H3511 H3511
Pain, anguish — both physical suffering and deep emotional grief, found especially in Job, Isaiah, and Jeremiah.
A masculine noun (כְּאֵב) expressing pain in its fullest range — from raw physical agony to crushing emotional anguish. In Job, it captures both dimensions: the friends sat silent because 'the pain was very great' (Job 2:13), and Job himself cries that speaking does not relieve his pain (Job 16:6). The prophetic books sharpen the word toward national grief: Isaiah 17:11 speaks of incurable pain on the day of harvest — a devastating reversal of agricultural hope. Isaiah 65:14 contrasts the cry of a broken spirit (כְּאֵב לֵב, 'pain of heart') with the singing of God's servants. Jeremiah 15:18 pairs it with an unhealing wound. Psalm 39:2 rounds out the picture with the psalmist's silent suffering.
Senses
1. pain, suffering — Pain, suffering, or anguish — encompassing both physical and emotional dimensions. The word appears with striking consistency in contexts of overwhelming affliction: Job 2:13 (friends mute before extreme suffering), Job 16:6 (speech cannot relieve pain), Ps 39:2 (pain stirred by enforced silence). Prophetically, it intensifies toward national disaster: Isa 17:11 pairs it with incurable disease on the day of reckoning, Isa 65:14 names it as 'pain of heart' (כְּאֵב לֵב) in contrast to eschatological joy, and Jer 15:18 links it to a wound that refuses healing. Spanish 'dolor' and English 'pain' both cover the physical-emotional spectrum the Hebrew intends. 6×
AR["أَلَمِي", "الأَلَمُ", "مِنْ-أَلَمِ", "وَ-أَلَمٍ", "وَوَجَعي"]·ben["আমার-বেদনা", "আমার-ব্যথা", "ও-আমার-ব্যথা", "ও-যন্ত্রণার", "দুঃখ", "ব্যথা-থেকে"]·DE["[הכאב]", "[וכאב]", "[כאבי]", "[מכאב]", "und-mein-pain"]·EN["and-my-pain", "and-pain", "from-pain-of", "my-pain", "the-pain"]·FR["[וכאב]", "[כאבי]", "[מכאב]", "et-douleur", "le-הכאב", "mon-כאבי-moi"]·heb["ה-כאב", "ו-כאב", "ו-כאב-י", "כאבי", "מ-כאב"]·HI["और-दर्द", "और-पीड़ा-मेरी", "दर्द-से", "पीड़ा", "मेरी-पीड़ा"]·ID["dan-kesakitan", "dari-kesakitan", "penderitaannya", "rasa-sakit-ku", "sakitku"]·IT["[וכאב]", "[וכאבי]", "[כאבי]", "[מכאב]", "il-il-pain", "mio-pain-mio"]·jav["kasedhihanipun", "lan-kasakitan", "lan-kasakitan-kula", "nglarani-kawula", "saking-lara", "sangsara-kula"]·KO["그-고통이", "그리고-고통이라", "그리고-내-슬픔-이", "나의-고통이", "내-고통이", "에서-마음의-고통으로"]·PT["a-dor", "de-dor-de", "e-dor", "e-minha-dor", "minha-dor"]·RU["боль", "боль-моя", "и-боли", "и-боль-моя", "от-боли-"]·ES["dolor-mi", "el-dolor", "mi-dolor", "por-el-dolor-del", "y-dolor", "y-mi-dolor"]·SW["huzuni-yangu", "kwa-sababu-ya-maumivu", "maumivu", "maumivu-yangu", "na-maumivu", "na-maumivu-yangu"]·TR["acisindan", "acı", "acım", "ve-acinin", "ve-acım"]·urd["اور-درد", "اور-میرا-درد", "درد", "درد-سے", "میرا-درد"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)H2416e 1. life, lifespan, lifetime (145×)G2198 1. be alive, have life (133×)H8193 1. lip, lips (body part) (123×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† כְּאֵב n.m. Jb 2:13 pain;—כ׳ abs. Jb 2:13 Is 17:11; cstr. 65:14; sf. כְּאֵבִי Jb 16:6 + 2 times;—pain, mental and physical Jb 2:13; 16:6 perhaps also ψ 39:3; כּ׳ אָנוּשׁ (in disappointment and disaster) Is 17:11 (‖ נַחֲלָה from חָלָה; mental, כּ׳־לֵב Is 65:14 (‖ שֵׁבֶר רוּחַ) so Je 15:18 (‖ מַכָּה fig.)