H0491 H0491
Widowhood; the social and personal state of being a widow
A feminine noun denoting the condition of widowhood — not merely the loss of a husband but the entire social reality of vulnerability and altered status that followed in the ancient Near East. Tamar puts on and removes her 'garments of widowhood' as a marker of her constrained identity (Gen 38:14, 19). David's sequestered concubines live in 'widowhood of living' — alive yet as good as widowed (2 Sam 20:3). Most strikingly, God promises restored Jerusalem that she will remember the 'reproach of your widowhood' no more (Isa 54:4).
Senses
1. sense 1 — The state or condition of widowhood, encompassing both personal grief and social diminishment. Tamar's 'widow's garments' (Gen 38:14, 19) function as visible markers of her marginal status. The difficult phrase 'widowhood of living' for David's confined concubines (2 Sam 20:3) captures a liminal state — technically alive but socially dead. In Isa 54:4 the term becomes metaphorical: personified Jerusalem is promised she will forget the shame of her widowhood. Spanish 'viudez,' French 'veuvage' (rendered analytically), and German 'Witwenschaft' all capture the abstract state, while the Hebrew suffix constructions convey intimate possession — 'her widowhood,' 'your widowhood.' 4×
AR["أَرَامِلَ", "تَرَمُّلِكِ", "تَرَمُّلِهَا"]·ben["তার-বৈধব্যের", "তোমার-বৈধব্যের", "বৈধব্য"]·DE["[אלמנותיך]", "ihrer-Witwenschaft", "widowhood"]·EN["widowhood", "widowhood-her", "your-widowhood"]·FR["[אלמנותיך]", "widowhood", "widowhood-sa"]·heb["אלמנות", "אלמנותה-ה", "אלמנותיך"]·HI["अपनी-विधवापन-के", "तेरी-विधवापनका", "विधवापन"]·ID["janda-janda", "kejandaan-nya", "kejanduanmu"]·IT["[אלמנותיך]", "widowhood", "widowhood-suo"]·jav["karandhanipun", "randha"]·KO["과부들로", "그녀의-과부의", "네-과부의"]·PT["tua-viuvez", "viuvez", "viuvez-dela"]·RU["вдовства-своего", "вдовства-твоего", "вдовство"]·ES["tu-viudez", "viudez", "viudez-de-ella"]·SW["ujane-wake", "ujane-wako", "wajane"]·TR["dullugununun", "dulluk"]·urd["اپنی-بیوگی-کی", "بیوگی", "بیوہگی-اپنی-کے"]
Related Senses
H0376 1. man, person, human male (2130×)H0251 1. brother (blood sibling) (573×)H0120 1. man, human being (individual/generic) (527×)H0802 1. woman, female person (519×)H0802 2. wife, spouse (255×)H0517 1. mother, female parent (217×)G0435 1. man, male person (202×)G1135 1. woman, adult female (190×)H2233 1. offspring, descendants (172×)H0001 2. ancestor, forefather (146×)H5288 1. Youth, young man (122×)H0269 1. sister (female sibling) (113×)H1755 1. generation, contemporaries (96×)G5043 1. child, offspring (89×)G0444 2. people, humankind (86×)H3206 1. child, boy, youth (86×)H2145 1. male (human being) (79×)G3384 1. mother (77×)H6485a 1. Qal passive participle: numbered ones, enrollment (76×)H1397 1. man (strong/mighty) (65×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [אַלְמָנוּת] n.f. widowhood (Mish. id., Ph. אלמת) sf. בִּגְדֵי אַלְמְנוּתָהּ her widow’s garments Gn 38:14, 19; cstr. אַלְמְנוּת חַיּוּת 2 S 20:3 (of David’s imprisoned concubines; but text impossible; 𝔊 We אַלְמָנוֹת חַיּוֹת, cf. Dr; Klo thinks gloss); fig. of Jerusalem Is 54:4 אַלְמְנוּתַיִךְ.