Lexical Summary aniyyah: mourning, mourning and moaning Original Word: אֲנִיָּה Strong's Exhaustive Concordance lamentation, sorrow From 'anah; groaning -- lamentation, sorrow. see HEBREW 'anah NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom anah Definition mourning NASB Translation mourning (1), mourning and moaning (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs אֲנִיָּה noun feminine mourning; Isaiah 29:2; Lamentations 2:5 (both times in combination תַּאֲנִיָּה וַאֲנִיָּה). Topical Lexicon Meaning and Scope אֲנִיָּה denotes the public, audible outcry of grief that arises when covenant judgment strikes. It is more than private sorrow; it is the community’s collective wail when devastation has removed every earthly ground of confidence. The noun appears only twice, yet its placement in two of Scripture’s most somber passages gives it a weight disproportionate to its frequency. Occurrences in Scripture • Isaiah 29:2 – “I will distress Ariel, and there will be mourning and lamentation, and she will be like an altar hearth before Me.” Prophetic Significance in Isaiah Isaiah addresses “Ariel,” a poetic name for Jerusalem that alludes to the altar hearth of the temple. By pairing the holy city’s liturgical title with אֲנִיָּה, the prophet exposes a tragic reversal: the place created for joyful sacrifice now reverberates with sacrificial cries. This lamentation is not aimless despair; it is divinely ordained pressure meant to purge hypocrisy and lead the remnant to renewed faith (compare Isaiah 29:18-24). Thus, אֲנִיָּה functions as a transitional note in the symphony of judgment-unto-restoration. Covenant Desolation in Lamentations Jeremiah, the presumed author, looks upon a city already ruined. Where Isaiah predicted lamentation, Lamentations records it. The piling up of verbs—“engulfed,” “destroyed,” “multiplied”—culminates in אֲנִיָּה, capturing the crescendo of Judah’s pain. Yet even here, the lament is framed within covenant relationship: “The Lord has become like an enemy.” The grief is therefore not meaningless chaos but the severe mercy of a righteous God who disciplines in order to redeem (compare Lamentations 3:22-33). Theological Themes 1. Divine justice: אֲנִיָּה accompanies the outworking of the covenant curses (Deuteronomy 28:15-68), underscoring that God’s judgments are never arbitrary. Typological Foreshadowing The lament of Jerusalem anticipates the greater lament borne by the Suffering Servant, who “has borne our griefs” (Isaiah 53:4). Upon Him falls the ultimate covenant curse, transforming lamentation into the ground of salvation. In turn, Revelation 21:4 promises a day when “mourning, crying, and pain” will be no more—an eschatological reversal of אֲנִיָּה inaugurated at the cross and consummated at Christ’s return. Ministry Applications • Pastoral care: These passages validate the language of lament in personal and corporate prayer, encouraging believers to voice grief without fear of faithlessness. Practical Reflection When a congregation or individual walks through seasons of devastation—whether moral failure, tragedy, or divine chastening—the vocabulary of אֲנִיָּה legitimizes sorrow while steering it toward hope. Because Scripture embeds lament inside the storyline of redemption, believers can weep honestly yet anticipate the day when God “will turn their mourning into joy” (Jeremiah 31:13). Forms and Transliterations וַֽאֲנִיָּ֔ה וַאֲנִיָּֽה׃ ואניה ואניה׃ vaaniYah wa’ănîyāh wa·’ă·nî·yāhLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Isaiah 29:2 HEB: וְהָיְתָ֤ה תַֽאֲנִיָּה֙ וַֽאֲנִיָּ֔ה וְהָ֥יְתָה לִּ֖י NAS: And she will be [a city of] lamenting and mourning; And she will be like an Ariel KJV: and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto me as Ariel. INT: become lamenting and mourning become an Ariel Lamentations 2:5 2 Occurrences |
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