What does עָנִי (ʿāniy) mean in the Bible?
עָנִי names the person who has been pressed down. BDB's gloss — 'depressed in mind or circumstances' — is accurate but too clinical.
Hebrew · H6041
עָנִי
Depressed , in mind or circumstances
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עָנִי H6041
Pronunciation ʿāniy
What does עָנִי (ʿāniy) mean in the Bible?
עָנִי names the person who has been pressed down. BDB's gloss — 'depressed in mind or circumstances' — is accurate but too clinical.
Reader summary
Full entry for עָנִי (H6041) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H6041?
The BSB source-word alignment has 76 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include the poor (9), the afflicted (6), of the poor (5), for the poor (4), of the afflicted (4).
Where does עָנִי (ʿāniy) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Exodus 22:25. Its strongest book concentrations include Psalms (30), Isaiah (12), Proverbs (8), Job (6).
What This Word Actually Means
עָנִי names the person who has been pressed down. BDB's gloss — 'depressed in mind or circumstances' — is accurate but too clinical. The Hebrew word carries the weight of someone who has been subjected to forces beyond their control: poverty, oppression, social marginalization, suffering, and the peculiar spiritual condition of those who have learned not to trust their own resources. This last shade is crucial for the Psalms. The עָנִי in the Psalter is not simply poor in wallet; they are poor in pride. The word shades into humility precisely because affliction strips away the pretension of self-sufficiency.
This is why God's relationship to the עָנִי is so theologically dense in the Hebrew Bible. It is not sentiment — it is covenant. Yahweh is the defender of the afflicted, the one who hears the cry of the poor, the God who does not despise the prayer of the lowly. The Psalms repeatedly ground their confidence in prayer on this covenantal reality: because I am עָנִי, God will hear. Because I have no human patron, I can come to the divine patron. The affliction that strips away human confidence becomes the qualification for divine access.
Isaiah 61 is the canonical high point: the Lord's anointed is sent to preach good news specifically to the עָנִי. This passage, which Jesus quotes in the Nazareth synagogue (Luke 4), defines the mission of the Messiah in terms of this word. Poverty and affliction are not obstacles to the kingdom — they are its entry point. The Beatitudes echo the same structure: the poor in spirit are first, because emptiness before God is the soil into which blessing enters. Understanding עָנִי means understanding why the kingdom belongs to those who know they need it.
Canonical parallel
How the Bible Uses It
עָנִי is indexed in the local Hebrew artifact at about 79 occurrences, concentrated in the Psalms and the prophets. The Psalms use it overwhelmingly in the context of prayer — the afflicted one crying to God for deliverance. The prophetic literature uses it to identify the class of people that covenant justice is meant to protect and that covenant violation consistently exploits.
- Ps.9.12
For the Avenger of bloodshed remembers; He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
The afflicted cry and God does not forget — this is the foundational pastoral claim about עָנִי. Divine memory becomes the ground of hope for those who have no human advocates. The cry of the afflicted is not lost in the silence of heaven; it is registered by the one who avenges bloodshed.
- Ps.34.18
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.
While this verse uses 'broken heart' rather than עָנִי directly, it captures the semantic field: the crushed spirit is the state that עָנִי describes. Divine nearness is covenantally attached to human lowliness, not to human strength or accomplishment. Proximity to God runs opposite to the logic of human social prestige.
- Ps.22.26
The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise Him. May your hearts live forever!
In Psalm 22 — the great suffering Psalm — the vindication of the עָנִי is not just personal relief but eschatological feast. The afflicted do not merely survive their affliction; they inherit the promise of satisfaction. This feeds directly into the New Testament beatitude structure: those who hunger are filled, those who mourn are comforted.
- Isa.61.1
The Spirit of the Lord God is on Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,
This is the messianic climax of the עָנִי trajectory. The anointed one's primary target audience is the humble/afflicted — the word translated 'humble' here is עָנִי. The Spirit-anointed mission is defined by this word. Jesus quotes it in Luke 4 as the inaugural statement of his ministry, completing the canonical arc from Psalm lament to prophetic announcement to incarnate fulfillment.
- Zeph.3.12
But I will leave within you a meek and humble people, and they will trust in the name of the Lord.
Zephaniah's remnant theology: after judgment strips away the proud and powerful, what remains is precisely the עָנִי. The afflicted are not merely the objects of charity — they are the remnant people of the restored covenant. The logic is consistently eschatological: God removes the self-sufficient and preserves the dependent.
