עָנִי (a.ni)
a.ni
afflicted
H:AQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 55 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:A
Word Overview
The Hebrew word aniy describes a person who is afflicted, poor, or humble. It captures both material poverty and a state of weakness or distress. In the Old Testament, it appears frequently in Psalms, Isaiah, and Job to depict those who are vulnerable and dependent on God’s care.
While often translated as "poor," aniy carries a deeper sense of being crushed or afflicted by circumstances. The sources note that it is closely related to the word anav, though aniy tends to emphasize the objective condition of hardship, whereas anav focuses more on the subjective attitude of meekness. This distinction helps clarify why God’s concern for the aniy is so prominent in passages like Psalm 14:6 and Isaiah 32:7.
A notable feature of aniy is its frequent association with piety and trust in God. The sources highlight that those described as aniy are often portrayed as faithful and humble before the Lord, such as in Psalm 34:6 where the psalmist declares, "I am poor and needy." This connection between physical or social vulnerability and spiritual humility underscores a key theme in Scripture: God’s special attention to the lowly and oppressed.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word aniy describes a person who is afflicted, poor, or humble. It captures both material poverty and a state of weakness or distress. In the Old Testament, it appears frequently in Psalms, Isaiah, and Job to depict those who are vulnerable and dependent on God’s care. While often translated as "poor," aniy carries a deeper sense of being crushed or afflicted by circumstances.
The sources note that it is closely related to the word anav, though aniy tends to emphasize the objective condition of hardship, whereas anav focuses more on the subjective attitude of meekness. This distinction helps clarify why God’s concern for the aniy is so prominent in passages like Psalm 14:6 and Isaiah 32:7.
A notable feature of aniy is its frequent association with piety and trust in God. The sources highlight that those described as aniy are often portrayed as faithful and humble before the Lord, such as in Psalm 34:6 where the psalmist declares, "I am poor and needy." This connection between physical or social vulnerability and spiritual humility underscores a key theme in Scripture: God’s special attention to the lowly and oppressed.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 55 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- [the] afflicted9×
- [the] poor7×
- poor4×
- afflicted [people]4×
- and/ [the] poor3×
- O afflicted [one]3×
- for the/ poor [person]2×
- afflicted2×
- a poor [person]2×
- [the] poor [people] of2×
- [the] afflicted [people] of2×
- [the] afflicted [ones] of2×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- עָנִ֣י8×
- עָנִ֖י7×
- עָנִ֥י6×
- עָנִי֙3×
- עֲנִיִּ֣ים3×
- עָנִ֑י2×
- עֲנִיָּ֥ה2×
- עֲנִיֵּ֣י2×
- לֶֽ/עָנִ֤י2×
- עָ֭נִי1×
- עָ֝נִ֗י1×
- עֲנִיָּ֑ה1×
Key Verses
-
Psalms 14:6
You frustrate the plan of the poor, because Yahweh is his refuge.
This verse highlights Yahweh as the specific refuge for the afflicted, showing that their distress is met with divine protection rather than abandonment.
-
Job 36:15
He delivers the afflicted by their affliction, and opens their ear in oppression.
Here the word reveals a paradoxical purpose in suffering, where God uses affliction to open ears and lead the person toward correction and understanding.
-
Psalms 72:4
He will judge the poor of the people. He will save the children of the needy, and will break the oppressor in pieces.
The verse connects royal justice directly to the protection of the poor, indicating that true leadership requires active intervention against oppression.