Original Word: אָנַשׁ
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: anash
Pronunciation: ah-nash'
Phonetic Spelling: (aw-nash')
KJV: desperate(-ly wicked), incurable, sick, woeful
NASB: incurable, desperately sick, sick, woeful
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to be frail, feeble, or (figuratively) melancholy

desperately wicked, incurable, sick, woeful

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

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to be weak, sick
NASB Translation
desperately sick (1), incurable (6), sick (1), woeful (1).

I. [אָנַשׁ] verb be weak, sick (Assyrian anâšu Zim^{BP 56, 70}; Wetzst in De^{Psalmen, ed. 4, 882} derive from II. אנשׁ per antiphrasin; Dl^{Pr 160 identified} with III. אנשׁ; see also De^{Psalmen, ed. 4, 904}; so Lag^{BN 60}, who compare , weichliches d.h. stumpfes Schwert. It seems safer at present to keep the three distinct).

Qal Passive participle אָנוּשׁ Job 34:6 +; אֲנוּשָׁה Jeremiah 15:18; Micah 1:9 & so read Psalm 69:21 (Bi Che) etc.; as adjective incurable, of wound, but metaphor (מַכָּה) Micah 1:9; Jeremiah 15:18; compare Job 34:6 (חֵץ), Jeremiah 30:12 שֵׁבֶר; "" נַחְלָה מַכָּה); so כְּאֵב אָנוּשׁ Isaiah 17:11; compare Jeremiah 30:15 (מַכְאֹב); compare יוֺם אָנוּשׁ Isaiah 17:16; also in phrase עָקֹב הַלֵּב מִכֹּל וְאָנֻשׁ הוּא Jeremiah 17:9

Niph`al Imperfect וַיֵּאָנַ֯שׁ֑ 2 Samuel 12:15 be sick, of child.

II. אנשׁ (compare Arabic be inclined to, friendly, social, which however Nö^{ZMG 1886, 739} thinks denominative, compare collective men, people; see on the other hand Wetzst^l.c. Zim^{BP 20}, see also Lag^{BN 68}; — hence אֲנָשִׁים plural of אִישּׁ; see also below אישׁ).

Semantic Range and Imagery

Anash describes a condition of sickness, weakness, or wound so extreme that it is pronounced beyond human remedy. When the word is applied literally (2 Samuel 12:15), the body is failing; when it is applied figuratively (Jeremiah 17:9), the moral and spiritual fabric of a person or nation is terminally corrupted. The vocabulary of incurability introduces the twin ideas of desperate need and utter dependence on divine intervention.

Distribution in the Canon

Nine occurrences span four literary spheres:

• Historical Narrative: 2 Samuel 12:15
• Wisdom Literature: Job 34:6
• Major Prophets: Isaiah 17:11; Jeremiah 15:18; 17:9; 17:16; 30:12; 30:15
• Minor Prophets: Micah 1:9

This spread shows that the concept of an incurable condition is not limited to any one era or genre; it is a constant biblical motif.

Literary Contexts and Nuances

2 Samuel 12:15—Judgment on David’s secret sin appears as a fatal illness in an innocent child, illustrating how transgression invites consequences no human effort can reverse.

Job 34:6—Job’s “wound is incurable” conveys the depth of personal anguish for a man who protests his integrity yet feels abandoned.

Isaiah 17:11—A harvest vanishes “in the day of disease and incurable pain,” exposing the futility of military and political strategies without covenant faithfulness.

Jeremiah 15:18; 17:16—Jeremiah’s laments reveal a prophet who both experiences and intercedes amid the nation’s terminal condition, modeling prayer under relentless pressure.

Jeremiah 17:9—“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure—who can understand it?” The verse provides a key biblical diagnosis of radical human depravity.

Jeremiah 30:12, 30:15—National judgment is declared incurable, yet later in the same oracle the LORD promises, “I will restore you to health and heal your wounds” (Jeremiah 30:17), highlighting sovereign grace that overrules anash.

Micah 1:9—Samaria’s wound “is incurable; it has reached even Judah,” portraying sin’s contagion and the widening circle of consequences.

Theological Significance

1. Total Depravity: Jeremiah 17:9 introduces the heart’s terminal corruption, underscoring humanity’s inability to self-heal.
2. Divine Judgment: In prophetic texts, anash marks the point where covenant breach is so entrenched that only divine discipline remains.
3. Sovereign Mercy: The incurable verdict intensifies the wonder of God’s later promises of healing (Jeremiah 30:17), foreshadowing a new covenant where hardened hearts are replaced (Ezekiel 36:26).
4. Typology of Christ the Physician: The Old Testament cry for healing finds its answer in the ministry of Jesus Christ, who proclaims, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick” (Luke 5:31). His atoning wounds (1 Peter 2:24) resolve the irresolvable.

Historical Backdrop

• Davidic Era: National stability contrasts with private sin, reminding leaders of hidden transgression’s public costs.
• Pre-Exilic Judah and Israel: Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Micah speak into geopolitical turmoil, employing anash to expose systemic wickedness in palace, priesthood, and populace.
• Exilic Hope: Even during Babylonian threat, the prophets embed anash within salvation oracles, teaching that judgment and mercy are sequential acts of the same covenant LORD.

Ministerial Implications

• Preaching: Anash supplies vivid language for the doctrine of sin.
• Pastoral Care: Job’s usage legitimizes patient lament without surrendering faith.
• Counseling: The word counsels honesty about human inability and points counselees to the only true Healer.
• Intercession: Jeremiah’s example urges leaders not to flee when communities appear spiritually terminal but to stand as shepherds and plead for restoring grace.

Christological Fulfillment

The incurable wound motif crescendos at the cross: humanity’s terminal condition meets the Great Physician whose “power of an indestructible life” (Hebrews 7:16) provides the cure. Where anash ends, the gospel begins.

Summary

Anash exposes the depth of human sickness—physical, societal, and spiritual—while simultaneously magnifying the necessity and sufficiency of God’s redemptive action. The word’s persistent refrain of “incurable” forms a dark backdrop against which the promise “I will heal” shines with unmatched brilliance.

אֲנוּשָׁ֑ה֙ אֲנוּשָׁ֖ה אָנ֖וּשׁ אָנ֛וּשׁ אָנ֣וּשׁ אָנֽוּשׁ׃ אנוש אנוש׃ אנושה וְאָנֻ֣שׁ וַיֵּאָנַֽשׁ׃ ואנש ויאנש׃ ’ă·nū·šāh ’ā·nūš ’ānūš ’ănūšāh aNush anuShah vaiyeaNash veaNush way·yê·’ā·naš wayyê’ānaš wə’ānuš wə·’ā·nušInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts