6040. oniy
Lexical Summary
oniy: Affliction, poverty, misery

Original Word: עֱנִי
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: `oniy
Pronunciation: oh-nee
Phonetic Spelling: (on-ee')
KJV: afflicted(-ion), trouble
Word Origin: [from H6031 (עָנָה - To afflict)]

1. depression, i.e. misery

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.
2. Affliction is never invisible; the God who “heard,” “saw,” and “remembered” in Egypt still attends to His servants.
3. Hardship often functions as divine furnace, purifying believers for useful service.
4. Remembered affliction fuels worship and humility. The annual recitation of bondage and deliverance in Israel’s calendar encourages the Church to rehearse its own account of rescue.
5. Ministry to the suffering must mirror God’s character: attentive, compassionate, and oriented toward deliverance in Christ.

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 veaneYo
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Englishman'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
HEB: רָאָ֤ה יְהוָה֙ בְּעָנְיִ֔י כִּ֥י עַתָּ֖ה
NAS: has seen my affliction; surely
KJV: hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore
INT: has seen the LORD my affliction surely now

Genesis 31:42
HEB: שִׁלַּחְתָּ֑נִי אֶת־ עָנְיִ֞י וְאֶת־ יְגִ֧יעַ
NAS: has seen my affliction and the toil
KJV: hath seen mine affliction and the labour
INT: empty-handed have sent my affliction and the toil of my hands

Genesis 41:52
HEB: אֱלֹהִ֖ים בְּאֶ֥רֶץ עָנְיִֽי׃
NAS: in the land of my affliction.
KJV: in the land of my affliction.
INT: God the land of my affliction

Exodus 3:7
HEB: רָאִ֛יתִי אֶת־ עֳנִ֥י עַמִּ֖י אֲשֶׁ֣ר
NAS: seen the affliction of My people
KJV: seen the affliction of my people
INT: have surely seen the affliction of my people who

Exodus 3:17
HEB: אַעֲלֶ֣ה אֶתְכֶם֮ מֵעֳנִ֣י מִצְרַיִם֒ אֶל־
NAS: I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt
KJV: I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt
INT: said will bring of the affliction of Egypt to

Exodus 4:31
HEB: רָאָה֙ אֶת־ עָנְיָ֔ם וַֽיִּקְּד֖וּ וַיִּֽשְׁתַּחֲוּֽוּ׃
NAS: and that He had seen their affliction, then they bowed low
KJV: and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads
INT: for had seen their affliction bowed and worshiped

Deuteronomy 16:3
HEB: מַצּ֖וֹת לֶ֣חֶם עֹ֑נִי כִּ֣י בְחִפָּז֗וֹן
NAS: the bread of affliction (for you came
KJV: therewith, [even] the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth
INT: unleavened the bread of affliction in haste

Deuteronomy 26:7
HEB: וַיַּ֧רְא אֶת־ עָנְיֵ֛נוּ וְאֶת־ עֲמָלֵ֖נוּ
NAS: and saw our affliction and our toil
KJV: and looked on our affliction, and our labour,
INT: our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression

1 Samuel 1:11
HEB: רָאֹ֥ה תִרְאֶ֣ה ׀ בָּעֳנִ֣י אֲמָתֶ֗ךָ וּזְכַרְתַּ֙נִי֙
NAS: look on the affliction of Your maidservant
KJV: look on the affliction of thine handmaid,
INT: will indeed look the affliction of your maidservant and remember

2 Kings 14:26
HEB: יְהוָ֛ה אֶת־ עֳנִ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל מֹרֶ֣ה
NAS: saw the affliction of Israel,
KJV: saw the affliction of Israel,
INT: saw the LORD the affliction of Israel bitter

1 Chronicles 22:14
HEB: וְהִנֵּ֨ה בְעָנְיִ֜י הֲכִינ֣וֹתִי לְבֵית־
NAS: Now behold, with great pains I have prepared
KJV: Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared
INT: behold my trouble have prepared the house

