Lexical Summary
hoy: Woe, Alas
Original Word:הוֹי
Part of Speech:Interjection
Transliteration:howy
Pronunciation:ho-ee
Phonetic Spelling:(hoh'ee)
KJV: ah, alas, ho, O, woe
NASB:woe, alas, Ah, ho, ho there
Word Origin:[a prolonged form ofH1930 (הוֹ - alas) (akin toH188 (אוֹי - woe))]
1. oh!
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
ah, alas, ho, O, woe
A prolonged form ofhow (akin to'owy); oh! -- ah, alas, ho, O, woe.
see HEBREWhow
see HEBREW'owy
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. interj.
Definitionah! alas! ha!
NASB TranslationAh (2), alas (11), ho (2), ho there (1), woe (34).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
51 (onomatopoetic; compare
=
Amos 5:16 , =
Jeremiah 51:14 ; also Modern Aramaic
ú hú, ú hú (in a lament), So
Urmia-Dial. 102. 4) — expressing usually dissatisfaction and pain, (not distinctly
Woe! which is ): used in lamentations,
1 Kings 13:30 and they mourned over him (saying)
Ah, my brother! je
1 Kings 22:18 , 1Ki 34:5 (compare
Amos 5:16): hence
Isaiah 1:4Ah! sinful nation
Isaiah 1:24Ah! I will ease me of my adversaries; especially preparatory to a declaration of judgment,
Isaiah 10:5 ,
Isaiah 17:12;
Isaiah 28:1, often followed by a participle
Ah! those that . . .,
Isaiah 5:8,11,18;
Isaiah 29:15;
Isaiah 31:1;
Isaiah 45:9,10;
Jeremiah 22:13;
Amos 5:18;
Amos 6:1;
Habakkuk 2:6;
Habakkuk 2:9;
Habakkuk 2:12;
Habakkuk 2:15;
Habakkuk 2:19;
Zechariah 11:17 + (more sympathetic than ): followed by
Jeremiah 30:7,
Jeremiah 48:1,
Jeremiah 50:27;
Ezekiel 13:3,
Ezekiel 13:18. Sts. hardly more than an exclamation arousing attention
Ha! (though perhaps with a touch of sympathy or pity)
Isaiah 18:1;
Isaiah 55:1;
Zechariah 2:10 (twice in verse);
Zechariah 2:11;
Jeremiah 47:6.
Topical Lexicon
OverviewThe Hebrew interjection הוֹי appears approximately fifty-one times across the Old Testament, nearly always translated “Woe” in the Berean Standard Bible. It is a piercing exclamation that conveys grief, alarm, or impending judgment. The prophets employ it to awaken complacent hearts, announce covenant curses, and call God’s people to repentance.
Usage in Prophetic Oracles of Judgment
1. Isaiah employs the cry more than any other writer, clustering it in a series of six woes against Judah’s sins (Isaiah 5:8-23) and again against Assyria (10:5), Egypt (31:1), and the treacherous (33:1). The pattern combines denunciation, reason, and the threatened consequence, underscoring divine justice.
2. Jeremiah directs הוֹי against shepherds who destroy the flock (Jeremiah 23:1) and against those who build palaces by unrighteousness (22:13).
3. Ezekiel uses the lament to announce doom on bloody Jerusalem (Ezekiel 24:6, 24:9), the worthless shepherds of Israel (34:2), and Tyre’s proud king (28:2).
4. Habakkuk strings five woes against Babylon (Habakkuk 2:6-19), exposing greed, violence, exploitation, debauchery, and idolatry; each stanza ends with a theological punch that “the LORD is in His holy temple” (2:20).
5.Zephaniah 3:1 andZechariah 11:17 continue the theme after the exile, proving that covenant accountability did not end with captivity.
Expressions of Lament and Mourning
While most occurrences convey threat, a few bear the color of grief: “Alas, my mother, that you gave me birth” (Jeremiah 15:10). Here the prophet mourns his lonely ministry. In1 Kings 13:30 the bereaved man of God cries, “Alas, my brother!” The term thus holds the full spectrum of sorrow, from personal lament to national catastrophe.
Ethical and Social Implications
The woes consistently target specific transgressions:
• Greed and land-grabbing (Isaiah 5:8).
• Moral inversion—calling evil good (Isaiah 5:20).
• Drunken leadership (Isaiah 28:1).
• Oppressive economic policies (Micah 2:1-2).
• Building cities by bloodshed (Habakkuk 2:12).
God’s concern for social justice is evident; yet each woe also assumes personal accountability. Sin is never merely systemic but rooted in individual rebellion against the Holy One.
Theological and Redemptive Significance
1. Revelation of God’s character: The woes flow from divine holiness and covenant faithfulness. They affirm that “the LORD of Hosts will be exalted in His justice” (Isaiah 5:16).
2. Means of grace: The warnings are invitations to repentance.Isaiah 30:1-18 shifts from woe to blessing for those who wait on the LORD.
3. Foreshadowing of ultimate judgment: The prophetic woes anticipate eschatological woes in Revelation, linking the Testaments in a unified narrative of judgment and salvation.
4. Christological fulfillment: Jesus echoes the prophets with His own series of woes upon the Pharisees (Matthew 23), demonstrating continuity in God’s dealings with hypocrisy.
Historical Context of Key Occurrences
• Eighth-century Judah faced Assyrian pressure; Isaiah’s woes confront both foreign aggression and internal decay.
• Late seventh-century Judah, under Jehoiakim, hears Jeremiah’s woes while Babylon rises.
• Early sixth-century exiles receive Ezekiel’s denunciations, explaining Jerusalem’s fall.
• Habakkuk (late seventh century) announces woes upon Babylon even before its full ascent, assuring Judah that the oppressor will not escape.
• Post-exilic communities hear Zechariah’s shepherd woe, revealing that restoration without righteousness is hollow.
Practical Ministry Application
1. Preaching: Prophetic woes model courageous proclamation that names sin specifically yet aims at repentance.
2. Pastoral counseling: The balance of warning and hope guards against both despair and presumption.
3. Social ethics: The texts challenge modern believers to oppose exploitation, corruption, and moral relativism.
4. Personal holiness: By meditating on the woes, disciples learn to hate what God hates and to seek refuge in Christ, who bore the ultimate woe on the cross (compareIsaiah 53:4).
Intertextual Echoes in the New Testament
Paul’s “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:16) and the angelic “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth” (Revelation 8:13) show that the cry remains relevant. It frames both ministerial obligation and cosmic judgment, culminating in the Lamb who alone can remove every curse.
Summary
הוֹי is not a mere outburst but a prophetic instrument wielded to expose sin, announce judgment, evoke lament, and invite repentance. Its presence across Israel’s history testifies to the constancy of God’s righteous standard and His merciful call to return. For the church today, these ancient cries still ring, directing hearts to the One who delivers from every woe.
Forms and Transliterations
ה֕וֹי ה֖וֹי ה֗וֹי ה֚וֹי ה֛וֹי ה֣וֹי ה֣וֹי ׀ ה֤וֹי ה֥וֹי ה֧וֹי הוֹי֩ הוי וְה֣וֹי וְה֥וֹי והוי Ho hō·w hōw veHo wə·hō·w wəhōw
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