Biblical Lexicon

H2976 H2976

Prep-l | V-Piel-Inf | 6× in 2 senses

despair, lose hope (Nifal); cause to despair, make despondent (Piel causative)

A verb expressing hopelessness and despair, most often in the Nifal stem as a participle meaning 'desperate' or 'without hope.' Jeremiah's contemporaries declare no'ash -- 'it is hopeless!' (Jer 2:25; 18:12), stubbornly embracing their ruin. David calculates that Saul 'will despair of me' and stop pursuing (1 Sam 27:1). Job is addressed as a 'desperate one' whose words are wind (Job 6:26). In its single Piel occurrence, Qoheleth 'causes his heart to despair' over the futility of toil (Eccl 2:20), turning the verb causative and inward. Spanish captures the range well: 'sin esperanza' (hopeless), 'desesperado' (desperate), 'para desesperar' (to cause despair).

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Senses

1. despair, be hopeless (Nifal) — To despair, be without hope, give up, in the Nifal stem. The participle no'ash functions almost as an interjection in Jeremiah ('It is hopeless!' Jer 2:25; 18:12), expressing defiant fatalism. In 1 Sam 27:1, David strategically expects Saul to 'despair of' finding him. Job 6:26 addresses Job as the 'desperate one.' Spanish 'sin esperanza' and 'es inutil' capture the finality, while French 'desesperer' and English 'hopeless' convey the emotional weight. 5×

EMOTION_ATTITUDE › Attitudes and Emotions › Despair Hopelessness

AR["لَا-فَائِدَةَ", "وَيَيأسُ", "يائِسٍ", "يَئِسَ", "يَئِسْتُ"]·ben["এবং-হতাশ-হবেন", "নিরাশ", "নিরাশা", "হতাশার"]·DE["[נאש]", "[נואש]", "und-wird-despair"]·EN["It-is-hopeless", "and-will-despair", "desperate-one", "hopeless", "it-is-hopeless"]·FR["[נואש]", "désespérer", "et-fera-despair"]·heb["ו-נואש", "נואש"]·HI["आशा-नहीं", "और-छोदेग", "निराशा", "निराशा-के"]·ID["Sia-sia", "dan-putus-asa", "sia-sia", "yang-putus-asa"]·IT["desperate-one", "disperare", "e-vorrà-despair"]·jav["'Tanpa-pangajeng-ajeng!", "Boten-wonten-pangajeng-ajeng", "lan-putus-asa", "tanpa-pengarep-arep", "tiyang-putus-asa"]·KO["그리고-단념하리라", "절망이다", "절망이라고", "절망한-자의", "희망-없다"]·PT["Não-há-esperança;", "desesperado", "e-desesperar-se-á", "sem-esperança", "É-inútil"]·RU["безнадёжно", "и-отчается", "напрасно", "отчаявшегося"]·ES["Es-inútil", "Sin-esperanza", "desesperado", "y-se-desesperará", "¡No-hay-esperanza!"]·SW["Haiwezekani", "haifai", "mtu-aliyekata-tamaa", "na-atakata-tamaa"]·TR["umitsiz", "umutsuz", "umutsuzun", "ve-umudu-kesecek"]·urd["اور-مایوس-ہو-جائے", "بے-فائدہ-ہے", "مایوس-کی", "نا-امید", "ناامید"]

1 Sam 27:1, Job 6:26, Isa 57:10, Jer 2:25, Jer 18:12

2. cause despair (Piel causative) — To cause someone to despair, make despondent, in the Piel (causative) stem. Attested uniquely in Eccl 2:20, where Qoheleth deliberately causes his own heart to despair concerning all his toil. The reflexive target (his own heart) intensifies the pathos. Spanish 'para desesperar' and French 'a desesperer' both preserve the causative force, while the English 'to cause despair' makes explicit what the Hebrew Piel stem encodes grammatically. 1×

EMOTION_ATTITUDE › Attitudes and Emotions › Despair Hopelessness

AR["لِأُيَئِّسَ"]·ben["হতাশ-করতে"]·DE["[ליאש]"]·EN["to-cause-despair"]·FR["à-désespérer"]·heb["ל-ייאש"]·HI["निराश-करने-को"]·ID["untuk-membuat-putus-asa"]·IT["per-a-cause-despair"]·jav["kangge-nyerahaken"]·KO["절망하게-하기를"]·PT["para-desesperar"]·RU["чтобы-отчаяться"]·ES["para-desesperar"]·SW["kukata-tamaa"]·TR["umutsuzlandirmak-icin"]·urd["مایوس-کرنے"]

Eccl 2:20

BDB / Lexicon Reference

† [יָאַשׁ] vb. despair (not in Qal) (NH Hithp. despair of, יֵאוּשׁ desperation; Aramaic Pa. יָאֵשׁ, etc., make despair (so 𝔗 Ec 2:20); Arabic يَىِٔسَ despair)— Niph. Pf. וְנוֹאַש consec. 1 S 27:1; Pt. נוֹאָשׁ Je 2:25 + 3 times;—despair, וְנ׳ מִמֶּנִּי שָׁאוּל לְבַקְּשֵׁנִי 1 S 27:1 and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me; pt. desperate, despairing, of Job, Jb 6:26; elsewhere נוֹאָ֑שׁ (foll.…