1739. daveh
Lexical Summary
daveh: Faint, unwell, sick, menstruous

Original Word: דָּוֶה
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: daveh
Pronunciation: dah-veh
Phonetic Spelling: (daw-veh')
KJV: faint, menstruous cloth, she that is sick, having sickness
NASB: faint, impure thing, menstruous, woman who, woman who is ill
Word Origin: [from H1738 (דָּוָה - To be unwell)]

1. sick (especially in menstruation)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
faint, menstruous cloth, she that is sick, having sickness

From davah; sick (especially in menstruation) -- faint, menstruous cloth, she that is sick, having sickness.

see HEBREW davah

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from davah
Definition
faint, unwell
NASB Translation
faint (2), impure thing (1), menstruous (1), woman who (1), woman who is ill (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
דָּוֶה adjective faint, unwellדָּוֶה Lamentations 5:17, feminine דָּוָה Leviticus 15:33 3t.;

1 faint, Lamentations 1:13 ("" שֹׁמֵמָה) Lamentations 5:17.

2 unwell, menstruous Leviticus 15:33; Leviticus 20:18; Isaiah 30:22 דָּוָה perhaps = כְּלִי דָוָה De.

Topical Lexicon
Thematic Overview

The term expresses a state of physical infirmity that carries ritual and symbolic weight. In Torah legislation it designates bodily uncleanness; in prophetic and poetic books it becomes an image for idolatry’s filth and for national collapse. The movement from literal sickness to metaphorical corruption highlights Scripture’s seamless portrayal of sin as both defiling and debilitating.

Occurrences Across Scripture

Leviticus 15:33
Leviticus 20:18
Isaiah 30:22
Lamentations 1:13
Lamentations 5:17

Ceremonial Context in Leviticus

Within the laws of purity, the word identifies the menstrual condition that rendered a woman—and anyone contacting her—ritually unclean. “For a woman in her menstrual impurity, and for anyone…who has a discharge” (Leviticus 15:33). The legislation protected communal worship by underscoring divine holiness. It also served a compassionate purpose: regulating contact during times of physical vulnerability while preserving marital intimacy outside those days (Leviticus 20:18). Thus the term links bodily processes with covenant boundaries, reminding Israel that every aspect of life falls under God’s authority.

Prophetic Imagery in Isaiah

Isaiah harnesses the visceral nature of the word to denounce idolatry: “You will throw them away like a menstrual cloth and call them rubbish” (Isaiah 30:22). What Torah labeled ceremonially unclean becomes, in the prophet’s mouth, the standard by which idols are judged—worthless and contaminating. Repentance requires a decisive casting off of defilement, not a polite distancing. The image warns that clinging to false gods produces a spiritual stench as real as physical uncleanness.

Poetic Expression in Lamentations

Jeremiah’s laments extend the term’s range to national suffering. “He has left me desolate, sick all day long” (Lamentations 1:13); “Because of this our hearts are faint” (Lamentations 5:17). Physical weakness becomes a corporate portrait of Judah after Jerusalem’s fall. The word conveys exhaustion, bewilderment, and shame—feelings inherent to exile. Yet by describing pain in purity-language, the poet implicitly confesses sin; the ailment is not random but covenantal.

Interwoven Biblical Theology

1. Holiness: Bodily impurity laws teach that God’s presence cannot be approached casually.
2. Sin as Pollution: Prophets and poets use sickness language to expose moral failure.
3. Redemption: Purification rites anticipate the ultimate cleansing provided “once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).
4. Compassion: The same Torah that separates also makes provision for restoration, highlighting divine mercy.

Practical Ministry Applications

• Pastoral Care: The Levitical passages validate the reality of cyclical weakness. Churches can support those with chronic illness by acknowledging both physical limitations and spiritual worth.
• Discipleship: Isaiah’s metaphor urges believers to abandon every idol—possessions, habits, relationships—that contaminates worship.
• Lament: Lamentations supplies vocabulary for grief. Congregations facing corporate loss may echo its cries, confident that Scripture legitimizes holy sorrow.

Christological and Eschatological Reflections

Jesus touched the hemorrhaging woman (Mark 5:25-34), reversing impurity by imparting life. His blood answers every defilement the word denotes. At the consummation “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4), signaling the final removal of all forms of weakness the term represents.

Related Scriptural Motifs

• Menstrual impurity (Leviticus 15:19-24)
• Moral filth (Ezekiel 36:17)
• Faint heart (Deuteronomy 28:65; Psalm 61:2)

Conclusion

Across Law, Prophets, and Writings, the word traces a trajectory from literal bodily discharge to profound spiritual malaise, culminating in the promise of complete cleansing. Its five appearances remind readers that sin’s defilement is as tangible as sickness, but God’s provision for purity is stronger still.

Forms and Transliterations
דָּוָ֗ה דָּוָֽה׃ דָוֶה֙ דָוָ֔ה דוה דוה׃ וְהַדָּוָה֙ והדוה dā·wāh ḏā·wāh ḏā·weh daVah daVeh dāwāh ḏāwāh ḏāweh vehaddaVah wə·had·dā·wāh wəhaddāwāh
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Leviticus 15:33
HEB: וְהַדָּוָה֙ בְּנִדָּתָ֔הּ וְהַזָּב֙
NAS: and for the woman who is ill because of menstrual impurity,
KJV: And of her that is sick of her flowers,
INT: the woman of menstrual hath

Leviticus 20:18
HEB: אֶת־ אִשָּׁ֜ה דָּוָ֗ה וְגִלָּ֤ה אֶת־
NAS: lies with a menstruous woman
KJV: with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover
INT: for woman A menstruous and uncovers her nakedness

Isaiah 30:22
HEB: תִּזְרֵם֙ כְּמ֣וֹ דָוָ֔ה צֵ֖א תֹּ֥אמַר
NAS: You will scatter them as an impure thing, [and] say
KJV: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say
INT: will scatter as an impure to them be gone say

Lamentations 1:13
HEB: כָּל־ הַיּ֖וֹם דָּוָֽה׃ ס
NAS: He has made me desolate, Faint all day
KJV: me desolate [and] faint all the day.
INT: all day Faint

Lamentations 5:17
HEB: זֶ֗ה הָיָ֤ה דָוֶה֙ לִבֵּ֔נוּ עַל־
NAS: our heart is faint, Because
KJV: For this our heart is faint; for these [things] our eyes
INT: of this become is faint our heart Because

5 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 1739
5 Occurrences


dā·wāh — 3 Occ.
ḏā·weh — 1 Occ.
wə·had·dā·wāh — 1 Occ.

1738
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