What does אוֹי (ʾôy) mean in the Bible?
אוֹי (ʾôy): Exclamatory lament expressing grief, distress, or prophetic warning of impending judgment or calamity
Hebrew · H188
אוֹי
Lamentation ; also interjectionally Oh!
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אוֹי H188
Pronunciation ʾôy
What does אוֹי (ʾôy) mean in the Bible?
אוֹי (ʾôy): Exclamatory lament expressing grief, distress, or prophetic warning of impending judgment or calamity
Full entry for אוֹי (H188) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H188?
The BSB source-word alignment has 24 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Woe (19), Ah (1), has woe (1), woe [be] (1), Woe is (1).
Where does אוֹי (ʾôy) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Numbers 21:29. Its strongest book concentrations include Jeremiah (8), Ezekiel (4), Isaiah (4), 1 Samuel (2).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It Woe 19× Numbers 21:29, 1 Samuel 4:7, 1 Samuel 4:8, Isaiah 3:9
Ah 1× Numbers 24:23
has woe 1× Proverbs 23:29
woe [be] 1× Hosea 9:12
Woe is 1× Jeremiah 45:3
Woe is me 1× Jeremiah 4:31
Show sample aligned rows
Numbers 21:29 אוֹי־ to Woe Interjection Numbers 24:23 א֕וֹי to Ah Interjection 1 Samuel 4:7 א֣וֹי to Woe Interjection 1 Samuel 4:8 א֣וֹי to Woe Interjection Proverbs 23:29 א֥וֹי to has woe Interjection Isaiah 3:9 א֣וֹי to Woe Interjection Isaiah 3:11 א֖וֹי to Woe Interjection Isaiah 6:5 אֽוֹי־ to Woe Interjection Isaiah 24:16 א֣וֹי to Woe Interjection Jeremiah 4:13 א֥וֹי to Woe Interjection
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Numbers 21:29
Aligned rows 24
Books represented 8
Numbers 2 1 Samuel 2 Proverbs 1 Isaiah 4 Jeremiah 8 Lamentations 1 Ezekiel 4 Hosea 2
Source forms
א֣וֹי 6x ’ō·w 1 Samuel 4:7, 1 Samuel 4:8, Isaiah 3:9, Isaiah 24:16
א֥וֹי 6x ’ō·w Proverbs 23:29, Jeremiah 4:13, Jeremiah 6:4, Jeremiah 10:19
אֽוֹי־ 5x ’ō·w- Isaiah 6:5, Jeremiah 4:31, Jeremiah 15:10, Jeremiah 45:3
א֖וֹי 2x ’ō·w Isaiah 3:11, Ezekiel 24:9
אוֹי־ 2x ’ō·w- Numbers 21:29, Jeremiah 48:46
א֕וֹי 1x ’ō·w Numbers 24:23
אוֹי֮ 1x ’ō·w Ezekiel 24:6
א֤וֹי 1x ’ō·w Hosea 7:13
Parsing patterns
Interjection 24x Numbers 21:29, Numbers 24:23, 1 Samuel 4:7, 1 Samuel 4:8
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Exclamatory lament expressing grief, distress, or prophetic warning of impending judgment or calamity
Source Gloss
lamentation ; also interjectionally Oh!
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Exclamatory lament expressing grief, distress, or prophetic warning of impending judgment or calamity
lamentation; also interjectionally Oh! BDB: woe! Usage: alas, woe.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
An expression of lament or impending judgment.
Showing 1 selected witness from 24 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
אוֹי is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
The prophetic woe underscores the seriousness of divine warning and impending accountability. Isaiah 3:1-12
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain