H8513 H8513
weariness, hardship, distress; exhaustion from oppression or adversity
This noun captures the grinding toll of prolonged suffering—the hardships Israel endured in Egyptian bondage (Num 20:14), the trials of wilderness wandering (Exod 18:8), and the weight of Babylonian oppression (Neh 9:32). Lamentations 3:5 uses it to describe siege conditions with extraordinary intensity. The related form מַתְּלָאָה appears in Malachi 1:13 for wearisome religious duty. Multilingual evidence shows translations emphasizing both physical exhaustion ('fatiga') and situational difficulty ('hardship').
Senses
1. sense 1 — Refers to the cumulative burden of sustained affliction—not momentary pain but the draining experience of prolonged distress. The Spanish distinction between 'dificultad' (difficulty) and 'fatiga' (weariness) captures the word's dual aspect: both the external circumstances and their internal toll. Moses recounts Israel's hardships to Jethro (Exod 18:8), and Nehemiah confesses the great troubles under foreign kings (Neh 9:32), using this term for multi-generational suffering. 4×
AR["ال-مَشَقَّةِ", "الْمَشَقَّةِ", "وَمَشَقَّةً"]·ben["এবং-ক্লেশে", "কষ্ট"]·DE["[התלאה]", "[ותלאה]", "der-hardship"]·EN["the-hardship", "with-hardship"]·FR["[התלאה]", "[ותלאה]", "le-hardship"]·heb["ה-תלאה", "ו-תלאה"]·HI["और-कष्ट", "कष्ट", "विपत्ति"]·ID["dan-kesusahan", "kesukaran", "kesulitan", "kesusahan"]·IT["[התלאה]", "[ותלאה]", "il-hardship"]·jav["kasangsaran", "kasangsaran-punika", "lan-rekasa", "rekasa"]·KO["그-고난을", "그-곤난을", "그-곤란-을", "그리고-고난-을"]·PT["a-aflição", "a-dificuldade", "e-cansaço"]·RU["и-тяготу", "страдание", "трудность", "тяготу"]·ES["la-dificultad", "la-fatiga", "y-fatiga"]·SW["na-taabu", "taabu"]·TR["sıkıntıyı", "ve-zorluk"]·urd["اور-تھکاوٹ", "مشقت"]
Related Senses
G0846 1. third-person pronoun reference (5552×)H???? 1. (4670×)H6213a 1. do, perform, act (2383×)G4160 1. do, act, perform (473×)H5221 1. Hifil: to strike in battle, smite enemies (362×)H0899b 1. garment, article of clothing (216×)H6213a 2. make, construct, fabricate (148×)H3772 1. cut a covenant / make a pact (97×)H5060 1. touch physically (Qal) (96×)H3615 1. complete a task (Piel) (85×)H3772 2. cut off / destroy (Hifil causative) (81×)H3920 1. capture, seize (Qal) (76×)H???? 12. (76×)H3772 3. be cut off / be eliminated (Niphal) (74×)H6213a 3. be done, be made (Niphal) (73×)G4160 2. make, construct, create (62×)H3847 1. Qal: put on, wear (60×)H8210 1. pour out (liquid/libation) (59×)G2440 1. garment or clothing (general) (54×)H4191 4. kill / put to death (Hifil causative) (50×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† תְּלָאָה n.f. weariness, hardship;—ת׳ Ex 18:8 + 4 times; of distress of Isr. in Egypt Nu 20:14; in wilderness Ex 18:8 (both JE); from Assyrian, Bab., etc. Ne 9:32; cf. La 3:5; מַתְּלָאָה Mal 1:13.