דָּוֶה (da.veh)
da.veh
sick
H:AQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 5 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:A
Word Overview
The Hebrew adjective dāweh describes a state of physical weakness or being unwell. It appears in five verses across the Old Testament, often characterizing someone who is faint or lacking strength. In Leviticus 13:47 and related passages, it helps describe skin conditions that are not immediately life-threatening but require careful observation, marking a condition that is present yet subtle.
Its meaning extends beyond simple tiredness to include a sense of being sickly or menstruous, indicating a bodily state that renders a person ritually or physically vulnerable. The word captures the fragility of the human body when it fails to function normally. This usage highlights how ancient Israelite law distinguished between various forms of illness and impurity, treating dāweh as a specific category of unhealthiness rather than a general term for disease.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
When we feel physically or emotionally drained, the Bible acknowledges that reality without shame. The Hebrew word dāweh describes a state of being faint, weak, or sickly. It is not a judgment on your faith but a recognition of human fragility. In Lamentations, the poet uses this term to express how despair can make the heart feel faint and the eyes grow dim.
This vocabulary reminds us that vulnerability is part of the human condition. Even in times of deep sorrow or physical illness, you are seen. God does not ask you to pretend strength when you are weary. Instead, He invites you to bring your honest exhaustion to Him, knowing that His grace is sufficient for your weakest moments.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 5 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- faint2×
- menstruating1×
- and/ the/ menstruating [woman]1×
- a menstrual [rag]1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- וְ/הַ/דָּוָה֙1×
- דָּוָֽה\׃\ \ס1×
- דָּוָ֗ה1×
- דָוָ֔ה1×
- דָוֶה֙1×
Key Verses
-
Lamentations 1:13
“From on high has he sent fire into my bones, and it prevails against them. He has spread a net for my feet. He has turned me back. He has made me desolate and I faint all day long.
The word describes the poet's persistent faintness caused by divine discipline, showing how spiritual grief can manifest as physical weakness.
-
Lamentations 5:17
For this our heart is faint. For these things our eyes are dim:
Here it characterizes the collective despair of Israel, linking national tragedy to a sense of bodily and emotional exhaustion.
-
Leviticus 15:33
and of her who has her period, and of a man or woman who has a discharge, and of him who lies with her who is unclean.
It categorizes menstrual impurity as a state of dāweh, distinguishing it from other forms of ritual uncleanness in Levitical law.