H6463 H6463
I will groan; utter sounds of labor or distress (onomatopoetic)
This verb appears in Isaiah 42:14, where God declares 'I will groan like a woman in labor.' It's an onomatopoetic word, capturing the involuntary sounds of intense effort or distress. In this remarkable passage, God uses the imagery of childbirth to describe His coming intervention—He has been silent and restrained for a long time, but now He will 'gasp and pant' as He brings forth deliverance. The groaning isn't weakness but the sound of powerful exertion, the straining necessary to birth something new. It humanizes God while emphasizing the costly, effortful nature of salvation.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A verb in Isaiah 42:14 where God says 'I will groan like a woman in labor,' using childbirth imagery to describe His coming intervention on Israel's behalf. The onomatopoetic term captures involuntary sounds of intense effort, not weakness but powerful exertion. After long restraint, God will 'gasp and pant'—spending Himself in the work of delivering His people. The groaning expresses the costly, effortful nature of bringing forth salvation, comparing divine intervention to labor pains. 1×
AR["أَئِنُّ"]·ben["ক্রন্দন-করব"]·DE["[אפעה]"]·EN["I-will-groan"]·FR["[אפעה]"]·heb["אפעה"]·HI["हाँफूँगा-मैं"]·ID["Aku-mengerang"]·IT["[אפעה]"]·jav["Ingsun-megap-megap"]·KO["숨을-쉬리라"]·PT["gritarei"]·RU["буду-стенать"]·ES["gemiré"]·SW["ninapumua-kwa-nguvu"]·TR["inleyecegim"]·urd["میں-کراہوں-گا"]
Related Senses
H6629 1. flock, sheep/goats (small livestock) (274×)H1241 1. cattle, herd (bovine livestock) (183×)H0352a 1. ram (male sheep) (156×)H6499 1. young bull, bullock (130×)H3532 1. lamb, young male sheep (105×)H2543 1. donkey (male ass) (96×)H7794 1. ox, bull (79×)H7462b 1. shepherd (agent noun) (76×)H5795 1. she-goat(s), female goat(s) (68×)H7462b 2. to shepherd, tend, pasture (60×)H1581 1. camel (domestic animal) (54×)H0738b 1. lion (46×)G4263 1. sheep (39×)H5739 1. flock or herd of livestock (38×)H5695 1. calf, young bull (35×)H0738a 1. lion (large predatory feline) (34×)H0860 1. female donkey (34×)H3611 1. dog (animal) (32×)H3715a 1. young lion, lion cub (31×)G0721 1. Lamb (29×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [פָּעָה] vb. groan (onomatop. according to Thes; NH Hiph. bleat, so Arabic بعى, بغى Dozy; Aramaic פְּעָא, ܦܥܳܐ bleat);—Impf. 1 s. כַּיּוֹלֵדָה אֶפְעֶה Is 42:14 (of י׳ straining himself to deliver Isr., + אֶשֹּׁם [נשׁם], אֶשְׁאַף).—[אֶפַע] Is 41:24, v. p. 67.