion or time set aside for fasting, typically for religious or penitential purposes. In some contexts, the term may also refer to the act or state of affliction or self-affliction, such as mourning or intense supplication through humbling oneself.

Semantic Range

period of fasting, act of self-denial, religious affliction, time of humbling oneself, ritual fast; by extension, heaviness of spirit or affliction

Root / Etymology

From the root ענה (ʿ-n-h), meaning 'to afflict, humble, oppress.' The noun תַּעֲנִית is a feminine derivative, denoting the state, period, or practice resulting from self-affliction or humbling, which was most commonly expressed through fasting.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, תַּעֲנִית chiefly designates the act or formal period of fasting, often undertaken in times of communal crisis, mourning, or as part of ritual penitence (e.g., see Ezra 9:5, Nehemiah 9:1, Psalm 35:13). While often connected with ritualized fasts on prescribed occasions (such as Yom Kippur, 'the Day of Atonement,' referred to as עִנּוּי נֶפֶשׁ 'afflicting the self' in Leviticus 16:29-31), the term per se appears rarely and is more common in post-biblical Hebrew. In biblical contexts, fasting is closely associated with the root's broader sense of self-humbling or affliction rather than merely abstaining from food for health or ascetic reasons. Later Jewish tradition and translations (including English 'fast') often focus on the aspect of religious abstinence, but the Hebrew term encompasses both affliction and penitential humility. Distinct from other words for distress or mourning, תַּעֲנִית carries a specific ritual association with voluntary or communal affliction, especially by fasting.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from עָנָה; affliction (of self), i.e. fasting; heaviness.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

ענה (ʿ-n-h) — to afflict, humble, oppress

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1042 בֵּית עֲנוֹת answering of
H1195 בַּעֲנָא Son of Affliction
H1196 בַּעֲנָה In Affliction
H2057 וַנְיָה Yah Answers
H3283 יָעֵן ostriches

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H8589-01 מִ/תַּֽעֲנִיתִ֔/י mitaaniti HR/Ncfsc/Sp1cs from my humiliation from my self-affliction 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 total occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H8589-01 Ezra 9:5 מִ/תַּֽעֲנִיתִ֔/י mitaaniti HR/Ncfsc/Sp1cs from my humiliation from my self-affliction
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