Moaning, as depicted in the Bible, is an expression of deep sorrow, distress, or lamentation. It is often associated with grief, suffering, and the human response to sin and its consequences. The act of moaning is both a physical and emotional response, reflecting the inner turmoil and anguish experienced by individuals in various circumstances.

Biblical Instances of Moaning

1. Job's Lament: The Book of Job provides a profound example of moaning as Job expresses his intense suffering and despair. In Job 3:24-26 , Job laments, "For my sighing comes before my food, and my groanings pour out like water. For the thing I feared has overtaken me, and what I dreaded has befallen me. I am not at ease or quiet; I have no rest, for trouble has come." Here, moaning is a natural response to overwhelming loss and affliction.

2. Israel's Bondage in Egypt: The Israelites' moaning under Egyptian oppression is another significant instance. In Exodus 2:23-24 , it is recorded, "After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their difficult labor, and they cried out, and their cry for help because of the difficult labor ascended to God. God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." This moaning is a cry for deliverance and divine intervention.

3. Prophetic Lamentations: The prophets often describe moaning as a response to impending judgment and calamity. In Jeremiah 9:10 , the prophet declares, "I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, and a lamentation for the pastures of the wilderness, because they are laid waste so that no one passes through; the lowing of cattle is not heard. Both the birds of the air and the beasts have fled; they are gone." Here, moaning is a prophetic expression of grief over the desolation brought by sin.

Theological Significance

Moaning in the Bible is not merely an expression of personal grief but often serves as a communal lament, reflecting the collective sorrow of God's people. It is a reminder of the brokenness of the world and the consequences of sin. Moaning can also be seen as a form of prayer, a heartfelt cry to God for mercy, healing, and restoration.

Spiritual Implications

For believers, moaning is an acknowledgment of human frailty and dependence on God. It is an honest expression of the soul's anguish, yet it is not without hope. The Bible assures that God hears the moans of His people and responds with compassion and deliverance. As seen in Romans 8:26 , "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words." This passage highlights the role of the Holy Spirit in interceding for believers, transforming their moans into prayers aligned with God's will.

Practical Application

Christians are encouraged to bring their moans and burdens to God, trusting in His faithfulness and sovereignty. The Psalms, in particular, provide a model for expressing lament and finding solace in God's presence. Psalm 5:1-2 states, "Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning. Listen to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to You I pray." This encourages believers to approach God with honesty and vulnerability, confident that He hears and cares for their deepest concerns.(p. pr. & vb. n.) of Moan.3602. odurmos -- lamentation
... mourning. From a derivative of the base of duno; moaning, ie Lamentation -- mourning.
see GREEK duno. (odurmon) -- 1 Occurrence. (odurmos) -- 1 Occurrence. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3602.htm - 6k1991. hem -- perhaps a moaning, wailing, wealth
... 1990, 1991. hem. 1992 . perhaps a moaning, wailing, wealth. Transliteration:
hem Phonetic Spelling: (haym) Short Definition: wealth. ...
/hebrew/1991.htm - 6k

1899. hegeh -- a rumbling, growling, moaning
... 1898, 1899. hegeh. 1900 . a rumbling, growling, moaning. Transliteration:
hegeh Phonetic Spelling: (heh'-geh) Short Definition: mourning. ...
/hebrew/1899.htm - 6k

5090b. nahag -- to moan, lament
... to moan, lament. Transliteration: nahag Short Definition: moaning. Word Origin a
prim. root Definition to moan, lament NASB Word Usage moaning (1). ...
/hebrew/5090b.htm - 5k

592. aniyyah -- mourning
... mourning. Word Origin from anah Definition mourning NASB Word Usage mourning
(1), mourning and moaning (1). lamentation, sorrow. From ...
/hebrew/592.htm - 6k

"As Long as we be Meddling with any Part of Sin we Shall Never See ...
... us for tender love that He may never leave [297] us, and is more near to us than
tongue can tell or heart can think, yet may we never stint of moaning nor of ...
/.../julian/revelations of divine love/chapter lxxii as long as.htm

