בָּכָה
to weep
also: bewail, cry, shed tears fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Qal verb in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
Stem
- Qal
- The basic, simple active stem — the plain form of the verb (“he wrote”). Here: ‘weep’
- Piel
- An intensive or resultative active stem.
Form
- Sequential Imperfect
- An imperfect with prefixed waw — the standard past-narrative form (waw-consecutive imperfect).
- Infinitive Absolute
- An unbound verbal noun, often intensifying or standing in for a finite verb.
- Participle Active
- A verbal adjective expressing ongoing or characteristic action (“writing / one who writes”).
- Infinitive Construct
- A bound verbal noun, frequently with prepositions (“to write / in writing”).
- Imperfect
- An incomplete, ongoing, or future action (“he will / would write”).
- Jussive
- A third- or second-person volitional form expressing wish or command (“let him write”).
- Perfect
- A completed action or state — Hebrew marks aspect (completeness) more than strict tense (“he wrote”).
- Cohortative
- A first-person volitional form expressing wish or resolve (“let me / let us write”).
- Sequential Perfect
- A perfect with prefixed waw continuing a preceding imperfect or command (waw-consecutive perfect).
- Imperative
- A direct command (“write!”).
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
Person
- 3rd Person
- The one spoken about (“he / she / it / they”).
- 1st Person
- The speaker (“I / we”).
- 2nd Person
- The one addressed (“you”).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
- Common
- Either gender — not distinguished for this form.
Number
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
- Singular
- One.
Grammatical forms 34 distinct
- Verb, Qal, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Plural 17 times (15%)
- Verb, Qal, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Singular 17 times (15%)
- Verb, Qal, Infinitive Absolute 9 times (8%)
- Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Singular, Absolute 7 times (6%)
- Verb, Qal, Sequential Imperfect, 3rd Person, Feminine, Singular 6 times (5%)
- Verb, Qal, Participle Active, Masculine, Plural, Absolute 5 times (4%)
- Verb, Qal, Infinitive Construct 5 times (4%)
- Verb, Qal, Imperfect, 3rd Person, Masculine, Plural 5 times (4%)
+26 more forms (45 occurrences)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (morphhb / Westminster Leningrad Codex — WLC text public domain, morphhb tagging CC BY 4.0), counted across 116 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Every verse where H1058 appears — 100 distinct verses across 25 books. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Genesis 14 verses
- Genesis 21:16 וַ/תֵּֽבְךְּ conj + Qal wimpf 3fs She went and sat down opposite him, a good way off, about a bow shot away. For she said, "Don't let me see the death of the child." She sat over against him, and lifted up her voice, and wept.
- Genesis 23:2 וְ/לִ/בְכֹּתָֽ/הּ conj + prep + Qal inf.cs + sfx pers 3fs Sarah died in Kiriath Arba (the same is Hebron), in the land of Canaan. Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
- Genesis 27:38 וַ/יֵּֽבְךְּ conj + Qal wimpf 3ms Esau said to his father, "Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, my father." Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.
- Genesis 29:11 וַ/יֵּֽבְךְּ conj + Qal wimpf 3ms Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept.
- Genesis 33:4 וַ/יִּבְכּֽוּ conj + Qal wimpf 3mp Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, fell on his neck, kissed him, and they wept.
- Genesis 37:35 וַ/יֵּ֥בְךְּ conj + Qal wimpf 3ms All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted. He said, "For I will go down to Sheol to my son mourning." His father wept for him.
- Genesis 42:24 וַ/יֵּ֑בְךְּ conj + Qal wimpf 3ms He turned himself about from them, and wept, and he returned to them, and spoke to them, and took Simeon from among them, and bound him before their eyes.
- Genesis 43:30 לִ/בְכּ֑וֹת וַ/יֵּ֥בְךְּ prep + Qal inf.cs conj + Qal wimpf 3ms Joseph made haste; for his heart yearned over his brother: and he sought a place to weep; and he entered into his room, and wept there.
- Genesis 45:14 וַ/יֵּ֑בְךְּ בָּכָ֖ה conj + Qal wimpf 3ms Qal pf 3ms He fell on his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck.
- Genesis 45:15 וַ/יֵּ֣בְךְּ conj + Qal wimpf 3ms He kissed all his brothers, and wept on them. After that his brothers talked with him.
- Genesis 46:29 וַ/יֵּ֥בְךְּ conj + Qal wimpf 3ms Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel, his father, in Goshen. He presented himself to him, and fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.
