Lexical Summary
zeaqah: Cry, Outcry, Cry for help
Original Word:זַעַק
Part of Speech:Noun Feminine
Transliteration:za`aq
Pronunciation:zeh-ah-KAH
Phonetic Spelling:(zah'-ak)
KJV: cry(-ing)
NASB:outcry, cry, cry of distress, crying, lamentations
Word Origin:[fromH2199 (זָעַק - cried)]
1. a shriek or outcry
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
crying
And (feminine) zoaqah {zeh-aw-kaw'}; fromza'aq; a shriek or outcry -- cry(-ing).
see HEBREWza'aq
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
zaaqDefinitiona cry, outcry
NASB Translationcry (5), cry of distress (2), crying (1), lamentations (1), outcry (7).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
, absolute
Jeremiah 18:22 5t.; construct
Genesis 18:20 3t.; suffix
Job 16:18;
Isaiah 15:5 3t.; —
outcry, against,Genesis 18:20 (J).
cry of distress, concerning somethingIsaiah 15:5 (object of ; compare in prev. clause); absoluteIsaiah 15:8 (subject of , "" );Jeremiah 18:22 (),Jeremiah 20:16;Jeremiah 48:4;Jeremiah 50:46;Nehemiah 5:6;Nehemiah 9:9 (all with ),Jeremiah 48:34 (jointed with ),Job 16:18;Esther 9:31 (lamentation), compareEsther 4:1 ( , accusative of congnate meaning with verb with ); specificallyProverbs 21:13cry of poor;Isaiah 65:19 ("" ),Jeremiah 51:54;Ezekiel 27:28.
outcry, clamourEcclesiastes 9:17 (opposed to ).
(Arabic
be scanty, of hair, plumage, etc.; Aramaic
,be orgrow small; compare ).
Topical Lexicon
OverviewThe noun זַעַק appears nineteen times in the Old Testament, always describing a loud, urgent cry that demands a response. Whether issuing from individuals, communities, or entire nations, the word paints a picture of distress brought before the hearing of God and men. Its contexts range from judicial protest to anguished lament and from the pleas of the oppressed to the roar of cities collapsing under divine judgment.
Cry of Injustice and Oppression
•Genesis 18:20 places the outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah before the Lord as legal testimony demanding His intervention: “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great indeed, and their sin is exceedingly grievous.”
•Nehemiah 5:6 shows the same word rising from exploited Judeans: “When I heard their outcry and these charges, I became very angry.” The governor’s quick reforms illustrate that failure to answer such a cry invites divine displeasure.
•Proverbs 21:13 turns the principle toward personal ethics: “Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too shall cry out and receive no answer.” The verse establishes a moral reflex—deafness toward others portends heaven’s deafness toward self.
Redemptive Cries Remembered
•Nehemiah 9:9 reviews Israel’s story: “You saw the oppression of our fathers in Egypt; You heard their cry by the Red Sea.” The cry becomes a covenant marker—God is the One who hears and delivers.
•Job 16:18 shifts to the righteous sufferer: “O earth, do not cover my blood; may my cry for justice never be laid to rest.” Job’s appeal anticipates the vindication secured ultimately in the greater Sufferer, Jesus Christ, whose blood also “speaks” (Hebrews 12:24).
National Lament under Judgment
Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel use the noun to portray whole nations in agony:
• Moab’s wail stretches from city to city (Isaiah 15:5, 15:8).
• Babylon’s collapse pierces the earth (Jeremiah 50:46;Jeremiah 51:54).
• Tyre’s merchant fleet howls as the harbor falls (Ezekiel 27:28).
In each passage, the outcry certifies that judgment has arrived and underscores the sovereignty of God over the nations.
Communal Fasting and Intercession
Esther introduces a liturgical dimension. Mordecai’s “loud and bitter cry” triggers nationwide fasting (Esther 4:1), whileEsther 9:31 records that the feast of Purim preserved both “the fasting and their cry.” The pairing shows that disciplined worship and heartfelt petition belong together in corporate memory.
