What does עֳנִי (ʿŏniy) mean in the Bible?
ʿŎnî names affliction or misery in the selected accounts of oppression, personal grief and comfort. Exodus 3:7 describes the LORD seeing Israel's affliction and hearing cries caused by oppressors.
Hebrew · H6040
עֳנִי
ʿŎnî names affliction or misery in the selected accounts of oppression, personal grief and comfort. Exodus 3:7 describes the Lord seeing Israel's affliction and hearing cries caused by oppressors.
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עֳנִיH6040
Pronunciationʿŏniy
What does עֳנִי (ʿŏniy) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for עֳנִי (H6040) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H6040?
The BSB source-word alignment has 36 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include my affliction (6), of affliction (5), in affliction (2), our affliction (2), the affliction (2).
Where does עֳנִי (ʿŏniy) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 16:11. Its strongest book concentrations include Psalms (10), Job (6), Lamentations (5), Genesis (4).
What This Word Actually Means
ʿŎnî names affliction or misery in the selected accounts of oppression, personal grief and comfort. Exodus 3:7 describes the Lord seeing Israel's affliction and hearing cries caused by oppressors. Genesis 16:11 identifies Hagar's affliction as heard, while First Samuel 1:11 records Hannah asking God to attend to hers. The word names suffering whose circumstances the narratives disclose; it does not itself identify a medical condition or establish that the sufferer caused the distress through wrongdoing.
Psalm 119:50 describes comfort in affliction through God's promise rather than denying that affliction remains part of the speaker's experience. These passages permit truthful distress and attention to God's care without one promised timetable for every person. Hagar's particular encounter must also remain particular: its narrated return command cannot be imposed on a present person facing abuse simply because both experience affliction. Teachers should identify the actual pressure, petition and response before applying the word to a reader's life.
Passage contextCanonical parallel
How the Bible Uses It
National oppression, Hagar's distress, Hannah's petition and the psalmist's comfort give affliction distinct settings. Divine seeing and hearing matter within those accounts without making the noun a universal diagnosis, personal blame verdict or guaranteed timetable for relief.
- Exod.3.7
The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.
The Lord identifies Israel's affliction together with oppressors and heard cries. The announced rescue responds to a named national circumstance rather than assigning fault to the sufferers.
- Gen.16.11
The angel of the Lord proceeded: “Behold, you have conceived and will bear a son. And you shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard your cry of affliction.
Hagar's affliction is heard within a particular wilderness encounter and promise about her son. Its personal circumstances should not be erased when discussing divine attention.
- 1Sam.1.11
And she made a vow, saying, “O Lord of Hosts, if only You will look upon the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, not forgetting Your maidservant but giving her a son, then I will dedicate him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall ever touch his head.”
Hannah's petition names affliction amid bitter distress and a specific vow. The prayer does not establish a technique guaranteeing identical reproductive outcomes for all petitioners.
- Ps.119.50
This is my comfort in affliction, that Your promise has given me life.
The promise gives comfort and life within affliction while the stanza remembers derision. Comfort is not defined as pretending that hardship never occurred.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itmy affliction6×Genesis 29:32, Genesis 31:42, Job 10:15, Psalms 25:18
of affliction5×Deuteronomy 16:3, Job 30:16, Job 30:27, Job 36:8
in affliction2×Psalms 107:10, Psalms 119:50
our affliction2×Deuteronomy 26:7, Psalms 44:24
the affliction2×Exodus 3:7, Nehemiah 9:9
. . .1×Proverbs 31:5
afflict me1×Psalms 9:13
affliction1×Lamentations 3:1
by their affliction1×Job 36:15
from affliction1×Psalms 107:41
grief1×Psalms 88:9
I have taken great pains1×1 Chronicles 22:14
in my affliction1×Psalms 119:92
of her affliction1×Lamentations 1:7
of my affliction1×Genesis 41:52
on my affliction1×Lamentations 1:9
out of your affliction1×Exodus 3:17
that the affliction1×2 Kings 14:26
their affliction1×Exodus 4:31
to affliction1×Job 36:21
under affliction1×Lamentations 1:3
upon my affliction1×Psalms 119:153
upon the affliction1×1 Samuel 1:11
your cry of affliction1×Genesis 16:11
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 16:11עָנְיֵֽךְ׃toyour cry of afflictionNoun - masculine singular construct | second person feminine singularGenesis 29:32בְּעָנְיִ֔יtomy afflictionPreposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singularGenesis 31:42עָנְיִ֞יtomy afflictionNoun - masculine singular construct | first person common singularGenesis 41:52עָנְיִֽי׃toof my afflictionNoun - masculine singular construct | first person common singularExodus 3:7עֳנִ֥יtothe afflictionNoun - masculine singular constructExodus 3:17מֵעֳנִ֣יtoout of your afflictionPreposition-m | Noun - masculine singular constructExodus 4:31עָנְיָ֔םtotheir afflictionNoun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine pluralDeuteronomy 16:3עֹ֑נִיtoof afflictionNoun - masculine singularDeuteronomy 26:7עָנְיֵ֛נוּtoour afflictionNoun - masculine singular construct | first person common plural1 Samuel 1:11בָּעֳנִ֣יtoupon the afflictionPreposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 16:11
