### Core Meaning & Semantic Range
The Hebrew word **ʼănâchâh**, represented by `{{H585}}`, describes a deep expression of distress, translated as **sighing** or **groaning**. It appears 11 times across 11 unique verses, consistently depicting a profound and audible sound of anguish stemming from sorrow, weariness, or physical pain.
### Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis
In the biblical narrative, `{{H585}}` is used to illustrate the depths of human suffering. For Job, his **sighing** is a constant companion that comes before his food [[Job 3:24]]. The Psalms portray it as an expression of extreme weariness and grief, leading to a bed watered with tears [[Psalms 6:6]] and the physical decay of the body, where strength fails and bones are consumed [[Psalms 31:10]]. This groaning is often a response to affliction and iniquity [[Lamentations 1:22]]. However, scripture also presents a future hope where God's redemptive work will cause all **sighing** and sorrow to flee away for the redeemed of the LORD [[Isaiah 35:10]].
### Related Words & Concepts
Several related words help illustrate the full scope of the experience that causes such **groaning**:
* `{{H3015}}` **yâgôwn** (grief, sorrow): This word for affliction is frequently paired with `{{H585}}`, highlighting that groaning is an outward expression of internal grief. In the future restoration, both sorrow and **sighing** will flee away together [[Isaiah 51:11]].
* `{{H3021}}` **yâgaʻ** (faint, labour, weary): This term signifies the physical exhaustion that accompanies deep distress. The psalmist is "weary with my **groaning**" [[Psalms 6:6]], and Jeremiah "fainted in my **sighing**" [[Jeremiah 45:3]].
* `{{H6106}}` **ʻetsem** (bone, body, selfsame): The connection to bones demonstrates how deeply this sorrow affects the physical body. Sufferers feel their **bones** are consumed [[Psalms 31:10]] or cleave to their skin by reason of their **groaning** [[Psalms 102:5]].
* `{{H1742}}` **davvây** (faint, troubled): This word describes a state of sickness or trouble and is used to describe the **faint** heart that produces "many **sighs**" [[Lamentations 1:22]].
### Theological Significance
The theological weight of `{{H585}}` is significant, reflecting the human condition in a fallen world.
* **Expression of Affliction:** Groaning is a visceral response to pain and grief. It can be a complaint of bitter circumstances [[Job 23:2]] or the result of sorrow added by the LORD [[Jeremiah 45:3]].
* **Consequence of Iniquity:** The Bible directly links this suffering to sin. A life spent with grief and years with **sighing** are the result of iniquity, which causes strength to fail [[Psalms 31:10]].
* **A Cry Heard by God:** Though a sound of despair, it is not unheard by God. The psalmist confidently states to the Lord, "my **groaning** is not hid from thee" [[Psalms 38:9]], indicating it functions as an honest cry for help.
* **Promise of Cessation:** Prophetic passages use the end of **sighing** as a key sign of God's final redemption. The LORD promises to make **sighing** cease [[Isaiah 21:2]] and replace it with everlasting joy for his ransomed people in Zion [[Isaiah 35:10]].
### Summary
In summary, `{{H585}}` conveys much more than a simple sigh. It is a profound, physical manifestation of a heart and body overwhelmed by grief, iniquity, and weariness. It represents the painful reality of suffering in the present age, while also pointing toward a future redemptive hope where God himself will silence every groan and replace it with everlasting joy.
TRV