Warnings to Ignore at One’s Peril
Ecclesiastes 9:17 contrasts the muted wisdom of the righteous with the “shouts of a ruler among fools.” The soft word is preferable, but when folly prevails the loud protest of the oppressed will follow—often too late for reversal.
Divine Response
Throughout Scripture the cry is never background noise; it is evidence entered into heaven’s court. The Lord hears (Nehemiah 9:9), pities (Isaiah 30:19;Isaiah 65:19), avenges (Jeremiah 18:22;Jeremiah 20:16), or judges (Jeremiah 48:4, 48:34). The theological constant is that God’s character guarantees a reaction, either in mercy or in wrath.
Ethical and Pastoral Implications
1. Listen actively to contemporary “outcries” (poverty, persecution, injustice). Failure to hear places the Church under the warning ofProverbs 21:13.
2. Intercede. Like Mordecai and Esther, believers turn crisis into corporate prayer and fasting.
3. Proclaim deliverance. The historical record of heard cries provides a gospel bridge: the God who answered Israel’s slavery finally answered humanity’s slavery in Christ.
4. Offer hope in judgment. Even when the word describes catastrophic ruin, it implicitly invites repentance before the final cry is heard (Jeremiah 50–51).
Christological Echoes
The loud cry of Job for vindication and the national laments of the prophets foreshadow the climactic “loud cry” of Jesus on the cross (Matthew 27:50). There, judgment and deliverance meet; the outcry of sin receives its answer in the atoning work of the Savior, guaranteeing that every righteous cry will ultimately be satisfied.
For Ministry Today
• Preach: Highlight God’s consistent hearing ear to encourage the suffering.
• Counsel: Validate lament; teach believers to bring their anguish to the Lord rather than suppress it.
• Advocate: Stand with the marginalized whose cry mirrors that of Nehemiah’s oppressed brethren.
• Worship: Incorporate intercessory elements that remember both the historical cries God has answered and those still rising from the earth.
The nineteen occurrences of זַעַק together form a theology of protest and petition that assures God’s people He hears, remembers, and acts—inviting both reverent fear and confident hope.
Forms and Transliterations
הַזְּעָקָ֖ה הזעקה וְזַעֲקָתָֽם׃ וּזְעָקָ֖ה וזעקה וזעקתם׃ זְּעָקָ֖ה זְעָקָ֖ה זְעָקָ֥ה זְעָקָֽה׃ זְעָקָה֙ זַֽעֲקָתָ֔ם זַעֲקֶ֔ךָ זַעֲקַ֛ת זַעֲקַ֣ת זַעֲקַת־ זַעֲקָתָ֥ם זעקה זעקה׃ זעקך זעקת זעקת־ זעקתם לְזַעֲקָתִֽי׃ לזעקתי׃ מִזַּעֲקַ֥ת מִזַּעֲקַ֨ת מִזַּעֲקַת־ מזעקת מזעקת־ haz·zə·‘ā·qāh hazzə‘āqāh hazzeaKah lə·za·‘ă·qā·ṯî ləza‘ăqāṯî lezaakaTi miz·za·‘ă·qaṯ miz·za·‘ă·qaṯ- mizza‘ăqaṯ mizza‘ăqaṯ- mizzaakat ū·zə·‘ā·qāh ūzə‘āqāh uzeaKah vezaakaTam wə·za·‘ă·qā·ṯām wəza‘ăqāṯām za‘ăqaṯ za‘ăqaṯ- za‘ăqāṯām za‘ăqeḵā za·‘ă·qā·ṯām za·‘ă·qaṯ za·‘ă·qaṯ- za·‘ă·qe·ḵā zaaKat zaakaTam zaaKecha zə‘āqāh zə·‘ā·qāh zeaKah
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