- Genesis 50:1 וַ/יֵּ֥בְךְּ conj + Qal wimpf 3ms Joseph fell on his father's face, wept on him, and kissed him.
- Genesis 50:3 וַ/יִּבְכּ֥וּ conj + Qal wimpf 3mp Forty days were fulfilled for him, for that is how many the days it takes to embalm. The Egyptians wept for him for seventy days.
- Genesis 50:17 וַ/יֵּ֥בְךְּ conj + Qal wimpf 3ms "So you shall tell Joseph, 'Now please forgive the disobedience of your brothers, and their sin, because they did evil to you.' Now, please forgive the disobedience of the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
Exodus 1 verse
Leviticus 1 verse
Numbers 8 verses
- Numbers 11:4 וַ/יִּבְכּ֗וּ conj + Qal wimpf 3mp The mixed multitude that was among them lusted exceedingly: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?
- Numbers 11:10 בֹּכֶה֙ Qal ptcp.act ms Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, every man at the door of his tent: and the anger of Yahweh was kindled greatly; and Moses was displeased.
- Numbers 11:13 יִבְכּ֤וּ Qal impf 3mp Whence should I have flesh to give to all this people? for they weep to me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat.
- Numbers 11:18 בְּכִיתֶם֩ Qal pf 2mp Say you to the people, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and you shall eat flesh; for you have wept in the ears of Yahweh, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore Yahweh will give you flesh, and you shall eat.
- Numbers 11:20 וַ/תִּבְכּ֤וּ conj + Qal wimpf 2mp but a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome to you; because that you have rejected Yahweh who is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?
- Numbers 14:1 וַ/יִּבְכּ֥וּ conj + Qal wimpf 3mp All the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.
- Numbers 20:29 וַ/יִּבְכּ֤וּ conj + Qal wimpf 3mp When all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they wept for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.
- Numbers 25:6 בֹכִ֔ים Qal ptcp.act mp Behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought to his brothers a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, while they were weeping at the door of the tent of meeting.
Deuteronomy 3 verses
- Deuteronomy 1:45 וַ/תִּבְכּ֖וּ conj + Qal wimpf 2mp You returned and wept before Yahweh; but Yahweh didn't listen to your voice, nor gave ear to you.
- Deuteronomy 21:13 וּ/בָֽכְתָ֛ה conj + Qal wpf 3fs and she shall put the clothing of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in your house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that you shall go in to her, and be her husband, and she shall be your wife.
- Deuteronomy 34:8 וַ/יִּבְכּוּ֩ conj + Qal wimpf 3mp The children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping in the mourning for Moses were ended.
Judges 8 verses
- Judges 2:4 וַ/יִּבְכּֽוּ conj + Qal wimpf 3mp It happened, when the angel of Yahweh spoke these words to all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept.
- Judges 11:37 וְ/אֶבְכֶּה֙ conj + Qal impf 1cs She said to her father, Let this thing be done for me: let me alone two months, that I may depart and go down on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my companions.
- Judges 11:38 וַ/תֵּ֥בְךְּ conj + Qal wimpf 3fs He said, Go. He sent her away for two months: and she departed, she and her companions, and mourned her virginity on the mountains.
- Judges 14:16 וַ/תֵּבְךְּ֩ conj + Qal wimpf 3fs Samson's wife wept before him, and said, You do but hate me, and don't love me: you have put forth a riddle to the children of my people, and haven't told it me. He said to her, Behold, I haven't told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell you?
- Judges 14:17 וַ/תֵּ֤בְךְּ conj + Qal wimpf 3fs She wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it happened on the seventh day, that he told her, because she pressed him sore; and she told the riddle to the children of her people.
- Judges 20:23 וַ/יִּבְכּ֣וּ conj + Qal wimpf 3mp The children of Israel went up and wept before Yahweh until even; and they asked of Yahweh, saying, Shall I again draw near to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? Yahweh said, Go up against him.
- Judges 20:26 וַ/יִּבְכּוּ֙ conj + Qal wimpf 3mp Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came to Bethel, and wept, and sat there before Yahweh, and fasted that day until even; and they offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings before Yahweh.
- Judges 21:2 וַ/יִּבְכּ֖וּ conj + Qal wimpf 3mp The people came to Bethel, and sat there until evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore.
