H5889 H5889
Weary, faint, or exhausted; describing physical fatigue from exertion, travel, or thirst.
An adjective of bodily depletion — the bone-deep exhaustion of a traveler, a soldier, or a wanderer in a parched land. Esau returns from the field עָיֵף, so spent he trades his birthright for stew (Gen 25:29-30). Gideon's men pursue the Midianites though they are עֲיֵפִים (Judg 8:4-5). The word carries special poignancy when extended to thirst and spiritual longing: 'a dry and weary land where there is no water' (Ps 63:2), or God refreshing the 'faint soul' (Jer 31:25). The boundary between physical exhaustion and deeper existential weariness gives this word its theological depth.
Senses
1. weary, exhausted from exertion — Physically weary or exhausted from exertion, labor, travel, or battle. Esau's famished exhaustion after hunting (Gen 25:29-30), Gideon's soldiers pressing on while 'faint yet pursuing' (Judg 8:4-5), and David's weary company at the Jordan (2 Sam 16:14, 17:29) all illustrate this core sense. Deuteronomy 25:18 pairs it with יָגֵעַ ('tired') to describe Israel's vulnerable stragglers. Spanish 'agotada/cansado' and French 'fatigué' consistently render physical tiredness. Isaiah 5:27 notes that among God's summoned army 'none is weary' — a mark of supernatural vigor. 15×
AR["الْمُتْعَبَ", "الْمُتْعَبِ", "تَعِبٌ", "لِـ-الْمُتْعَبَةِ", "مُتعَبينَ", "مُتْعَبٌ", "مُتْعَبَةٍ", "مُتْعَبُونَ", "وَ-مُتْعَبٌ", "وَ-مُنهَكَةٍ"]·ben["-ক্লান্তদের-জন্য", "এবং-ক্লান্ত", "ও-ক্লান্ত", "ক্লান্ত", "ক্লান্ত-সেই", "ক্লান্তকে-", "ক্লান্তের"]·DE["[לעיף]", "[לעיפה]", "[עיף]", "[עיפה]", "exhausted", "muede", "müde", "und-müde", "und-weary", "war-müde", "weary"]·EN["and-this", "and-weary", "exhausted", "for-the-weary", "he-is-faint", "was-exhausted", "weary"]·FR["au-fatigué", "et-fatigué", "et-weary", "exhausted", "fatigué", "weary", "était-exhausted", "עיפה"]·heb["ו-עייף", "ל-עייפה", "ל-עיף", "עייף", "עייפה", "עייפים", "עיף"]·HI["और-थकी-हुई", "और-थके", "को-थके", "थका-हुआ", "थकी-हुई", "थके", "थके-हुए", "थके-हुए-के-लिए", "भूमि-में"]·ID["dan-lelah", "ia-lemah", "kepada-yang-lelah", "lelah", "untuk-yang-lelah", "yang-gersang", "yang-lelah"]·IT["[ועיף]", "e-stanco", "exhausted", "fu-exhausted", "stanco", "weary"]·jav["ingkang-sayah", "kanggé-ingkang-kesel", "kesel", "lan-kesel", "saha-sayah", "sayah", "tumrap-ingkang-sayah"]·KO["그리고-피곤하고", "그리고-피곤한", "에-피곤한-자에게", "지친-자에게", "피곤하고", "피곤한", "피곤한-자가", "피곴하다", "피곴한"]·PT["ao-cansado", "cansada", "cansado", "cansados", "cansaço", "e-cansada", "e-cansado", "exaustos", "para-cansadas"]·RU["для-уставшей", "и-изнурённой", "и-утомлён", "уставший", "усталой", "усталые", "усталый", "утомлён", "утомлённого", "утомлённому", "утомлённую"]·ES["agotada", "al-cansado", "cansada", "cansado", "cansados", "para-el-cansado", "y-cansada", "y-cansado"]·SW["amechoka", "iliyochoka", "kwa-waliochoka", "mchovu", "mwenye-uchovu", "na-iliyochoka", "na-wamechoka", "nimechoka", "umechoka", "wamechoka", "yenye-kuchoka", "yenye-uchovu"]·TR["bunun-için", "ve-bitkin", "ve-yorgun", "yorgun", "yorgun-o", "yorgunlar", "yorgunluga", "yorgunu"]·urd["اور-تھکے-ہوئے", "تھکا", "تھکا-ہوا", "تھکا-ہوا-تھا", "تھکی", "تھکی-ہوئی", "تھکے-ہوئے", "تھکے-ہوئے-کو", "تھکے-ہوئے-کے-لیے", "تھکے-ہوئے-ہیں", "وَ-تَھکی"]
Gen 25:29, Gen 25:30, Deut 25:18, Judg 8:4, Judg 8:5, 2 Sam 16:14, 2 Sam 17:29, Ps 63:1, Prov 25:25, Isa 5:27, Isa 28:12, Isa 29:8 (+3 more)
2. faint, parched from thirst — Faint or parched specifically from thirst and deprivation, where exhaustion overlaps with desperate need for water. Job 22:7 rebukes withholding water from the weary (עָיֵף), and Psalm 143:6 compares the psalmist's soul to 'a weary land' thirsting for God. While the physical fatigue of sense 1 can be remedied by rest, this sense implies a deeper depletion — the kind only drink or divine refreshment can address. The metaphorical extension to spiritual thirst (Jer 31:25, 'I will refresh the faint soul') bridges body and spirit. 2×
AR["العَطْشَانَ", "مُتْعَبَةٍ"]·ben["ক্লান্তকে", "তৃষ্ণার্ত"]·DE["[עיף]", "müde"]·EN["the-weary", "weary"]·FR["fatigué", "עיף"]·heb["עייף", "עיפה"]·HI["थकी-हुई", "थके-हुए-को"]·ID["orang-lelah", "yang-haus"]·IT["[עיפה]", "il-weary"]·jav["garing", "tiyang-sayah"]·KO["목마른", "피곤한-자에게"]·PT["ao-cansado", "sedenta"]·RU["изнурённая", "утомлённому"]·ES["al-cansado", "sedienta"]·SW["aliyechoka", "yenye-kiu"]·TR["susamış", "yorgun"]·urd["تھکی-ہوئی", "تھکے ہوئے-کو"]
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
† עָיֵף adj. faint, weary;—ע׳ abs. Gn 25:29 +; f. עֲיֵפָה Je 31:25 +; pl. עֲיֵפִים Ju 8:4 +;—from exertion and hunger Gn 25:29, 30 (J), Ju 8:4, 5; Dt 25:18 (+ יָגֵעַ), cf. Is 5:27, הָנִיחוּ לֶע׳ 28:12 (fig.), 2 S 16:14 (si vera l., n.pr.loc. needed, cf. We Dr HPS); + רָעֵב, צָמֵא 17:29; specif. from thirst Is 29:8 (sim.), Jb 22:7, נֶפֶשׁ ע׳ Pr 25:25 and (fig.) Je 31:25 (‖ דָּֽאֲבָה); hence אֶרֶץ…