H6735c H6735c
pangs, writhing pains; birth-like anguish from terror or distress
This noun denotes sharp, convulsive pangs, especially those likened to the agony of childbirth. In 1 Samuel 4:19, the wife of Phinehas literally goes into labor pains upon hearing of the ark's capture. Isaiah uses the image metaphorically for the terror that seizes Babylon (13:8) and the prophet himself at the vision of judgment (21:3). Daniel 10:16 extends the usage to describe the overwhelming physical effects of visionary anguish. The root suggests writhing or twisting, capturing the involuntary bodily convulsion of extreme pain.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Sharp pangs or convulsive pains, typically compared to or derived from childbirth. The literal birth-pang sense appears in 1 Sam 4:19, while Isaiah deploys it as a simile for existential terror (Isa 13:8 alongside 'labor pains,' Isa 21:3 describing the prophet's own visceral dread). Daniel 10:16 extends it to visionary distress. The multilingual evidence converges on pain vocabulary (spa 'dolores,' eng 'pangs/pains'), with the French and German forms retained in brackets, confirming the unified semantic core of involuntary anguished writhing. 5×
AR["آلَامٌ", "آلَامِي", "أَوْجَاعٌ", "كَآلَامِ", "مَخَاضُهَا"]·ben["-প্রসব-বেদনার-মতো", "আমার-বেদনা", "তার-প্রসব-বেদনা", "প্রসব-বেদনা", "যন্ত্রণা"]·DE["[כצירי]", "[צירי]", "[צירים]", "ihr-pains"]·EN["her-pains", "like-pangs-of", "my-pains", "pangs"]·FR["[כצירי]", "[צירים]", "messager", "sa-pains"]·heb["כ-צירי", "ציריה", "ציריי", "צירים"]·HI["पीड़ाएं", "पीड़ाएं-उसकी", "मेरे-दर्द", "वेदना", "वेदना-की-तरह"]·ID["kesakitan", "kesakitan-kesakitanku", "sakit-sakit", "sakitnya", "seperti-sakit-sakit"]·IT["[צירי]", "lei-pains", "messaggero"]·jav["kados-nyeri", "kasangsaran", "laranipun", "nyeri", "raos-sakit-kula"]·KO["고통이", "그녀의-산통이", "나의-고통들이", "산고-같이", "산고가"]·PT["como-dores-de", "dores", "dores-dela", "minhas-dores"]·RU["как-схватки", "муки-мои", "схватки", "схватки-её"]·ES["como-dolores-de", "dolores", "dolores-mis", "sus-dolores"]·SW["kama-uchungu", "maumivu", "maumivu-yangu", "uchungu", "uchungu-wake"]·TR["sancilar", "sancilari-gibi", "sancıları", "sancılarım"]·urd["درد", "دردوں-نے", "دردوں-کی-طرح", "دردیں", "دردیں-میری"]
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
† IV. [צִיר] n.[m.] pang (proposes writhing);—pl. צִירִים Is 13:8; 21:3; cstr. צִירֵי 21:3; sf. צִירַי Dn 10:16, צִרֶיהָ 1 S 4:19;—pangs of childbirth 1 S 4:19, so (sim.) Is 21:3; and, of terror, 13:8 (+ חֲבָלִים), 21:3; in gen., of physical effects of mental distress Dn 10:16.