אָדַב (a.dav)
a.dav
to grieve
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb adav means to grieve or cause grief. It appears only once in the Old Testament, in 1 Samuel 2:33. In this verse, the prophet Samuel describes a future judgment against Eli’s corrupt sons. God says one of them will die and serve as a sign that will make Eli’s heart grieve.
This single occurrence highlights the word’s emotional weight. It is not about minor sadness but deep, piercing sorrow. The context involves divine judgment and personal loss, showing how grief can be both an internal feeling and an external event that affects others. The verb captures the pain of witnessing consequences that bring sorrow to those who care.
Though rare, adav reminds readers that grief in Scripture is real and significant. It is not dismissed but acknowledged as part of human experience under God’s sovereignty. The word invites reflection on how sorrow connects us to divine justice and personal loss.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The Hebrew word adav appears only once in Scripture, carrying a heavy weight of sorrow. In 1 Samuel 2:33, it describes how the judgment against Eli’s family would not just be an external event but would deeply wound his heart. This is not fleeting sadness; it is a piercing grief that lingers. The text shows us that God sees the pain caused by sin and does not treat our sorrow lightly.
When we face loss or witness the consequences of wrongdoing, this word reminds us that our grief matters to God. He does not dismiss our pain as insignificant. Instead, He acknowledges it as part of a broken world under His sovereign care. We can bring our deepest sorrows to Him, knowing He understands the weight of a grieving heart.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- and/ to/ cause to grieve1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- וְ/לַ/אֲדִ֣יב1×
Key Verses
-
I Samuel 2:33
The man of yours whom I don’t cut off from my altar will consume your eyes and grieve your heart. All the increase of your house will die in the flower of their age.
This single occurrence links the verb directly to divine judgment causing personal, lingering sorrow in Eli’s heart.