Ruth 2 verses
- Ruth 1:9 וַ/תִּבְכֶּֽינָה conj + Qal wimpf 3fp Yahweh grant you that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voice, and wept.
- Ruth 1:14 וַ/תִּבְכֶּ֖ינָה conj + Qal wimpf 3fp They lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth joined with her.
1 Samuel 8 verses
- 1 Samuel 1:7 וַ/תִּבְכֶּ֖ה conj + Qal wimpf 3fs [as] he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of Yahweh, so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat.
- 1 Samuel 1:8 תִבְכִּ֗י Qal impf 2fs Elkanah her husband said to her, Hannah, why weep you? and why don't you eat? and why is your heart grieved? am I not better to you than ten sons?
- 1 Samuel 1:10 וּ/בָכֹ֥ה תִבְכֶּֽה conj + Qal inf.abs Qal impf 3fs She was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to Yahweh, and wept sore.
- 1 Samuel 11:4 וַ/יִּבְכּֽוּ conj + Qal wimpf 3mp Then came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and spoke these words in the ears of the people: and all the people lifted up their voice, and wept.
- 1 Samuel 11:5 יִבְכּ֑וּ Qal impf 3mp Behold, Saul came following the oxen out of the field; and Saul said, What ails the people that they weep? They told him the words of the men of Jabesh.
- 1 Samuel 20:41 וַ/יִּבְכּוּ֙ conj + Qal wimpf 3mp As soon as the boy was gone, David arose out of [a place] toward the South, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded.
- 1 Samuel 24:16 וַ/יֵּֽבְךְּ conj + Qal wimpf 3ms It came to pass, when David had made an end of speaking these words to Saul, that Saul said, Is this your voice, my son David? Saul lifted up his voice, and wept.
- 1 Samuel 30:4 וַ/יִּבְכּ֑וּ לִ/בְכּֽוֹת conj + Qal wimpf 3mp prep + Qal inf.cs Then David and the people who were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
2 Samuel 12 verses
- 2 Samuel 1:12 וַ/יִּבְכּ֔וּ conj + Qal wimpf 3mp and they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of Yahweh, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.
- 2 Samuel 1:24 בְּכֶ֑ינָה Qal impv 2fp You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, Who clothed you in scarlet delicately, Who put ornaments of gold on your clothing.
- 2 Samuel 3:16 וּ/בָכֹ֛ה conj + Qal inf.abs Her husband went with her, weeping as he went, and followed her to Bahurim. Then said Abner to him, Go, return: and he returned.
- 2 Samuel 3:32 וַ/יֵּבְךְּ֙ וַ/יִּבְכּ֖וּ conj + Qal wimpf 3ms conj + Qal wimpf 3mp They buried Abner in Hebron: and the king lifted up his voice, and wept at the grave of Abner; and all the people wept.
- 2 Samuel 3:34 לִ/בְכּ֥וֹת prep + Qal inf.cs Your hands were not bound, nor your feet put into fetters: As a man falls before the children of iniquity, so did you fall. All the people wept again over him.
- 2 Samuel 12:21 וַ/תֵּ֔בְךְּ conj + Qal wimpf 2ms Then said his servants to him, What thing is this that you have done? you did fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, you did rise and eat bread.
- 2 Samuel 12:22 וָֽ/אֶבְכֶּ֑ה conj + Qal wimpf 1cs He said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who knows whether Yahweh will not be gracious to me, that the child may live?
- 2 Samuel 13:36 וַ/יִּבְכּ֑וּ בָּכ֕וּ conj + Qal wimpf 3mp Qal pf 3cp It happened, as soon as he had made an end of speaking, that behold, the king's sons came, and lifted up their voice, and wept: and the king also and all his servants wept very sore.
- 2 Samuel 15:23 בּוֹכִים֙ Qal ptcp.act mp All the country wept with a loud voice, and all the people passed over: the king also himself passed over the brook Kidron, and all the people passed over, toward the way of the wilderness.
- 2 Samuel 15:30 וּ/בוֹכֶ֗ה וּ/בָכֹֽה conj + Qal ptcp.act ms conj + Qal inf.abs David went up by the ascent of the [Mount of] Olives, and wept as he went up; and he had his head covered, and went barefoot: and all the people who were with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.
- 2 Samuel 18:33 וַ/יֵּ֑בְךְּ conj + Qal wimpf 3ms The king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would I had died for you, Absalom, my son, my son!
