H1058 H1058
To weep, cry aloud; in Piel, to bewail or lament for someone with intensified mourning
Bakah is the primary Hebrew verb for weeping, appearing over a hundred times across every emotional register — grief at bereavement (Gen 37:35), joy at reunion (Gen 33:4), intercession before God (2 Kgs 20:3), and communal mourning (Judg 20:23). It corresponds to Arabic baka and Aramaic beka, reflecting a pan-Semitic root. The Piel intensification sharpens the focus to lamentation directed at or on behalf of another, as when Rachel 'bewails' her lost children (Jer 31:15) — a passage later echoed in Matthew's infancy narrative.
3. Piel: to bewail, lament for — The Piel intensive-transitive form: to bewail, lament for, or mourn over someone specifically. Jeremiah 31:15 describes Rachel weeping 'for her children,' and Ezekiel 8:14 depicts women weeping 'for Tammuz.' The Piel directs the mourning toward a particular object of grief, unlike the intransitive Qal. Arabic yabkina in its intensive pattern and Swahili -mlia ('weep for') capture this transitive, directed lamentation. 2×
AR["تَبْكِي","يَبْكينَ"]·ben["কাঁদছিল","কাঁদছে"]·DE["von-weinte","weinen"]·EN["weeping","weeping-for"]·FR["pleurer"]·heb["מבכה","מבכות"]·HI["रो-रही","रो-रही-है"]·ID["menangisi"]·IT["piangere"]·jav["nangis","nangisi"]·KO["울고-있다","울고-있었다"]·PT["chorando"]·RU["оплакивающие","плачет"]·ES["llorando"]·SW["anawalia","wakimlia"]·TR["ağlayanlar","ağlıyor"]·urd["رو-رہی-تھیں","روتی-ہے"]
▼ 2 more senses below
Senses
1. Qal: to weep, cry — The Qal form covering intransitive weeping in all its registers: grief (Gen 37:35, Abraham weeping for Sarah), joy (Gen 33:4, Jacob and Esau's reunion), supplication (Judg 20:23, Israel weeping before the Lord), and sorrow at impending loss (Gen 21:16, Hagar weeping in the wilderness). This is overwhelmingly the dominant sense at 112 occurrences. Arabic baka, Korean ulda, and Swahili kulia all track this basic intransitive 'to weep.' Spanish llorar and German weinte appear consistently across the corpus. 112×
AR["فَبَكى","فَبَكَى","وَ-بَكى","وَ-بَكَت","وَ-بَكَتْ","وَ-بَكَى","وَبَكى","وَبَكَى"]·ben["আর-কাঁদল","আর-কাঁদলেন","আর-সে-কাঁদল","এবং-কাঁদল","এবং-কাঁদলেন","ও-কাঁদলেন"]·DE["und-er-weinte","und-es-weinte","und-weinte"]·EN["and-he-wept","and-wept","and-wept-for"]·FR["et-il-pleura","et-pleura","et-pleura-pour"]·heb["ו-בכה","ו-בכתה","ו-יבך"]·HI["और-रोई","और-रोया","वय्येव्क"]·ID["Dan-menangis","dan-dia-menangis","dan-ia-menangis","dan-menangis","dan-menangislah","dan-menangislah-ia"]·IT["e-egli-pianse","e-pianse","e-pianse-per"]·jav["Lajeng-nangis","Lan-nangis","lan-nangis","lan-piyambakipun-nangis","lan-ramanipun-nangisi","sarta-nangis"]·KO["그리고-그가-울었다","그리고-울었다"]·PT["E-chorou","e-chorou"]·RU["И-плакал","И-плакала","и-заплакал","и-оплакивал","и-оплакивала","и-плакал","и-плакала"]·ES["Y-lloró","y-lloró"]·SW["akalia","kwao","na-akalia","na-akamlilia"]·TR["Ve-ağladı","ve-ağladı"]·urd["اور-روئی","اور-رویا","اور-رویا۔"]
2. sense 2 — A pair of occurrences (2 Kgs 20:3, Isa 38:3) where the weeping appears in participial or nominal form as part of Hezekiah's plea to God — 'I wept with great weeping.' The multilingual glosses show nominal forms (Spanish llanto, French pleurant, German weinend), suggesting this may function as an intensifying cognate-accusative construction rather than a distinct semantic sense. The weeping here serves as evidence of sincere prayer and devotion. 2×
AR["بُكَاءً"]·ben["কান্নায়"]·DE["in-denn","weinend"]·EN["great","weeping"]·FR["pleur","pleurant"]·heb["בכי"]·HI["बे-रोना","रोना"]·ID["tangisan"]·IT["in-poiche","piangendo"]·jav["tangisan"]·KO["울음으로"]·PT["choro"]·RU["плачем"]·ES["con-llanto","llanto"]·SW["kilio","kwa-kilio"]·TR["-ağlama","aglamayla-"]·urd["رونا","رونے-سے"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† בָּכָה114 vb. weep, bewail (Arabic بَكَى, Aramaic בְּכָא, ܒܟܳܐ, Assyrian bakû ZimBP 23, 56, Ethiopic በከየ )— Qal Pf. בּ׳ Gn 43:14; Ho 12:5; וּבָֽכְתָה consec. Dt 21:13; בָּכִ֫יתִי Jb 30:25, etc.; Impf. וַיֵּבְךְ Gn 37:35 + 16 times (וַיֵּבְךְּ Gn 27:38 etc.); 3 fs. תִּבְכֶּה 1 S 1:10 + 2 times; וַתִּבְכֶּה 1 S 1:7, וַתֵּבְךְּ Gn 21:16 (where 𝔊 masc. cf. Di) + 4 times; 2 ms. תִּבְכֶּה Is 30:19;…