Lexical Summary
yagon: Sorrow, grief, anguish
Original Word:יָגוֹן
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:yagown
Pronunciation:yah-GOHN
Phonetic Spelling:(yaw-gohn')
KJV: grief, sorrow
NASB:sorrow
Word Origin:[fromH3013 (יָגָה - grieve)]
1. affliction
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
grief, sorrow
Fromyagah; affliction -- grief, sorrow.
see HEBREWyagah
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
yagahDefinitiongrief, sorrow
NASB Translationsorrow (14).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
; — absolute
Genesis 42:38 12t.; suffix
Jeremiah 31:13; —
sorrow,
Genesis 42:38;
Genesis 44:31 (J),
Psalm 13:3;
Jeremiah 8:18; ""
Psalm 31:11;
Isaiah 35:10;
Isaiah 51:11; compare
Psalm 107:39 ("" , ),
Psalm 116:3 ("" ),
Jeremiah 20:18 ("" ),
Jeremiah 31:13 ("" , opposed to ),
Jeremiah 45:3 ("" ),
Ezekiel 23:33 ("" , but Co.; with Manuscripts; compare
Ezekiel 21:11);
Esther 9:22 (opposed to ).
Topical Lexicon
Meaning and Emotional Scopeיָגוֹן communicates an inward grief that drains vitality and dampens hope. It is deeper than momentary sadness, describing a sustained weight of heart that can lead to physical depletion (Psalm 31:10) yet also stands ready to be displaced by covenantal joy when God intervenes (Isaiah 35:10).
Distribution in Scripture
The word appears fourteen times, clustered in historical narrative (Genesis), festal history (Esther), lament and praise (Psalms), and the prophetic corpus (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel). This spread shows that sorrow is both personal and corporate, affecting patriarchs, monarchies and nations alike.
Narrative Usage in Genesis
The first two occurrences frame Jacob’s fear of losing Benjamin (Genesis 42:38;Genesis 44:31). יָגוֹן marks the potential depth of paternal loss: “you would bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow” (Genesis 42:38). These verses anchor the term in family relationships and foreshadow Israel’s later national griefs.
From Mourning to Festal Reversal (Esther 9:22)
The Purim record memorializes the day “when their sorrow was turned to joy” (Esther 9:22). Here יָגוֹן becomes the backdrop for deliverance, illustrating that God’s providence can flip the emotional script of an entire people in a single, decisive act.
Individual Lament in the Psalms
•Psalm 13:2 voices the question of duration: “How long shall I harbor sorrow in my soul?”
•Psalm 31:10 connects sorrow with sin’s fallout: “My life is consumed with grief and my years with groaning.”
•Psalm 107:39 notes communal decline: “When they are diminished and humbled by oppression, evil, and sorrow.”
•Psalm 116:3 describes near-death terror: “The cords of death encompassed me, and the torrents of grief overwhelmed me.”
Together these songs teach that lament is legitimate worship, inviting honesty before God while expecting eventual rescue.
National Lament and Hope in the Prophets
Jeremiah repeatedly employs יָגוֹן to portray Judah’s collapse (Jeremiah 8:18; 20:18; 31:13; 45:3). Yet even Jeremiah can foresee reversal: “I will turn their mourning into joy, give them comfort and gladness for their sorrow” (Jeremiah 31:13). Isaiah amplifies this promise: “Sorrow and sighing shall flee” (Isaiah 35:10; 51:11). Ezekiel’s “cup of horror and desolation” (Ezekiel 23:33) shows that unrepentant sin leaves sorrow in its wake, underscoring the moral dimension of grief.
Redemptive Trajectory: Sorrow to Gladness
Across the canon יָגוֹן rarely stands alone; it is regularly paired with an antithesis—joy, singing, comfort. The pattern points to a God who neither trivializes suffering nor allows it the last word. Every appearance of יָגוֹן in the latter prophets is matched by an assurance of eventual consolation.
Implications for Suffering and Consolation Ministry
1. Authentic acknowledgment: Scripture validates deep grief; ministry should allow space for unfiltered lament.
2. Hopeful orientation: Even in the darkest texts, יָגוֹן is never terminal; comfort is covenantally promised.
3. Corporate sensitivity: Much sorrow in the Bible is communal; churches must address systemic and national traumas, not just private pain.
4. Eschatological confidence: Isaiah’s vision of sorrow fleeing anticipatesRevelation 21:4, grounding present comfort in future glory.
Messianic Resonance
WhileIsaiah 53 employs a different Hebrew term for “sorrows,” the Servant’s experience gathers up all יָגוֹן into Himself, assuring believers that their grief has been borne by a sympathetic Redeemer (Hebrews 4:15). The resurrection then guarantees that the trajectory from sorrow to joy—sketched throughout the Old Testament—finds its climactic fulfillment in Christ.
Key Takeaways
• יָגוֹן captures the profound ache of fallen humanity.
• Scripture traces a consistent arc from sorrow to joy, anchored in divine faithfulness.
• Pastoral care must balance honest lament with confident hope, reflecting the biblical tension.
• Final eradication of יָגוֹן is guaranteed in the consummated kingdom, securing endurance for the present age.
Forms and Transliterations
בְּיָג֖וֹן בְיָג֡וֹן ביגון וְיָג֑וֹן וְיָג֖וֹן וְיָג֣וֹן וְיָגֽוֹן׃ ויגון ויגון׃ יָג֑וֹן יָג֖וֹן יָג֣וֹן יָג֥וֹן יגון מִיָּגוֹן֙ מִיגוֹנָֽם׃ מיגון מיגונם׃ bə·yā·ḡō·wn ḇə·yā·ḡō·wn beyaGon bəyāḡōwn ḇəyāḡōwn mî·ḡō·w·nām mî·yā·ḡō·wn migoNam mîḡōwnām mîyāḡōwn miyagoyN veyaGon wə·yā·ḡō·wn wəyāḡōwn yā·ḡō·wn yaGon yāḡōwn
Links
Interlinear Greek •
Interlinear Hebrew •
Strong's Numbers •
Englishman's Greek Concordance •
Englishman's Hebrew Concordance •
Parallel Texts
