אָמַל
a.mal
to weaken
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Hebrew word אָמַל (a.mal) is defined as "to weaken." This verb appears 16 times in the Bible, indicating its importance in the narrative. In the context of its Semantic domain, Body & Health, a.mal is related to physical strength, vigor, and the decline of these qualities. Its meaning encompasses a range of physical and possibly even emotional states of weakness, debilitation, or incapacitation. The word carries no negative connotations; it is a descriptive term, not a value judgment. The frequency of its appearance in the Bible suggests its relevance in describing the human experience, particularly in situations where physical or emotional strain is involved. This includes times of illness, old age, fatigue, or suffering. Given its focus on physicality, a.mal likely played an essential role in ancient Hebrew culture, where physical strength, resilience, and vitality were highly valued. The word provides insight into how the Israelites perceived and described their own bodies and their experiences with weakness or illness.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
16 total occurrences across the text
For the fields of Heshbon languish with the vine of Sibmah. The lords of the nations have broken down its choice branches, which reached even to Jazer, which wandered into the wilderness. Its shoots were spread abroad. They passed over the sea.
Isaiah 19:8The fishermen will lament, and all those who fish in the Nile will mourn, and those who spread nets on the waters will languish.
Isaiah 24:4The earth mourns and fades away. The world languishes and fades away. The lofty people of the earth languish.
Isaiah 24:4The earth mourns and fades away. The world languishes and fades away. The lofty people of the earth languish.
Isaiah 24:7The new wine mourns. The vine languishes. All the merry-hearted sigh.
Isaiah 33:9The land mourns and languishes. Lebanon is confounded and withers away. Sharon is like a desert, and Bashan and Carmel are stripped bare.
Jeremiah 14:2“Judah mourns, and its gates languish. They sit in black on the ground. The cry of Jerusalem goes up.
Jeremiah 15:9She who has borne seven languishes. She has given up the spirit. Her sun has gone down while it was yet day. She has been disappointed and confounded. I will deliver their residue to the sword before their enemies,” says Yahweh.
Lamentations 2:8Yahweh has purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion. He has stretched out the line. He has not withdrawn his hand from destroying; He has made the rampart and wall lament. They languish together.
Ezekiel 16:30“ ‘ “How weak is your heart,” says the Lord Yahweh, “since you do all these things, the work of an impudent prostitute;
Hosea 4:3Therefore the land will mourn, and everyone who dwells in it will waste away, with all living things in her, even the animals of the field and the birds of the sky, yes, the fish of the sea also die.
Joel 1:10The field is laid waste. The land mourns, for the grain is destroyed, The new wine has dried up, and the oil languishes.
Joel 1:12The vine has dried up, and the fig tree withered; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all of the trees of the field are withered; for joy has withered away from the sons of men.
Nahum 1:4He rebukes the sea, and makes it dry, and dries up all the rivers. Bashan languishes, and Carmel; and the flower of Lebanon languishes.
Nahum 1:4He rebukes the sea, and makes it dry, and dries up all the rivers. Bashan languishes, and Carmel; and the flower of Lebanon languishes.
1 Samuel 2:5Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread. Those who were hungry are satisfied. Yes, the barren has borne seven. She who has many children languishes.