Aligned rows36
Books represented12
Genesis4Exodus3Deuteronomy21 Samuel12 Kings11 Chronicles1Nehemiah1Job6Psalms10Proverbs1Isaiah1Lamentations5
Source forms
עֹֽנִי׃5x‘ō·nîJob 30:16, Job 30:27, Job 36:8, Proverbs 31:5
עֳנִ֥י3x‘o·nîExodus 3:7, 2 Kings 14:26, Nehemiah 9:9
עָ֭נְיִי2x‘ā·nə·yîPsalms 9:13, Psalms 25:18
עָנְיִ֥י2x‘ā·nə·yîPsalms 119:153, Lamentations 3:19
בָּעֳנִ֣י1xbā·‘o·nî1 Samuel 1:11
בְעָנְי֑וֹ1xḇə·‘ā·nə·yōwJob 36:15
בְעָנְיִ֜י1xḇə·‘ā·nə·yî1 Chronicles 22:14
בְעָנְיִ֑י1xḇə·‘ā·nə·yîPsalms 119:50
Parsing patterns
Noun - masculine singular9xDeuteronomy 16:3, Job 30:16, Job 30:27, Job 36:8
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular9xGenesis 31:42, Genesis 41:52, Job 10:15, Psalms 9:13
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular4xGenesis 29:32, 1 Chronicles 22:14, Psalms 119:50, Psalms 119:92
Noun - masculine singular construct3xExodus 3:7, 2 Kings 14:26, Nehemiah 9:9
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular3xJob 36:21, Psalms 107:41, Lamentations 1:3
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common plural2xDeuteronomy 26:7, Psalms 44:24
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person feminine singular1xGenesis 16:11
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person feminine singular1xLamentations 1:7
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Let an afflicted person describe the pressure without demanding a public account of painful experiences or assigning hidden motives.
- Offer truthful comfort alongside responsible care, allowing grief and practical concerns to remain visible rather than forcing optimism.
Avoid claiming...
- ʿŎnî does not diagnose a contemporary mental-health condition or establish that the afflicted person caused the suffering through sin.
- The Hagar narrative does not command every present victim to return to an abusive situation because affliction is shared language.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Misery rooted in external oppression or humiliation, often describing the afflicted condition of those suffering injustice or servitude
Source Gloss
depression , i.e. misery
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Misery rooted in external oppression or humiliation, often describing the afflicted condition of those suffering injustice or servitude
depression, i.e. misery BDB: affliction Usage: afflicted(-ion), trouble.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Laban's complaint of mistreatment and emotional distress from Jacob's secret departure
Jerusalem's experience of divine judgment and suffering, contrasted with God's future deliverance
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 36 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
עֳנִי is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Exodus gives the affliction an identifiable cause: oppressors whose pressure produces cries that the Lord hears. The suffering is not merely an inward feeling to be corrected by a more positive attitude. Hannah likewise names a concrete longing and painful situation, while Hagar's encounter addresses her by name within an individual narrative. Their particularity should make pastoral attention more precise rather than furnish a script imposed on everyone in distress.
Psalm 119's comfort belongs within the continuing reality of derision and reliance on God's promise. Second Corinthians 1:3-7 similarly describes received comfort amid shared suffering and patient endurance. That comparison supports attentive care without promising that faithful speech immediately removes every pressure. The term should help teachers recognize a person's pain, not diagnose it from a dictionary gloss, infer hidden guilt or demand an unsafe course by transferring another person's narrated command.
Anchor passage
Exod.3.7
Doctrinal connections
- Exodus 3:7-10 connects divine seeing and hearing with a stated rescue from Egypt's oppression.
- Genesis 16:7-13 places Hagar's heard affliction within a particular encounter, promise and personal recognition.
- First Samuel 1:9-18 gives Hannah's afflicted petition space alongside grief and correction of Eli's misunderstanding.
- Psalm 119:49-56 describes promise-based comfort while remembering derision and continued commitment to God's instruction.
- The selected narratives attribute suffering to named circumstances rather than making the noun a verdict about its victim.
- Second Corinthians 1:3-7 connects God's comfort with shared suffering, patient endurance and care for others.
Affliction or misery is the useful contextual gloss. Older English depression language in lexical materials must not be mistaken for a modern diagnostic category; the passages specify oppression, distress or hardship without that clinical classification.
From Old to New Testament
Second Corinthians 1:3-7 praises God as the source of comfort received amid troubles and then shared with others. It supports a Christian comparison of care within suffering. The passage does not make ʿŏnî a Greek diagnosis or promise an immediate identical resolution for every afflicted person.
Passage contextCanonical parallel