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 the poor 9× Job 24:14, Job 29:12, Psalms 35:10, Psalms 37:14
the afflicted 6× Job 36:15, Psalms 35:10, Psalms 72:4, Proverbs 22:22
of the poor 5× Job 24:9, Proverbs 31:9, Isaiah 3:14, Isaiah 3:15
for the poor 4× Leviticus 19:10, Leviticus 23:22, Psalms 68:10, Psalms 140:12
of the afflicted 4× Job 34:28, Psalms 9:12, Psalms 22:24, Psalms 82:3
of the oppressed 4× Psalms 12:5, Psalms 14:6, Proverbs 15:15, Isaiah 26:6
poor 3× Psalms 34:6, Psalms 40:17, Psalms 70:5
an afflicted 2× 2 Samuel 22:28, Psalms 18:27
the oppressed 2× Psalms 10:9, Proverbs 30:14
to the poor 2× Proverbs 14:21, Proverbs 31:20
[am] poor 1× Psalms 109:22
[who is] poor 1× Exodus 22:25
{from harming} the poor 1× Ezekiel 18:17
a meek 1× Zephaniah 3:12
afflicted 1× Psalms 88:15
am poor 1× Psalms 86:1
and afflicted 1× Psalms 25:16
and the afflicted 1× Psalms 72:12
and to the poor 1× Deuteronomy 15:11
and Your afflicted 1× Psalms 72:2
from the oppressed 1× Isaiah 10:2
he who is humble 1× Isaiah 66:2
humble 1× Zechariah 9:9
in pain 1× Psalms 69:29
is a poor 1× Deuteronomy 24:12
is poor 1× Deuteronomy 24:15
may the poor 1× Psalms 74:21
O afflicted city 1× Isaiah 54:11
O wretched 1× Isaiah 10:30
of one who is afflicted 1× Psalms 102:1
of Your afflicted 1× Psalms 74:19
on His afflicted ones 1× Isaiah 49:13
or the poor 1× Zechariah 7:10
the helpless 1× Psalms 10:12
the humble 1× Proverbs 16:19
the lowly 1× Psalms 10:9
the needy 1× Psalms 10:2
the weak 1× Habakkuk 3:14
to bring the poor 1× Isaiah 58:7
to the afflicted 1× Job 36:6
to the humble 1× Proverbs 3:34
to the poor man 1× Ecclesiastes 6:8
where His afflicted 1× Isaiah 14:32
who is poor 1× Deuteronomy 24:14
you afflicted one 1× Isaiah 51:21
Show sample aligned rows
Exodus 22:25 הֶֽעָנִי֙ to [who is] poor Article | Adjective - masculine singular Leviticus 19:10 לֶֽעָנִ֤י to for the poor Preposition-l, Article | Adjective - masculine singular Leviticus 23:22 לֶֽעָנִ֤י to for the poor Preposition-l, Article | Adjective - masculine singular Deuteronomy 15:11 לַעֲנִיֶּ֛ךָ to and to the poor Preposition-l | Adjective - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular Deuteronomy 24:12 עָנִ֖י to is a poor Adjective - masculine singular Deuteronomy 24:14 עָנִ֣י to who is poor Adjective - masculine singular Deuteronomy 24:15 עָנִי֙ to is poor Adjective - masculine singular 2 Samuel 22:28 עָנִ֖י to an afflicted Adjective - masculine singular Job 24:9 עָנִ֥י to of the poor Adjective - masculine singular Job 24:14 עָנִ֥י to the poor Adjective - masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Exodus 22:25
Aligned rows 76
Books represented 14
Exodus 1 Leviticus 2 Deuteronomy 4 2 Samuel 1 Job 6 Psalms 30 Proverbs 8 Ecclesiastes 1 Isaiah 12 Jeremiah 1 Ezekiel 4 Habakkuk 1 Zephaniah 1 Zechariah 4
Source forms
עָנִ֣י 13x ‘ā·nî Deuteronomy 24:14, Job 29:12, Job 36:15, Psalms 18:27
עָנִ֖י 7x ‘ā·nî Deuteronomy 24:12, 2 Samuel 22:28, Psalms 82:3, Psalms 86:1
עָנִ֥י 7x ‘ā·nî Job 24:9, Job 24:14, Psalms 14:6, Psalms 74:21
עָנִי֙ 3x ‘ā·nî Deuteronomy 24:15, Isaiah 66:2, Zechariah 9:9
עָנִ֑י 3x ‘ā·nî Psalms 10:2, Psalms 10:9, Psalms 140:12
עֲנִיִּ֣ים 3x ‘ă·nî·yîm Job 34:28, Job 36:6, Proverbs 30:14
לֶֽעָנִ֤י 2x le·‘ā·nî Leviticus 19:10, Leviticus 23:22
עֲנִיָּ֥ה 2x ‘ă·nî·yāh Isaiah 10:30, Isaiah 54:11
Parsing patterns
Adjective - masculine singular 38x Deuteronomy 24:12, Deuteronomy 24:14, Deuteronomy 24:15, 2 Samuel 22:28
Adjective - masculine plural 9x Job 34:28, Job 36:6, Psalms 9:12, Psalms 10:12
Adjective - masculine plural construct 5x Psalms 72:4, Isaiah 10:2, Isaiah 14:32, Zechariah 11:7
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular 5x Psalms 25:16, Psalms 35:10, Psalms 72:12, Ezekiel 22:29
Preposition-l, Article | Adjective - masculine singular 5x Leviticus 19:10, Leviticus 23:22, Psalms 68:10, Proverbs 31:20
Adjective - feminine singular 3x Isaiah 10:30, Isaiah 51:21, Isaiah 54:11
Article | Adjective - masculine singular 2x Exodus 22:25, Isaiah 3:14
Adjective - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular 1x Psalms 74:19
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- The עָנִי tradition does not make suffering automatically spiritually productive. The Psalms cry out against affliction while trusting God in it — they do not celebrate the suffering itself. Use this word to ground pastoral care for the afflicted in covenant reality, not to romanticize poverty or suffering as inherently virtuous.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that the poor and afflicted are automatically righteous or that affluence is automatically a sign of spiritual failure — the Psalms acknowledge that the wicked can also be poor, and the wisdom literature addresses wealthy people as capable of genuine covenant faithfulness.
