Lexical Summary
tseaqah: Cry, outcry, cry for help
Original Word:צַעֲקָה
Part of Speech:Noun Feminine
Transliteration:tsa`aqah
Pronunciation:tseh-aw-KAW
Phonetic Spelling:(tsah-ak-aw')
KJV: cry(-ing)
NASB:cry, outcry, cry of distress
Word Origin:[fromH6817 (צָּעַק - cried)]
1. a shriek
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
crying
Fromtsa'aq; a shriek -- cry(-ing).
see HEBREWtsa'aq
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
tsaaqDefinitiona cry, outcry
NASB Translationcry (14), cry of distress (1), outcry (6).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
(older form of ); — absolute
Genesis 27:34 +; construct
Exodus 3:9 +; suffix
1 Samuel 9:16 +, etc.; —
outcry against (Sodom)Genesis 18:21;Genesis 19:13 (both J).
cry of distress especially asheard byExodus 3:7 (J),Exodus 22:22 (E), compareIsaiah 5:7;Job 27:9;Job 34:28;Psalm 9:13;Exodus 3:9 (E),1 Samuel 9:16, compareJob 34:28;Exodus 11:6;Exodus 12:30 (both J),Nehemiah 5:1; as accusative of congnate meaning with verbGenesis 27:34 (J);1 Samuel 4:14;Jeremiah 25:36 ("" ),Zephaniah 1:10 (""id., + ),Jeremiah 48:3 ("" ), compareJeremiah 49:21;Jeremiah 48:5; ("" ).
Topical Lexicon
Overviewצַעֲקָה appears twenty-one times across the Old Testament, functioning as a vivid marker of human distress that rises to the heavenly court. Whether uttered by an individual or a whole community, it signals a desperate appeal for intervention, most often from God Himself. The term clusters around moments of moral crisis, social injustice, covenant judgment, and redemptive deliverance.
Patterns of Usage in Scripture
1. Moral outrage that demands divine verdict (Genesis 18:21;Genesis 19:13).
2. Personal anguish overflowing in the family sphere (Genesis 27:34).
3. National oppression provoking salvific action (Exodus 3:7, 3:9).
4. Judicial promise embedded in covenant law (Exodus 22:23).
5. Historical upheaval and military defeat (1 Samuel 4:14;1 Samuel 9:16).
6. Socio-economic injustice among the covenant people (Nehemiah 5:1).
7. Reflections on unanswered prayer in wisdom literature (Job 27:9;Job 34:28).
8. Liturgical assurance for the afflicted (Psalm 9:12).
9. Prophetic oracles of judgment on Israel and the nations (Isaiah 5:7;Jeremiah 25:36; 48:3, 48:5; 49:21;Zephaniah 1:10).
Early Genesis Witness: A Cry for Justice
In the patriarchal narratives, צַעֲקָה first surfaces as the collective “outcry” from Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:21; 19:13). The language underscores the ethical seriousness of systemic sin. God arises as righteous Judge, affirming that persistent wickedness elicits a moral summons that cannot be ignored.
Covenantal Deliverance in Exodus
Exodus frames צַעֲקָה as the catalyst for redemption. “I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors” (Exodus 3:7). The word links divine compassion, covenant remembrance, and miraculous liberation. Later, Egypt’s own “great cry” (Exodus 11:6; 12:30) becomes the ironic reversal of fortunes—oppressors turned victims—displaying the principle that God both rescues and judges in response to human outcry.
Legal Safeguard and Social Justice
InExodus 22:23 God legislates: “If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to Me, I will surely hear their cry”. Here צַעֲקָה grounds Israel’s civil code in divine empathy, warning that the oppressed possess direct access to the heavenly throne. The verse functions as both deterrent and comfort, establishing social ethics under divine surveillance.
Historical Narratives: Crisis Leadership
When the Philistines capture the ark, “Eli heard the outcry” (1 Samuel 4:14), indicating civic panic over theological catastrophe. Conversely, God reassures Samuel: “their cry has come to Me” (1 Samuel 9:16). In both scenes national survival hinges on leaders who recognize and respond to the collective צַעֲקָה.