- 2 Samuel 19:1 בֹּכֶ֛ה Qal ptcp.act ms It was told Joab, Behold, the king weeps and mourns for Absalom.
2 Kings 5 verses
- 2 Kings 8:11 וַ/יֵּ֖בְךְּ conj + Qal wimpf 3ms He settled his gaze steadfastly [on him], until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.
- 2 Kings 8:12 בֹכֶ֑ה Qal ptcp.act ms Hazael said, Why weeps my lord? He answered, Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel: their strongholds will you set on fire, and their young men will you kill with the sword, and will dash in pieces their little ones, and rip up their women with child.
- 2 Kings 13:14 וַ/יֵּ֤בְךְּ conj + Qal wimpf 3ms Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness of which he died: and Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over him, and said, My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen of it!
- 2 Kings 20:3 וַ/יֵּ֥בְךְּ בְּכִ֥י conj + Qal wimpf 3ms n c ms Remember now, Yahweh, I beg you, how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in your sight. Hezekiah wept sore.
- 2 Kings 22:19 וַ/תִּבְכֶּ֖ה conj + Qal wimpf 2ms because your heart was tender, and you did humble yourself before Yahweh, when you heard what I spoke against this place, and against the inhabitants of it, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and have torn your clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard you, says Yahweh.
2 Chronicles 1 verse
Ezra 2 verses
- Ezra 3:12 בֹּכִ֖ים Qal ptcp.act mp But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' [houses], the old men who had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy:
- Ezra 10:1 בֹּכֶה֙ בָכ֥וּ Qal ptcp.act ms Qal pf 3cp Now while Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there was gathered together to him out of Israel a very great assembly of men and women and children; for the people wept very sore.
Nehemiah 2 verses
- Nehemiah 1:4 וָֽ/אֶבְכֶּ֔ה conj + Qal wimpf 1cs It happened, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days; and I fasted and prayed before the God of heaven,
- Nehemiah 8:9 תִּבְכּ֑וּ בוֹכִים֙ Qal juss 2mp Qal ptcp.act mp Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to Yahweh your God; don't mourn, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.
Esther 1 verse
Job 5 verses
- Job 2:12 וַ/יִּבְכּ֑וּ conj + Qal wimpf 3mp When they lifted up their eyes from a distance, and didn't recognize him, they raised their voices, and wept; and they each tore his robe, and sprinkled dust on their heads toward the sky.
- Job 27:15 תִבְכֶּֽינָה Qal impf 3fp Those who remain of him shall be buried in death. His widows shall make no lamentation.
- Job 30:25 בָ֭כִיתִי Qal pf 1cs Didn't I weep for him who was in trouble? Wasn't my soul grieved for the needy?
- Job 30:31 בֹּכִֽים Qal ptcp.act mp Therefore is my harp turned to mourning, And my pipe into the voice of those who weep.
- Job 31:38 יִבְכָּיֽוּ/ן Qal impf 3mp + sfx n If my land cries out against me, And the furrows of it weep together;
Psalms 4 verses
- Psalms 69:10 וָ/אֶבְכֶּ֣ה conj + Qal wimpf 1cs When I wept and I fasted, That was to my reproach.
- Psalms 78:64 תִבְכֶּֽינָה Qal impf 3fp Their priests fell by the sword, And their widows couldn't weep.
- Psalms 126:6 וּ/בָכֹה֮ conj + Qal inf.abs He who goes out weeping, carrying seed for sowing, Will assuredly come again with joy, carrying his sheaves.
- Psalms 137:1 בָּכִ֑ינוּ Qal pf 1cp By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yes, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
Ecclesiastes 1 verse
Isaiah 4 verses
- Isaiah 16:9 אֶבְכֶּ֞ה Qal impf 1cs Therefore I will weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I will water you with my tears, Heshbon, and Elealeh: for on your summer fruits and on your harvest the [battle] shout is fallen.
- Isaiah 30:19 בָּכ֣וֹ תִבְכֶּ֗ה Qal inf.abs Qal impf 2ms For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; you shall weep no more; he will surely be gracious to you at the voice of your cry; when he shall hear, he will answer you.
- Isaiah 33:7 יִבְכָּיֽוּ/ן Qal impf 3mp + sfx n Behold, their valiant ones cry outside; the ambassadors of peace weep bitterly.
- Isaiah 38:3 וַ/יֵּ֥בְךְּ בְּכִ֥י conj + Qal wimpf 3ms n c ms and said, Remember now, Yahweh, I beg you, how I have walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in your sight. Hezekiah wept sore.
