Lexical Summary oniy: Affliction, poverty, misery Original Word: עֱנִי Strong's Exhaustive Concordance depression, Misery From anah; depression, i.e. Misery: see HEBREW anah Brown-Driver-Briggs עֳנִי noun masculine affliction, poverty; — ׳ע Exodus 3:7 +; עֹ֑נִי Deuteronomy 16:3 +, ע֑וֺנִי Psalm 107:41, עוני 2 Samuel 16:12 (Kt, but read עָנְיִי; > Qr עֵינִי !); suffix עָנְיִי Genesis 31:42 +, עָנְיֵךְ Genesis 16:11, etc.; — 1 affliction, Job 36:15,21; Psalm 44:25; Psalm 88:10; Psalm 107:41; Psalm 119:50; Psalm 119:92; Lamentations 1:3; Lamentations 3:19; ׳ארץ ע Genesis 41:52 (E); ׳יְמֵי ע Job 30:16,27; Lamentations 1:7; ׳כּוּר ע Isaiah 48:10; ׳חַבְלֵי ע Job 36:8; ׳אֲסִירֵי ע Psalm 107:10; ׳בְּנֵי ע Proverbs 31:5; ׳ראה ע Genesis 31:42 (E), Exodus 3:7; Exodus 4:31 (J), Deuteronomy 26:7; 2 Kings 14:26; Nehemiah 9:9; Job 10:15; Psalm 9:14; Psalm 25:18; Psalm 31:8; Psalm 119:153; Lamentations 1:9; Lamentations 3:1, insert also before עַמִּי 1 Samuel 9:16b ᵐ5 Th We Dr Kit Bu HPS; ׳ראה בע Genesis 29:32 (J), 1 Samuel 1:11; 2 Samuel 16:12 (see above); ׳שׁמע ע Genesis 16:11 (J); ׳העלה מע Exodus 3:17 (J); לחם עני Deuteronomy 16:3. 2 poverty, בְּעָנְיִי הכינותי זהב 1 Chronicles 22:14. Topical Lexicon Overview עֱנִי appears thirty-six times in the Hebrew Scriptures and denotes the condition of being bowed down by suffering, hardship, poverty, oppression, or distress. The word gathers up every dimension of adversity—physical, emotional, social, and spiritual—and anchors it in a Covenant framework in which the LORD both sees and acts. Patriarchal Portraits of Affliction From the opening chapters of Genesis the term personalizes pain. Hagar hears, “The LORD has heard your affliction” (Genesis 16:11). Leah rejoices that “the LORD has seen my affliction” (Genesis 29:32). Jacob recalls that “God saw my affliction and the toil of my hands” (Genesis 31:42). Joseph names his second son Ephraim, “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction” (Genesis 41:52). In each case עֱנִי is not a random misery but an arena in which the LORD personally intervenes, giving the suffering a redemptive trajectory. Corporate Affliction and the Exodus Pattern The Exodus narrative moves the theme from individual to nation. “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt” (Exodus 3:7). The same noun reappears as the LORD pledges to bring Israel “up out of the affliction of Egypt” (Exodus 3:17) and as the elders believe that “the LORD had seen their affliction” (Exodus 4:31). Later, Nehemiah leads post-exilic worship with the confession, “You saw the affliction of our fathers in Egypt” (Nehemiah 9:9). The Exodus thus establishes a permanent template: God notices, God remembers, God acts. Liturgical Memory: Bread and Water of Affliction To keep the memory of deliverance vivid, Israel ate “the bread of affliction” at Passover (Deuteronomy 16:3). The token reminded each generation that redemption required divine intervention. When Micaiah is imprisoned he is condemned to “bread of affliction and water of affliction” (1 Kings 22:27; 2 Chronicles 18:26), a judicial parody of the Passover symbol that underlines the theme of discipline. Affliction as Catalyst for Prayer and Vows Hannah embodies the righteous response: “O LORD of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant” (1 Samuel 1:11). Likewise, Solomon prays that when anyone “knows his own