The Three Fishers
... stood watching them out of the town; For men must work, and women must weep, And
there's little to earn, and many to keep, Though the harbour bar be moaning. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/andromeda and other poems/the three fishers.htm

"Himself is Nearest and Meekest, Highest and Lowest, and Doeth All ...
... And where I say that He abideth sorrowfully and moaning, it meaneth all the true
feeling that we have in our self, in contrition and compassion, and all ...
/.../julian/revelations of divine love/chapter lxxx himself is nearest.htm

John Chapter i. 32, 33
... Because we love you in Christ, do you love us in Christ in return, and let our love
mutually sigh towards God; for the note of the dove is a sighing or moaning ...
/.../augustine/homilies on the gospel of john/tractate vi john chapter i.htm

It was Friday Night, and Diamond, Like the Rest of the Household.. ...
... When Diamond went to his bed, which was in a tiny room in the roof, he heard it
like the sea moaning; and when he fell asleep he still heard the moaning. ...
/.../macdonald/at the back of the north wind/chapter 32 it was friday.htm

Mysterious Prophecies Revealed.
... Babylon. By thy dark deceptive waters, Sighing, moaning, troubled sea, Captives
sing their songs of sorrow, Hoping, longing to be free. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/orr/the gospel day /mysterious prophecies revealed.htm

Diamond Managed with Many Blunders to Read this Rhyme to his ...
... answer. He laid his ear to the door, and thought he heard a moaning within.
So he tried the door, and found it was not locked! It ...
/.../macdonald/at the back of the north wind/chapter 21 diamond managed with.htm

The Joyous Return
... Take the other track! "Return!" is but a single word, but that word is full of moaning.
There is to be a change, a total change, a coming back to God. ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 37 1891/the joyous return.htm

Solitude, Silence, Submission
... He gets into some secret place, he utters no speech, he gives himself over to moaning
and to tears, and then he bows himself lower and yet lower before the ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 42 1896/solitude silence submission.htm

The Three Facts of Sin
... Sin is a commoner thing than them all; deeper than the sea, more subtle than the
air; mysterious indeed, moaning in all our lives, through all the winter and ...
//christianbookshelf.org/drummond/the ideal life/the three facts of sin.htm

Moaning (9 Occurrences)
...Moaning (9 Occurrences). ... Jeremiah 48:31 Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will
cry out for all Moab: for the men of Kir-heres shall there be moaning. (DBY). ...
/m/moaning.htm - 8k

Groan (32 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (vi) To give forth a low, moaning sound in breathing;
to utter a groan, as in pain, in sorrow, or in derision; to moan. ...
/g/groan.htm - 21k

Lamentation (45 Occurrences)
... 27:2, 32; 28:12; 32:2, 16). Noah Webster's Dictionary. 1. (n.) The act of
bewailing; audible expression of sorrow; wailing; moaning. ...
/l/lamentation.htm - 21k

Lament (44 Occurrences)
... 2. (vt) To mourn for; to bemoan; to bewail. 3. (v.) Grief or sorrow expressed in
complaints or cries; lamentation; a wailing; a moaning; a weeping. ...
/l/lament.htm - 20k

Ferret (1 Occurrence)
... word, koach, is found in other passages (see CHAMELEON) with the meaning of "strength,"
so 'anaqah occurs in several places signifying "moaning" or "sighing ...
/f/ferret.htm - 11k

Moans (2 Occurrences)

/m/moans.htm - 6k

Meditation (15 Occurrences)
... is the translation of haghuth, from haghah, "to murmur," "to have a deep tone,"
hence, "to meditate" (Psalm 49:3); of haghigh, "sighing," "moaning" (Psalm 5:1 ...
/m/meditation.htm - 12k

Multiplieth (13 Occurrences)
... swallowed up Israel, He hath swallowed up all her palaces, He hath destroyed His
fortresses, And He multiplieth in the daughter of Judah Mourning and moaning. ...
/m/multiplieth.htm - 10k

Moaneth (4 Occurrences)

/m/moaneth.htm - 7k

Bemoan (9 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (vt) To express deep grief for by moaning; to express
sorrow for; to lament; to bewail; to pity or sympathize with. ...
/b/bemoan.htm - 9k

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