Jeremiah 7 verses
- Jeremiah 9:1 וְ/אֶבְכֶּה֙ conj + Qal coh 1cs Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a spring of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
- Jeremiah 13:17 תִּבְכֶּֽה Qal impf 3fs But if you will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret for [your] pride; and my eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because Yahweh's flock is taken captive.
- Jeremiah 22:10 תִּבְכּ֣וּ בְּכ֤וּ בָכוֹ֙ Qal juss 2mp Qal impv 2mp Qal inf.abs Don't you weep for the dead, neither bemoan him; but weep sore for him who goes away; for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.
- Jeremiah 31:15 מְבַכָּ֣ה Piel ptcp.act fs Thus says Yahweh: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.
- Jeremiah 41:6 וּ/בֹכֶ֑ה conj + Qal ptcp.act ms Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went: and it happened, as he met them, he said to them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.
- Jeremiah 48:32 אֶבְכֶּה Qal impf 1cs With more than the weeping of Jazer will I weep for you, vine of Sibmah: your branches passed over the sea, they reached even to the sea of Jazer: on your summer fruits and on your vintage the destroyer is fallen.
- Jeremiah 50:4 וּ/בָכוֹ֙ conj + Qal inf.abs In those days, and in that time, says Yahweh, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together; they shall go on their way weeping, and shall seek Yahweh their God.
Lamentations 2 verses
- Lamentations 1:2 בָּכ֨וֹ תִבְכֶּ֜ה Qal inf.abs Qal impf 3fs She weeps sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks; Among all her lovers she has none to comfort her: All her friends have dealt treacherously with her; they are become her enemies.
- Lamentations 1:16 בוֹכִיָּ֗ה Qal ptcp.act fs For these things I weep; my eye, my eye runs down with water; Because the comforter who should refresh my soul is far from me: My children are desolate, because the enemy has prevailed.
Ezekiel 4 verses
- Ezekiel 8:14 מְבַכּ֖וֹת Piel ptcp.act fp Then he brought me to the door of the gate of Yahweh's house which was toward the north; and see, there sat the women weeping for Tammuz.
- Ezekiel 24:16 תִבְכֶּ֔ה Qal impf 2ms Son of man, behold, I take away from you the desire of your eyes with a stroke: yet you shall neither mourn nor weep, neither shall your tears run down.
- Ezekiel 24:23 תִבְכּ֑וּ Qal impf 2mp Your tires shall be on your heads, and your shoes on your feet: you shall not mourn nor weep; but you shall pine away in your iniquities, and moan one toward another.
- Ezekiel 27:31 וּ/בָכ֥וּ conj + Qal wpf 3cp and they shall make themselves bald for you, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for you in bitterness of soul with bitter mourning.
Hosea 1 verse
Joel 2 verses
- Joel 1:5 וּ/בְכ֔וּ conj + Qal impv 2mp Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine; For it is cut off from your mouth.
- Joel 2:17 יִבְכּוּ֙ Qal juss 3mp Let the priests, the ministers of Yahweh, weep between the porch and the altar, And let them say, "Spare your people, Yahweh, And don't give your heritage to reproach, That the nations should rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, 'Where is their God?'"
Micah 1 verse
Zechariah 1 verse
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
The Hebrew verb בכה centers on the idea of “to weep.” Its earliest occurrence is Genesis 21:16. The Hebrew Bible uses it across 100 verses — moderately common. The verb spans 2 stems, from Qal to Piel. Sharing its root, it stands alongside בכה, בכי and בכית. Dig into 100-verse concordance and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H1058 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 100
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 100 distinct verses.
- 25 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 25 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #377
- by frequency
- Top 500 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 377 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 100 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 100 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 53 verses · 53%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 27 verses · 27%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 20 verses · 20%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Wept 48×, Weep 16×, Weeping 6×
- American Standard Version: Wept 45×, Weep 12×, Weeping 6×
- Berean Standard Bible: Wept 37×, Weeping 16×, Weep 11×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Wept 27×, Weep 20×, Weeping 12×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H1058 across 113 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 31 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 1 further occurrence.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H1058 across 113 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 37 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H1058 across 110 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 34 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 4 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H1058 across 133 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 28 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
8 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
Hebrew verbs can shift meaning by stem (binyan): Qal is the basic action, Niphal is often passive or reflexive, Piel often intensifies or makes it factitive, and Hiphil is typically causative. The senses below are grouped under the stem BDB assigns to each.