Wisdom Literature: The Enigma of Unanswered Cries
Job wrestles with the apparent silence of heaven: “Will God hear his cry when distress comes upon him?” (Job 27:9). Elihu counters by affirming that God “heard the outcry of the afflicted” (Job 34:28). The dialogue preserves the tension between divine justice and hiddenness, ultimately resolved by God’s sovereign self-disclosure inJob 38–41.
Psalms: Liturgical Assurance
Psalm 9:12 anchors worship in the certainty that God “does not ignore the cry of the afflicted”. צַעֲקָה thus becomes a corporate confession: lament is not futile but an act of faith that anticipates God’s righteous intervention.
Prophetic Oracles: Herald of Impending Judgment
Isaiah 5:7 laments that Judah’s social inequities have replaced righteousness with “a cry.” Jeremiah and Zephaniah broaden the horizon—shepherds (Jeremiah 25:36), Moab (Jeremiah 48:3, 48:5), Edom (Jeremiah 49:21), and Jerusalem itself (Zephaniah 1:10) all emit צַעֲקָה as Babylonian judgment looms. The prophets portray the cry both as symptom of calamity and evidence for the prosecution in God’s courtroom.
Theological Themes
• Divine Audibility: God consistently “hears” צַעֲקָה, affirming His relational nearness.
• Moral Accountability: Societal sin generates an outcry that summons judgment.
• Redemptive Priority: Salvation history pivots on God’s response to the oppressed.
• Reciprocal Justice: The cry of Egypt mirrors Israel’s earlier anguish, illustrating that judgment and deliverance proceed from the same righteous character.
• Prayer Paradigm: Authentic lament is encouraged, not suppressed; it aligns believers with the biblical language of faith under pressure.
Ministry Implications
1. Pastoral Care: Encourage honest lament; God welcomes raw, urgent prayer.
2. Social Action: Defend the marginalized, mindful that their cry reaches heaven.
3. Preaching: Use Exodus and Psalms to illustrate that God’s hearing leads to decisive action.
4. Counseling: Address seasons when answers seem delayed, drawing on Job’s dialogue and the eventual vindication of the righteous sufferer.
Christological and Eschatological Outlook
The incarnation fulfills the motif, as the Messiah embodies both the One who hears and the One who cries (“Jesus cried out in a loud voice,”Matthew 27:46). At the consummation, final judgment and ultimate deliverance will answer every remaining צַעֲקָה, wiping away tears and silencing oppression forever (Revelation 21:4).
Forms and Transliterations
הַֽ֭צַעֲקָתוֹ הַכְּצַעֲקָתָ֛הּ הַצְּעָקָ֔ה הכצעקתה הצעקה הצעקתו וְצַעֲקַ֖ת וצעקת צְעָקָ֔ה צְעָקָ֕ה צְעָקָ֖ה צְעָקָ֥ה צְעָקָֽה׃ צְעָקָה֙ צַֽעֲקַת־ צַעֲקַ֣ת צַעֲקַ֥ת צַעֲקָת֖וֹ צַעֲקָתָ֤ם צַעֲקָתָם֙ צַעֲקָתֽוֹ׃ צעקה צעקה׃ צעקת צעקת־ צעקתו צעקתו׃ צעקתם ha·ṣa·‘ă·qā·ṯōw hak·kə·ṣa·‘ă·qā·ṯāh hakkəṣa‘ăqāṯāh hakketzaakaTah haṣ·ṣə·‘ā·qāh haṣa‘ăqāṯōw haṣṣə‘āqāh hatzaakato hatztzeaKah ṣa‘ăqaṯ ṣa‘ăqaṯ- ṣa‘ăqāṯām ṣa‘ăqāṯōw ṣa·‘ă·qā·ṯām ṣa·‘ă·qā·ṯōw ṣa·‘ă·qaṯ ṣa·‘ă·qaṯ- ṣə‘āqāh ṣə·‘ā·qāh tzaaKat tzaakaTam tzaakaTo tzeaKah vetzaaKat wə·ṣa·‘ă·qaṯ wəṣa‘ăqaṯ
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