Original Word: אָבַל
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: abal
Pronunciation: ah-VAHL
Phonetic Spelling: (aw-bal')
KJV: lament, mourn
NASB: mourn, mourns, mourned, mourning, caused lamentations, grieve, grieved
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to bewail

lament, mourn

A primitive root; to bewail -- lament, mourn.

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to mourn
NASB Translation
caused lamentations (1), grieve (1), grieved (1), lament (1), mourn (13), mourned (7), mourning (3), mourns (10), pretend to be a mourner (1), went into mourning (1).

I. אָבַל₃₉ verb mourn (Assyrian [abâlu] see Dl^w) —

Qal Perfect אָבַל Isaiah 24:7 2t. etc. Imperfect3feminine singular תֶּאֱבַל Hosea 4:3 3t. — mourn, lament (poetic & higher style); absolute, human subject Joel 1:9; Amos 8:8; Amos 9:5; Isaiah 19:8 ("" אנה) compare Job 14:22 (subject נַפְשׁוֺ); followed by על Hosea 10:5; more often figurative, inanimate subject, gates 1 Samuel 3:26; land 1 Samuel 24:4; 1Sam 33:9; Hosea 4:3; Joel 1:10; Jeremiah 4:28 (followed by על) Jeremiah 12:4; Jeremiah 23:10; compare Jeremiah 12:11 (followed by על), יְהוּדָה Jeremiah 14:2; pastures Amos 1:2.

Hithpa`el — Perfect הִתְאַבֵּל 1 Samuel 15:35; Imperfect יִתְאַבָּ֑ל Ezekiel 7:12,27; וַיִּתְאַבֵּל Genesis 37:34 3t. etc.; Imperative feminine singular הִתְאַבְּלִי 2 Samuel 14:2; Participle מִתְאַבֵּל 1 Samuel 16:1 2t. etc.; — mourn (mostly prose) especially for dead, followed by על Genesis 37:34; 2 Samuel 13:37; 2 Samuel 14:2; 2 Samuel 19:2 "" בכה2Chronicles 35:24, compare also Isaiah 66:10 (over Jerusalem); absolute 1 Chronicles 7:22; compare 2 Samuel 14:2 play the mourner (where indicated by dress); over un-worthy Saul followed by אֶל 1 Samuel 15:35; 1 Samuel 16:1; over sin followed by על Ezra 10:6 compare (absolute) Nehemiah 8:9; judgment of ׳י Exodus 33:4 absolute (indicated by dress), Numbers 14:39; Ezekiel 7:27 (strike out B Co); followed by כִּי 1 Samuel 6:19; calamity Nehemiah 1:4; Ezekiel 7:12 compare Daniel 10:2.

Hiph`il Perfect הֶאֱבַלְתִּי Ezekiel 31:15; Imperfect וַיַּאֲבֶלֿ Lamentations 2:8; — cause to mourn; Ezekiel 31:15 absolute ᵑ0, but A B Co object תהום followed by על, caused the deep to mourn over; Lamentations 2:8 object wall etc.; (both these figurative, compare Qal).

Overview

אָבַל (’āval, Strong’s Hebrew 56) expresses the deep, vocal lament that follows death or great calamity. Unlike quiet sorrow, it conveys a public, outward display of grief—tearing garments, donning sackcloth, sitting in dust, and emitting wails or dirges. Roughly thirty-nine Old Testament occurrences form a coherent portrait: personal bereavement (Genesis 37), national catastrophe (Isaiah 19), prophetic lament (Micah 1), and symbolic judgments (Zechariah 12). The verb often stands in parallel with weeping and sackcloth, showing that biblical mourning is holistic, engaging body, voice, and spirit.

Representative Passages

• Genesis 37:34–35 records the first uses: “Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days… ‘I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.’”
• 2 Samuel 14:2 describes David’s adviser instructing a woman to “pretend to be a mourner and put on mourning clothes.”
• Psalm 35:13–14 links fasting and lament: “I humbled myself with fasting… I bowed my head in grief as one mourning for his mother.”
• Isaiah 19:8 signals national crisis: “The fishermen will lament, all who cast hooks into the Nile will mourn.”
• Micah 1:8 pictures the prophet himself: “Because of this I will lament and wail; I will walk barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and mourn like an ostrich.”
• Zechariah 12:10 anticipates end-time repentance: “They will look on Me, the One they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child.”

Personal Bereavement

Jacob (Genesis 37; 42:38; 44:31) embodies the rawness of parental grief, refusing comfort. David mourns over Abner (2 Samuel 3:31) and Absalom (2 Samuel 19:1–4), illustrating the royal example that prompts the nation to follow suit. Job’s friends initially “sat with him … and no one spoke a word, for they saw that his pain was very great” (Job 2:13), showing the silence that sometimes accompanies deep mourning.

National and Cultic Mourning

Corporate lament appears after military defeat (Judges 11:40; 1 Samuel 15:35) and during fast days (Esther 9:22). The Day of Atonement sets the pattern for humbling oneself (Leviticus 16:29), and later fasts such as the ninth of Av commemorate the temple’s destruction, echoing the verb’s conceptual field. Prophets call for genuine mourning over sin, not mere ritual (Joel 2:12–13).