affliction” and stretches out his hands toward the temple, God would hear (2 Chronicles 6:29). The Psalter is saturated with similar petitions: “Consider my affliction and trouble, and take away all my sins” (Psalm 25:18); “I will be glad and rejoice in Your loving devotion, for You have seen my affliction” (Psalm 31:7). Wisdom Literature: Affliction and Instruction Job’s ordeal turns the word into a schooling instrument: “God rescues the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ears in oppression” (Job 36:15). The experience may feel as though “days of affliction take hold of me” (Job 30:16), yet the end is purifying understanding. Similar pedagogy appears in Isaiah: “I have tested you in the furnace of affliction” (Isaiah 48:10). Prophets and Lamentations: National Suffering Given Voice Jeremiah’s funeral poem laments, “I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath” (Lamentations 3:1); later he pleads, “Remember my affliction and wandering” (Lamentations 3:19). The poetry of Lamentations 1:3, 7, 9 uses עֱנִי to catalogue the horrors of siege and exile, yet still drives the afflicted back to the covenant God. Messianic Resonance Psalm 22, fulfilled in the cross, declares, “He has not despised nor detested the affliction of the afflicted” (Psalm 22:24). The verse anticipates the greater David, whose redeeming work embraces the full weight of עֱנִי. By sharing in human affliction, the Messiah transforms it into a channel of grace (compare Hebrews 2:18). Pastoral and Discipleship Implications 1. God’s people may name their pain without diminishing faith. Scripture gives vocabulary for complaint that leads to trust. Key Texts for Meditation Genesis 16:11; Exodus 3:7; Deuteronomy 16:3; 1 Samuel 1:11; Job 36:15; Psalm 25:18; Psalm 132:1; Isaiah 48:10; Lamentations 3:1; Job 30:16; Nehemiah 9:9. Summary עֱנִי weaves through Scripture as a thread that connects the pangs of the individual, the groans of a nation, and the sufferings of the Messiah. Every occurrence demonstrates that affliction, though grievous, lies under the surveillance of a faithful God who delivers, refines, and ultimately redeems. Forms and Transliterations בְּעָנְיִ֔י בְעָנְי֑וֹ בְעָנְיִ֑י בְעָנְיִ֜י בְעָנְיִֽי׃ בָּעֳנִ֣י בעני בעניו בעניי בעניי׃ מֵע֑וֹנִי מֵעֳנִ֣י מֵעֹ֙נִי֙ מֵעֹֽנִי׃ מעוני מעני מעני׃ עֳנִ֔י עֳנִ֣י עֳנִ֥י עָ֭נְיִי עָנְיִ֑י עָנְיִ֔י עָנְיִ֞י עָנְיִ֥י עָנְיִֽי׃ עָנְיֵ֛נוּ עָנְיֵ֣נוּ עָנְיֵֽךְ׃ עָנְיָ֔ם עָנְיָהּ֙ עֹ֑נִי עֹ֥נִי עֹֽנִי׃ עני עני׃ עניה עניי עניי׃ עניך׃ ענים ענינו ‘ā·nə·yāh ‘ā·nə·yām ‘ā·nə·yê·nū ‘ā·nə·yêḵ ‘ā·nə·yî ‘ānəyāh ‘ānəyām ‘ānəyêḵ ‘ānəyênū ‘ānəyî ‘o·nî ‘ō·nî ‘onî ‘ōnî aneYah aneYam aneYech aneYenu aneYi bā‘onî bā·‘o·nî ḇə‘ānəyî ḇə‘ānəyōw bə‘ānyî ḇə·‘ā·nə·yî ḇə·‘ā·nə·yōw bə·‘ān·yî beonyi booNi mê‘onî mê‘ōnî mê‘ōwnî mê·‘o·nî mê·‘ō·nî mê·‘ō·w·nî meoNi oNi veaneYi veaneYoLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Genesis 16:11 HEB: יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־ עָנְיֵֽךְ׃ NAS: has given heed to your affliction. KJV: hath heard thy affliction. INT: the LORD to your affliction Genesis 29:32 Genesis 31:42 Genesis 41:52 Exodus 3:7 Exodus 3:17 Exodus 4:31 Deuteronomy 16:3 Deuteronomy 26:7 1 Samuel 1:11 2 Kings 14:26 1 Chronicles 22:14 Nehemiah 9:9 Job 10:15 Job 30:16 Job 30:27 Job 36:8 Job 36:15 Job 36:21 Psalm 9:13 Psalm 25:18 Psalm 31:7 Psalm 44:24 Psalm 88:9 Psalm 107:10 36 Occurrences |