Word Study for H602 (אָנַק) | Strong's Concordance

ʼânaq /aw-nak'/ Ask about this word

Roota primitive root

Meaningto shriek

KJV usagecry, groan.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of ʼânaq — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Hebrew word ʼânaq, represented by H602, is a primitive root meaning to shriek, cry, or groan. It appears a total of 4 times across 4 unique verses in the Bible, consistently conveying a sense of deep distress and suffering.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

The word H602 is used exclusively in contexts of intense anguish and judgment. In Ezekiel, it describes the sound made by the righteous who "cry for all the abominations" in Jerusalem Ezekiel 9:4. It is also the sound the prophet himself is forbidden to make, commanded to "Forbear to cry" as a sign Ezekiel 24:17. In both Jeremiah and Ezekiel, the term is directly associated with the sound made by the "wounded" in the midst of slaughter and divine judgment (Jeremiah 51:52, Ezekiel 26:15).

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words help define the specific nature of this cry:

H2491 châlâl (pierced... wounded): This word describes those who are mortally wounded or slain. The cry of H602 is often the sound made by the wounded H2491 in the midst of slaughter Jeremiah 51:52.
H584 ʼânach (to sigh): A related expression of grief. It is used in parallel with H602 to describe the response of the righteous to the sins of their city, who "sigh and that cry" Ezekiel 9:4.
H60 ʼêbel (lamentation; mourning): This term refers to the act or state of mourning. In Ezekiel 24:17, the command to forbear from crying H602 is immediately followed by the instruction to "make no mourning," directly connecting the vocal cry to the ritual of grief.

Theological Significance

The theological weight of H602 is focused on the realities of sin and judgment.

A Sign of Righteous Grief: The cry of H602 can be a mark of the righteous, who groan in response to the wickedness and "abominations" they witness around them Ezekiel 9:4.
The Sound of Divine Judgment: The word is consistently linked to the consequences of God's judgment. It is the groan of the "wounded" when a slaughter occurs as a result of divine wrath (Jeremiah 51:52, Ezekiel 26:15).
A Symbol of Unspeakable Calamity: In a powerful prophetic sign, Ezekiel is commanded to suppress this natural cry of grief, indicating a disaster so profound that it transcends normal human expressions of mourning Ezekiel 24:17.

Summary

In summary, H602 ʼânaq is a potent and specific term for a cry of extreme distress. Though appearing only four times, it powerfully illustrates the sounds of suffering, whether from the righteous lamenting sin or from the wounded experiencing judgment. It serves as an auditory signal of profound spiritual and physical crisis within the prophetic books of the Old Testament.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Hebrew Old Testament, this word appears as a verb across 4 occurrences, inflected in 4 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form. Select any form to read what each part of its name means, and to filter the occurrence list to it.

הֵאָנֵק
נֶּאֱנָקִים
יֶאֱנֹק
אֱנֹק

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

Appears in 4 verses across 2 of the 39 books. Most frequent in Ezekiel (3 verses); never once in the other 37.

Jeremiah

Ezekiel

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, by grammatical form, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.