Prophetic Wailings

Prophets often act out ’āval to dramatize judgment:
• Isaiah 3:26 foretells Jerusalem’s gates “lament and mourn.”
• Jeremiah 4:28 depicts cosmic sorrow: “Because I have spoken, I have purposed; I will not relent, nor will I turn back.”
• Ezekiel 7:27 outlines end-time terror: “The king will mourn, the prince will be clothed with despair.”
• Daniel 10:2 shows a visionary fast: “In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks.”

Mourning Metaphors in Wisdom Literature

Job 30:31 contrasts former honor with present despair: “My lyre is tuned to mourning.” Proverbs 31:6 recommends giving wine to those “bitter of soul,” an acknowledgment of public grief customs. Ecclesiastes 7:2–4 advises that “the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,” revealing formative value in confronting mortality.

Christological and Eschatological Dimensions

Zechariah 12:10 finds New Testament fulfillment in John 19:37 and Revelation 1:7, where mourning becomes repentance as Israel recognizes the pierced Messiah. Jesus evokes Isaiah 61:2 when He proclaims “to comfort all who mourn” (Matthew 5:4; Luke 4:18-19), transforming ’āval into blessedness through the gospel. At the cross the disciples enter profound mourning (Luke 24:17), but resurrection joy eclipses it (John 16:20).

Pastoral Implications

1. Honest expression: Scripture validates verbal and physical lament. Suppressing grief is never commended.
2. Community participation: Comforters “weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15), echoing Genesis 37:35.
3. Hope-filled mourning: “We do not grieve like the rest, who are without hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13), for resurrection reverses loss.
4. Prophetic sensitivity: Believers mourn over sin and injustice (Ezekiel 9:4), foreshadowing the sealing of the redeemed.

Conclusion

אָבַל threads through Israel’s account as a cry of pain, protest, and penitence. Whether rising from a father’s torn robe, a nation’s shattered defenses, or a prophet’s haunting dirge, it ultimately drives the faithful toward the God “who heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3).

אָֽבְלוּ֙ אָבְלָ֖ה אָבְלָ֣ה אָבְלָ֤ה אָבְלָ֥ה אָבַ֤ל אָבַ֥ל אָבַ֨ל אבל אבלה אבלו הִֽתְאַבְּלִי־ הִתְאַבֵּ֥ל הֶאֱבַ֜לְתִּי הַמִּֽתְאַבְּלִ֖ים האבלתי המתאבלים התאבל התאבלי־ וְאָ֣בְל֔וּ וְאָֽבְלוּ֙ וְאָבְל֖וּ וְאָבַ֖ל וַיִּֽתְאַבְּל֣וּ וַיִּֽתְאַבְּל֥וּ וַיִּתְאַבֵּ֖ל וַיִּתְאַבֵּ֛ל וַיִּתְאַבֵּ֥ל וַיִּתְאַבָּ֑לוּ וַיַּֽאֲבֶל־ וָאֶתְאַבְּלָ֖ה ואבל ואבלו ואתאבלה ויאבל־ ויתאבל ויתאבלו יִתְאַבָּ֑ל יִתְאַבָּ֗ל יתאבל מִֽתְאַבְּלִ֖ים מִתְאַבֵּ֔ל מִתְאַבֵּ֖ל מִתְאַבֵּ֣ל מִתְאַבֶּ֖לֶת מתאבל מתאבלים מתאבלת תִּֽתְאַבְּל֖וּ תֶּאֱבַ֣ל תֶּאֱבָֽל׃ תאבל תאבל׃ תתאבלו ’ā·ḇal ’ā·ḇə·lāh ’ā·ḇə·lū ’āḇal ’āḇəlāh ’āḇəlū aVal aveLah aveLu ham·miṯ·’ab·bə·lîm hammiṯ’abbəlîm hammitabbeLim he’ĕḇaltî he·’ĕ·ḇal·tî heeValti hiṯ’abbêl hiṯ’abbəlî- hiṯ·’ab·bə·lî- hiṯ·’ab·bêl hitabBel hitabbeli miṯ’abbêl miṯ’abbeleṯ miṯ’abbəlîm miṯ·’ab·be·leṯ miṯ·’ab·bə·lîm miṯ·’ab·bêl mitabBel mitabBelet mitabbeLim te’ĕḇal te’ĕḇāl te·’ĕ·ḇal te·’ĕ·ḇāl teeVal tiṯ’abbəlū tiṯ·’ab·bə·lū titabbeLu vaetabbeLah vaiyaavel vaiyitabBalu vaiyitabBel vaiyitabbeLu veaVal veaveLu wā’eṯ’abbəlāh wā·’eṯ·’ab·bə·lāh way·ya·’ă·ḇel- way·yiṯ·’ab·bā·lū way·yiṯ·’ab·bə·lū way·yiṯ·’ab·bêl wayya’ăḇel- wayyiṯ’abbālū wayyiṯ’abbêl wayyiṯ’abbəlū wə’āḇal wə’āḇəlū wə·’ā·ḇal wə·’ā·ḇə·lū yiṯ’abbāl yiṯ·’ab·bāl yitabBalInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts