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אָמַל

𐤀𐤌𐤋

ʼâmal

H535 verb

SILEX Entry

Root אמל to languish, to become weak, to fade away

Definition

To become weak or feeble, to waste away, or to languish; used of physical decline, emotional or inner distress, or the fading of strength. In various biblical contexts, it denotes a state of bodily or spiritual weakness, loss of vigor, or decline due to grief, affliction, or exhaustion.

Semantic Range

to languish, to become feeble or weak, to waste away, to be afflicted, to decline in strength (bodily, emotional, or metaphorical), to wither (of plants or land), to be worn out

Root / Etymology

From the root אמל (ʼ-m-l), which carries the base idea of languishing or fading. The verb אָמַל reflects a process of becoming frail, weak, or diminished, rather than simply describing a fleeting feeling of weakness. It does not derive from a more basic Hebrew verb with a broader sense; rather, it is the core form from which the noun אֻמְלָל (afflicted, feeble) is formed.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In early Israelite poetry and prophetic literature, אָמַל commonly appears to describe the physical or emotional depletion of individuals, peoples, or even the land itself (e.g., Isaiah 16:8, Joel 1:10). While sometimes used interchangeably with other terms for suffering or weakness (such as דל or חלה), אָמַל typically implies ongoing languishing or wasting away, not merely acute illness. Over time, the usage of אָמַל broadened from concrete bodily frailty to include metaphorical weakening (as in the withering of once-flourishing plants or lands). English translations often render this root simply as "be weak" or "languish," which may obscure the processual nature of decline conveyed by the Hebrew. The word does not imply mourning in the sense of ritual grieving, but rather the diminishment associated with deep affliction; any association with mourning is secondary and arises from a context of suffering, not mourning practices per se. In later biblical Hebrew, the root fades in frequency, with more specific terms for illness, sadness, or physical decline preferred. The term is distinct from later English uses of "mourn," which involve explicit funerary or communal rites of grief.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; to droop; by implication to be sick, to mourn; languish, be weak, wax feeble.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

אמל (ʾ-m-l) — to languish, to become weak, to fade away

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H536 אֻמְלַל was made feeble
H537 אֲמֵלָל the languishing ones

Word Forms

7 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H535-05 אֻמְלְלָ֥ה umelelah HVKp3fs languished she was made feeble 4
H535-02 אֻמְלָ֜ל umelal HVKp3ms languishes has been utterly weakened 4
H535-04 אֻמְלָֽלוּ umelalu HVKp3cp fade away they were utterly enfeebled 3
H535-03 אֻמְלָֽלָה umelalah HVKp3fs languishes she has been utterly weakened 2
H535-06 אֻמְלְל֖וּ umelelu HVKp3cp languish they were utterly weakened 1
H535-07 וְ/אֻמְלַל֙ veumelal HC/VKq3ms and will languish and he was utterly weakened 1
H535-01 אֲמֻלָה֙ amulah HVqsfsa weakened languishing 1

Occurrences in Scripture

16 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H535-03 1 Samuel 2:5 אֻמְלָֽלָה umelalah HVKp3fs languishes she has been utterly weakened
H535-02 Isaiah 16:8 אֻמְלָ֜ל umelal HVKp3ms languish has been utterly weakened
H535-04 Isaiah 19:8 אֻמְלָֽלוּ umelalu HVKp3cp will languish they were utterly enfeebled
H535-05 Isaiah 24:4 אֻמְלְלָ֥ה umelelah HVKp3fs withers she was made feeble
H535-04 Isaiah 24:4 אֻמְלָ֖לוּ umelalu HVKp3cp fade away they were utterly enfeebled
H535-05 Isaiah 24:7 אֻמְלְלָה umelelah HVKp3fs languishes she was made feeble
H535-05 Isaiah 33:9 אֻמְלְלָה֙ umelelah HVKp3fs languished she was made feeble
H535-06 Jeremiah 14:2 אֻמְלְל֖וּ umelelu HVKp3cp languish they were utterly weakened
H535-05 Jeremiah 15:9 אֻמְלְלָ֞ה umelelah HVKp3fs She is languishing she was made feeble
H535-01 Ezekiel 16:30 אֲמֻלָה֙ amulah HVqsfsa weakened languishing
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