Nehemiah 9:9
HEB: וַתֵּ֛רֶא אֶת־ עֳנִ֥י אֲבֹתֵ֖ינוּ בְּמִצְרָ֑יִם
NAS: You saw the affliction of our fathers
KJV: And didst see the affliction of our fathers
INT: saw the affliction of our fathers Egypt

Job 10:15
HEB: קָ֝ל֗וֹן וּרְאֵ֥ה עָנְיִֽי׃
NAS: and conscious of my misery.
KJV: therefore see thou mine affliction;
INT: disgrace advise self of my misery

Job 30:16
HEB: יֹ֖אחֲז֣וּנִי יְמֵי־ עֹֽנִי׃
NAS: me; Days of affliction have seized
KJV: upon me; the days of affliction have taken hold
INT: have seized Days of affliction

Job 30:27
HEB: קִדְּמֻ֥נִי יְמֵי־ עֹֽנִי׃
NAS: relax; Days of affliction confront me.
KJV: not: the days of affliction prevented
INT: confront Days of affliction

Job 36:8
HEB: יִ֝לָּכְד֗וּן בְּחַבְלֵי־ עֹֽנִי׃
NAS: in the cords of affliction,
KJV: in cords of affliction;
INT: caught the cords of affliction

Job 36:15
HEB: יְחַלֵּ֣ץ עָנִ֣י בְעָנְי֑וֹ וְיִ֖גֶל בַּלַּ֣חַץ
NAS: the afflicted in their affliction, And opens
KJV: the poor in his affliction, and openeth
INT: delivers the afflicted their affliction and opens oppression

Job 36:21
HEB: זֶ֝֗ה בָּחַ֥רְתָּ מֵעֹֽנִי׃
NAS: this to affliction.
KJV: for this hast thou chosen rather than affliction.
INT: this have preferred to affliction

Psalm 9:13
HEB: יְהוָ֗ה רְאֵ֣ה עָ֭נְיִי מִשֹּׂנְאָ֑י מְ֝רוֹמְמִ֗י
NAS: See my affliction from those who hate
KJV: consider my trouble [which I suffer] of them that hate
INT: LORD See my affliction hate lift

Psalm 25:18
HEB: רְאֵ֣ה עָ֭נְיִי וַעֲמָלִ֑י וְ֝שָׂ֗א
NAS: Look upon my affliction and my trouble,
KJV: Look upon mine affliction and my pain;
INT: Look my affliction and my trouble and forgive

Psalm 31:7
HEB: רָ֭אִיתָ אֶת־ עָנְיִ֑י יָ֝דַ֗עְתָּ בְּצָר֥וֹת
NAS: You have seen my affliction; You have known
KJV: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known
INT: Because have seen my affliction have known the troubles

Psalm 44:24
HEB: תַסְתִּ֑יר תִּשְׁכַּ֖ח עָנְיֵ֣נוּ וְֽלַחֲצֵֽנוּ׃
NAS: [And] forget our affliction and our oppression?
KJV: [and] forgettest our affliction and our oppression?
INT: hide forget our affliction affliction

Psalm 88:9
HEB: דָאֲבָ֗ה מִנִּ֫י עֹ֥נִי קְרָאתִ֣יךָ יְהוָ֣ה
NAS: because of affliction; I have called
KJV: mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD,
INT: has wasted because of affliction have called LORD

Psalm 107:10
HEB: וְצַלְמָ֑וֶת אֲסִירֵ֖י עֳנִ֣י וּבַרְזֶֽל׃
NAS: Prisoners in misery and chains,
KJV: [being] bound in affliction and iron;
INT: the shadow Prisoners misery and chains

36 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 6040
36 Occurrences


‘ā·nə·yāh — 1 Occ.
‘ā·nə·yām — 1 Occ.
‘ā·nə·yêḵ — 1 Occ.
‘ā·nə·yê·nū — 2 Occ.
‘ā·nə·yî — 9 Occ.
bə·‘ān·yî — 1 Occ.
bā·‘o·nî — 1 Occ.
mê·‘o·nî — 4 Occ.
‘o·nî — 12 Occ.
ḇə·‘ā·nə·yî — 3 Occ.
ḇə·‘ā·nə·yōw — 1 Occ.

6039
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