Lexical Summary alelay: Woe, Alas Original Word: אִלְּלַי Strong's Exhaustive Concordance woe By reduplication from 'alah; alas! -- woe. see HEBREW 'alah NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. interj. Definition alas! woe! NASB Translation woe (2). Brown-Driver-Briggs אַלְלַי interjection (probably onomatopoetic: compare  , אָלָה,  to wail,  woe! Di718) alas! woe! followed by לִי to me Micah 7:1; Job 10:15. Topical Lexicon Meaning and Nuance אִלְּלַי is an impassioned cry translated “Woe is me!” It expresses overwhelming anguish, moral outrage, or deep disappointment. The form is intensely personal—directed inward—yet at the same time it lays the speaker’s burden before God, inviting divine attention and help. Occurrences in Scripture 1. Job 10:15 – “If I am guilty, woe to me! Even if I am righteous, I cannot lift my head, for I am full of shame and conscious of my affliction.” Although limited to two verses, the contexts are weighty: the personal ordeal of Job and the prophetic lament of Micah. In both settings the interjection stands at the front of the sentence, setting an immediate tone of sorrow and urgency. Literary Setting Job employs the cry as a sufferer wrestling with divine mysteries. Micah, standing amid national corruption and impending judgment, echoes the same lament to capture the spiritual barrenness of Judah. The shared vocabulary highlights the continuity of human brokenness across genres—wisdom literature and prophetic oracle. Historical Background Job’s cry likely reflects a patriarchal setting wherein prosperity was viewed as a sign of divine favor; its loss felt catastrophic. Micah’s ministry took place in the eighth century B.C., spanning the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Social injustice, idolatry, and looming Assyrian threat serve as the backdrop to his “Woe is me!” Together, the two occurrences bracket both personal and corporate sorrow in Israel’s story. Theological Themes 1. Human Frailty: Whether righteous or sinful, the human condition is vulnerable (Job 14:1–2). Pastoral Applications • Teaching on Biblical Lament: אִלְּלַי legitimizes grief without surrendering to despair, modeling prayer that is both transparent and reverent. Christological and Eschatological Echoes The language anticipates New Testament laments such as Paul’s “What a wretched man I am!” (Romans 7:24) and culminates in the redemption secured by Christ, who Himself bore the ultimate woe on the cross (Isaiah 53:4–5; Galatians 3:13). Prophetic “woes” (Matthew 23) warn of judgment but also prepare hearts for the gospel’s comfort (Matthew 11:28). Intertextual Connections • Psalms of Woe (e.g., Psalm 120:5) share the same emotive force. Homiletical Insights • Title ideas: “When ‘Woe is Me’ Meets the God Who Sees,” “From Woe to Worship.” Devotional Reflection Believers may adopt אִלְּלַי in prayer when words fail, trusting that the Spirit intercedes “with groans too deep for words” (Romans 8:26). Such cries are invited, recorded, and ultimately resolved in the God who wipes every tear from our eyes (Revelation 21:4). Summary אִלְּלַי, though appearing only twice, captures the heartcry of suffering humanity and stands as a bridge from sorrow to hope. Whether voiced by an individual like Job or by a prophet on behalf of a nation, it reminds readers that the Bible never silences lament but channels it toward the God who redeems. Forms and Transliterations אַ֣לְלַי אַלְלַ֬י אללי ’al·lay ’allay alLaiLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Job 10:15 HEB: אִם־ רָשַׁ֡עְתִּי אַלְלַ֬י לִ֗י וְ֭צָדַקְתִּי NAS: I am wicked, woe to me! And if I am righteous, KJV: If I be wicked, woe unto me; and [if] I be righteous, INT: If I am wicked woe I am righteous not Micah 7:1 2 Occurrences |
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