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 8 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
Qal
- Pf. בּ׳ Gn 43:14; Ho 12:5; וּבָֽכְתָה consec. Dt 21:13; בָּכִ֫יתִי Jb 30:25, etc.; Impf. וַיֵּבְךְ Gn 37:35 + 16 times (וַיֵּבְךְּ Gn 27:38 etc.); 3 fs. תִּבְכֶּה 1 S 1:10 + 2 times; וַתִּבְכֶּה 1 S 1:7, וַתֵּבְךְּ Gn 21:16 (where 𝔊 masc. cf. Di) + 4 times; 2 ms. תִּבְכֶּה Is 30:19; Ez 24:16; וַתִּבְכֶּה 2 K 22:19, וַתֵּבְךְּ 2 S 12:21; 2 Ch 34:27; 2 fs. תִּבְכִּי 1 S 1:8; אֶבְכֶּה Ju 11:37 + 4 times; וָאֶבְכֶּה 2 S 12:22 + 2 times; יִבְכּוּ Lv 10:6 + 3 times; יִבְכָּי֑וּן Jb 31:38; Is 33:7; 3 fpl. תִּבְכֶּינָה Jb 27:15 ψ 78:64; וַתִּב׳ Ru 1:9, 14, etc.; Imv. pl. בְּכוּ Je 22:10; Jo 1:5; בְּכֶינָה 2 S 1:24; Inf. abs. בָּכוֹ Is 30:19 + 3 times + Mi 1:10 (where read בְּעַכּוֹ, v. עכו); בָּכֹה 1 S 1:10 + 3 times; cstr. לִבְכּוֹת Gn 43:30 + 3 times; לִבְכֹּתָהּ Gn 23:2; Pt. בֹּכֶה (בּוֹכֶה) Ex 2:6 + 6 times; fs. בּוֹכִיָּה La 1:16; pl. בֹּכִים (בּו׳) Ezr 3:12 +, etc.;— e.g. Genesis 43:14
- 1. weep (in grief, humiliation, or joy), abs. Gn 42:24; 43:30(×2) Ex 2:6; Nu 11:4, 10; 14:1; 1 S 1:7, 8, 10; 11:5; 30:4(×2) 2 S 1:12; 3:16; 13:36; 15:30(×2); 19:1, 2; 2 K 8:11, 12; Is 30:19(×2); Je 41:6; 50:4; Ez 24:16, 23; La 1:2 Zc 7:3 Jo 1:5; 2:17 ψ 78:64; 126:6 cf. 69:11 (but on text v. Che) Jb 27:15; Ec 3:4 (opp. laugh שׂחק) Ezr 10:1 Ne 8:9 Est 8:3; once c. inanim. subj. Jb 31:38 תְּלָמֶיהָ יִב׳ its furrows weep; on Ne 1:4 יָשַׁבְתִּי וָאֶבְכֶּה cf. Assyrian attašab abakî, Flood1st ed. Dl Gu§ 77 HptBAS i. 145; of loud weeping נָשָׂא הַקּוֹל וַיִּב׳ † Gn 21:16; 27:38; 29:11; Ju 2:4; 21:2; 1 S 11:4; 24:17; 2 S 3:32; 13:36; Jb 2:12; Ru 1:9, 14, cf. בּ׳ בְּאָזְנֵי י׳ Nu 11:18, also Jb 30:31. e.g. Genesis 42:24
- 2. c. acc. cogn. בְּכִי Ju 21:2 2 S 13:36 2 K 20:3 = Is 38:3, cf. בִּבְכִי Is 16:9, מִבְּכִי Je 48:32, & בּ׳ הַרְבֶּה בֶּכֶה Ezr 10:1; sq. קוֹל גָּדוֹל 2 S 15:23, cf. בּ׳ בקול גדול Ezr 3:12; weep bitterly מַר יִב׳ Is 33:7; also c. Inf. abs. weep intensely, grievously 1 S 1:10; Je 22:10; La 1:2, cf.; Is 30:19 & Mi 1:10 (but on text v. supr.) e.g. Judges 21:2
- 3. sq. עַל weep upon, i.e. embrace and weep, עַל־צואריו Gn 45:14; 46:29 cf. 45:15; 50:1; also בּ׳ עַל־פָּנָיו 2 K 13:14; v. further Gn 33:4; 45:14 & וַיִּבְכּוּ אִישׁ אֶת־רֵעֵהוּ 1 S 20:41; also sq. עַל weep over, for Ju 11:37, 38; 2 S 3:34; La 1:16; sq. אֶל־ 2 S 1:24; 3:32; Ez 27:31; sq. לְ Je 22:10; 48:32; Jb 30:25; sq. מִפְּנִי because of Je 13:17 (נפשׁ); sq. temp. clause (of occasion of weeping) Gn 50:17 ψ 137:1; Ne 8:9. e.g. Genesis 45:14
- 4. sq. acc. bewail Gn 23:2; 37:35; 50:3; Lv 10:6; Nu 20:29; Dt 21:13; 34:8; Je 8:23, cf. Is. 16:9. e.g. Genesis 23:2
- 5. sq. עַל in sense of burden.annoy with weeping Nu 11:13; Ju 14:16, 17 cf. לִפְנֵי Nu 11:20. e.g. Numbers 11:13
