הֲפוּגָה (ha.phu.gah)
ha.phu.gah
cessation
H:N-FQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-F
Word Overview
The noun haphugah describes a state of cessation or stopping, carrying the specific nuance of becoming numb or benumbed. It appears only once in the Hebrew Bible, found in Lamentations 3:49. In this context, it refers to the eyes flowing with water until they cease from weeping, suggesting a physical exhaustion so profound that even the act of crying stops.
Its root relates to pausing or halting, but the usage here emphasizes the limit of human endurance. The word captures a moment where grief is so overwhelming that the body’s natural responses fail. Translators often render this as "cease" or "stop," highlighting the finality of this physical numbness in the face of deep sorrow.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
When grief becomes so heavy that our bodies simply cannot keep up, we are not failing in faith. The Hebrew word haphugah describes a state of cessation where even the act of weeping stops because the spirit is exhausted. It captures that precise moment when tears run dry and numbness sets in, marking the limit of human endurance.
This rare word appears in Lamentations 3:49, where the speaker’s eye pours down water without intermission until it finally ceases. This physical exhaustion does not mean God has abandoned you; rather, it acknowledges the depth of your sorrow. It is a reminder that even the strongest hearts have limits, and those limits are seen clearly by God.
There is comfort in knowing that our silence or numbness is not a lack of prayer, but a sign of how deeply we feel. God meets us in these quiet, exhausted moments just as He does in loud cries for help. You are held in this stillness with the same care you receive in your joy.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- stop<s>1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- הֲפֻגֽוֹת\׃1×
Key Verses
-
Lamentations 3:49
My eye pours down and doesn’t cease, without any intermission,
This verse illustrates the physical exhaustion of grief where tears finally stop flowing, showing that even weeping has a limit.