תַּאֲנִיָּה (ta.a.niy.yah)
ta.a.niy.yah
mourning
H:N-FQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 2 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-F
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun taaniyyah denotes a state of mourning or grief. It appears only twice in the Hebrew Bible, both times within the book of Lamentations (1:4 and 2:10). In these contexts, it describes the deep sorrow experienced by Jerusalem and its people following the city’s destruction.
The word is derived from the root anah, which carries meanings of affliction or humbling. This connection suggests that taaniyyah is not merely superficial sadness, but a profound, crushing grief that affects the whole person. The sources highlight its use in describing the lamentations of priests and the desolation of the sanctuary.
Its limited occurrence underscores the intensity of the situation it describes. When used, it points to a collective trauma rather than individual sorrow. Translators typically render it as "mourning" or "grieving," capturing the heavy weight of loss associated with the fall of Jerusalem.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word taaniyyah appears only twice in the Hebrew Bible, both within Lamentations. It describes a heavy, crushing grief that affects the entire person rather than just a fleeting sadness. When Jerusalem fell, this profound sorrow was not merely individual but collective, marking a time of deep communal trauma and loss.
Understanding this term helps us see how Scripture validates deep pain. The priests and people experienced mourning so intense it felt like the sanctuary itself was desolated. This recognition allows believers to bring their heaviest burdens to God without minimizing the weight of their suffering or trying to rush through the process of grief.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- mourning2×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- תַּאֲנִיָּ֖ה1×
- תַֽאֲנִיָּה֙1×