- 6. בּ׳ לִפְנֵי י׳ of penitent weeping Ju 20:23 (cf. Be; v. also 21:2) Dt 1:45; 2 K 22:19; 2 Ch 34:27, cf. also Nu 25:6; joined with fasting Ju 20:26; 2 S 12:21, 22 cf. Ezr 10:1; so of weeping in anxious entreaty Ho 4:5; on pt. as n.pr. Ju 2:1, 5 v. בֹּכִים infr. e.g. Judges 20:23
Piel
- Pt. fs. מְבַכָּה lament Je 31:15 sq. עַל; bewail, pl. מְבַכּוֹת sq. acc. Ez 8:14. e.g. Jeremiah 31:15
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
vb. weep, bewail (Arabic بَكَى, Aramaic בְּכָא, ܒܟܳܐ, Assyrian bakû ZimBP 23, 56, Ethiopic በከየ )—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: a primitive root
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
בְּכָא
- , v. בכי
בכי
- √בך to break through, split, v. Ges. H. Dict. s. v.; v. בכר) to weep. Ḥull. 7ᵇ; a. fr. Ohol. XVIII, 4 שדה בּוֹכִין weepers’ field, a place where the funeral cortege disperses; v. M. Kat. 5ᵇ שדה שמפטירין בה מתים (Ms. M. שמפסידין) where the funeral addresses are held.
- 1. to cause to weep, make cry. Lam. R. to I, 2 (ref. to בכה תבכה) בוכה ומְבַכָּה מה"ש עמה she cries and makes the angels cry with her. Ex. R. s. 1 היו מְבַכִּין אותו they made it (the Egyptian child) cry.
- 2. to mourn, lament (Ezek. VIII, 14). Tosef. Kel. B. Bath. II, 8 מְבַכּוֹת מיתיהן lament their dead. e.g. Ezekiel 8:14
כָּא
- (b. h. כֹּה, v. preced.) adverb of place: here, v. הָכָא; of time: now. Targ. Gen. XXII, 5. Targ. Job XXXVIII, 11; a. fr.—Y. Ber. IV, 7ᶜ top וכא אמר הכין and here he says so? Ib. וכה; a. v. fr.—לְכָא hither; מִיכָּא from here. Targ. Josh. VIII, 20. Targ. Ex. XVII, 12; a. fr.—Y. Bets. V, 63ᵃ פצל … לכא ולכא skimmed the water in both directions. Y. B. Mets. VI, 11ᵃ top מיכא ללוד from here to Lydda; a. fr.—v. אִיכָּא, לִיכָּא &c.; כַּאַן, כַּן &c.
כֹּה
- (b. h.) here; thus. Gen. R. s. 56 (ref. to עד־כה, Gen. XXII, 5) נלך … בסופו של כה we shall go and see what will be the outcome of koh (the promise, ‘thus shall be thy seed’, Gen. XV, 5); Tanḥ. Vayera 23. e.g. Genesis 22:5
כָּה
- ch., v. כָּא
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 89 distinct written forms H1058 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that stem’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 29 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H1058, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derived from this word
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 6 — not the complete family. 2 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 92 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 100 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 21:16
- Exodus 2:6
- Leviticus 10:6
- Numbers 11:4
- Deuteronomy 1:45
- Judges 2:4
- Ruth 1:9
- 1 Samuel 1:7
- 2 Samuel 1:12
- 2 Kings 8:11
- 2 Chronicles 34:27
- Ezra 3:12
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