- Do not claim that Jesus 'blessed' material poverty as such in the Beatitudes without accounting for Luke's and Matthew's different framings — Luke 6:20 addresses literal poverty while Matt 5:3 speaks of poverty of spirit; responsible preaching holds both texts in view rather than weaponizing one against the other.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Poverty marked by humiliation and powerlessness, often invoking God's protective concern for the vulnerable and oppressed
Source Gloss
depressed , in mind or circumstances
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Poverty marked by humiliation and powerlessness, often invoking God's protective concern for the vulnerable and oppressed
depressed, in mind or circumstances BDB: poor Usage: afflicted, humble, lowly, needy, poor.
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
Legal provision for the materially needy to glean leftover crops
Moral imperative against exploiting the vulnerable and defenseless
Spiritually depressed community receiving divine comfort and restoration
Social duty of rulers to advocate for the economically disadvantaged
Contrast between justice toward the vulnerable and oppressive injustice
Showing 5 selected witnesses from 79 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
עָנִי is built from these roots:
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
עָנִי challenges the prosperity assumptions that creep into Western Christian preaching. The word describes a condition that the canon treats as spiritually significant — not because suffering is good in itself, but because affliction tends to accomplish what comfort cannot: it strips away the illusion of independence. The Psalms are largely the prayer book of the עָנִי. The Psalter's dominant posture — crying to God from need, waiting in darkness, claiming God's covenant promises when all human support has failed — assumes that the reader knows what it is to be pressed down.
For preaching, the crucial move is connecting the Old Testament עָנִי to the New Testament's beatitude logic. Jesus does not spiritualize the word into irrelevance ('poor in spirit' does not mean affluent people who occasionally feel small). He extends the promise of the Hebrew עָנִי to anyone who comes to God in genuine emptiness. The kingdom belongs to those who know they need it. Preaching that addresses congregations as if they are rich and need primarily to manage their advantages misses the עָנִי trajectory entirely. The gospel is, canonically and structurally, good news to the afflicted first.
Anchor passage
Isa.61.1
Doctrinal connections
- H639 Aph — divine anger burns against those who oppress the עָנִי (Prov 22:22-23); wrath and advocacy for the afflicted are theologically linked
- H2617 Chesed — the lovingkindness Yahweh shows the עָנִי is one of hesed's defining expressions throughout the Psalms
- H3467 Yasha — God's saving action is consistently directed toward the afflicted; salvation and advocacy for the poor share the same vocabulary
- G4434 Ptochos — the NT Greek term for the poor; Luke's beatitude ('blessed are the poor') stands in direct line with the עָנִי tradition
- G3107 Makarios — the beatitude formula in Matt 5 and Luke 6 applies the same reversal logic the Psalms attach to the עָנִי
- Isaiah 61 as a whole — the messianic manifesto whose primary audience is defined by this word
עָנִי is closely related to H6035 עָנָו (anav), which also means humble/meek. The distinction is subtle: עָנָו tends toward the voluntary posture of humility, while עָנִי tends toward the condition imposed by circumstance. Both appear together in texts like Psalm 22 and Zephaniah 3. BDB connects both to the verbal root H6031 עָנָה (to afflict, to humble), linking the noun form to an experience that can be externally imposed.
This matters for preaching: the afflicted are not simply choosing an attitude; they have been placed in a condition by poverty, oppression, or suffering.
From Old to New Testament
The Old Testament עָנִי tradition flows directly into the New Testament through three channels. First, the Psalms of the afflicted become the prayer vocabulary of Jesus — Psalm 22 and Psalm 69 are the two most heavily cited psalms in the passion narratives; Jesus himself becomes the archetypal עָנִי, the afflicted one whose cry God does not ignore. Second, Isaiah 61 is quoted in Luke 4 as the programmatic statement of Jesus' ministry, defining his mission in terms of this word.
Third, the Beatitudes transpose the Psalm promise into kingdom announcement: what God covenantally guaranteed to the afflicted in Israel's prayer tradition is now declared as present kingdom inheritance for all who come before God in genuine poverty of spirit.
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