Faint
Faint
fant (, ayeph, , uph, , yaaph, , alaph, , ataph, , dawway, , yaghea, , masas, , rakhakh, , paghar, , kahah; , ekluo, , ekkakeo, , kamno): The Hebrew vocabulary for the depressing physical conditions and mental emotions which are rendered in the King James Version by the English words faint, fainthess, and other compounds of that stem, is, as will be seen above, wide and varied in derivation. The 11 Hebrew and 3 Greek words and their derivatives are used in 62 passages in the King James Version to express these conditions.
Ayeph is used to express the exhaustion from fatigue and hunger in the case of Esau (Gen 25:29, Gen 25:30). This and its variants come from a root which primarily means to cover or conceal, therefore to be dark or obscure, and so, figuratively, to be faint or depressed. Israel’s helpless state when harassed by Amalek (Deu 25:18) and the plight of Gideon’s weary force when they sought in vain for help at Succoth (Jdg 8:4) are described by the same word. Isaiah also uses it to picture the disappointed and unsatisfied appetite of the thirsty man awakening from his dream of refreshment (Isa 29:8). In 2Sa 16:14, ayephm is probably a proper name of a place (Revised Version, margin).
Uph in 1Sa 14:28-31 describes the exhaustion of Saul’s host in pursuit of the Philistines after the battle of Michmash. The same word expresses the failure of David’s strength when in conflict with the same foes, which led to his imminent peril and to the consequent refusal of the commander of his army to allow him to take part personally in the combat (2Sa 21:15).
Yaaph is used by Ziba when he brought refreshments to David’s men on the flight from Absalom (2Sa 16:2); see also its use in Isa 40:28. Cognate verbal forms occur in Isa 40:30, Isa 40:31; Jer 2:24; Jer 51:58, Jer 51:64; Hab 2:13, as also in Jdg 8:15, meaning in all cases the faintness or exhaustion of fatigue or weariness.
Alpah expresses the faintness from thirst in Amo 8:13, or from the heat of the sun (Jon 4:8), and figuratively, the despondency which was the result of the captivity (Isa 51:20). Ezekiel uses it allegorically as describing the withering of the trees for grief at the death of the Assyrian kings (Eze 31:15).
Ataph is the weariness of the wanderers in the desert (Psa 107:5), the faintness from hunger (Lam 2:19), or the despondency of Jonah dispelled by his remembrance of God’s mercies (Jon 2:7).
Dawway, from a root which signifies the sickness produced by exhaustion from loss of blood, is used in Isa 1:5 for the faintness of heart, the result of remorse for sin, and in Jer 8:18 for the prophet’s sorrow for the sins of Israel. A cognate form expresses his sorrow on account of the judgments of God which were incurred as punishments for the national backsliding (Lam 1:13, Lam 1:12; Lam 5:17).
Masas, literally, dissolving or melting, is applied to the contagious fear which the example of a cowardly soldier produces among his comrades (Deu 20:8, the Revised Version (British and American) melt). In the remarkable passage in Isa 10:18, in which God pronounces the doom of Assyria when his purposes of chastisement on Israel have been fulfilled, the collapse of Assyria is said to be as when a standard-bearer fainteth. For this the Revised Version, margin substitutes as when a sick man pineth away, which is probably the correct rendering. The word masas may mean either a sick man, or else something glittering and seen from afar, such as a standard, but the former sense is more intelligible and suggestive in the context. The rarely used verbal form cognate to masas is used on account of its assonance.
Yaghea (yagha), which is usually translated grieved or tormented or fatigued, is rendered as fainted in Jer 45:3. This passage, I fainted in my sighing the King James Version, is in Hebrew the same as that which reads, I am weary with my groaning in Psa 6:6, and is similarly rendered in the Revised Version (British and American).
Rakhakh, like masas, primarily signifies to melt or to become soft, and is used in prophetic exhortations in which the people are encouraged not to be panic-stricken in the presence of enemies (Deu 20:3, and also Jer 51:46; Isa 7:4). Another related word, morekh, in the sense of despair and utter loss of courage, is used in expressing the consequences of God’s wrath against Israel (Lev 26:36). In its literal sense it signifies blandness, as of the words of a hypocritical enemy (Psa 55:21).
Paghar is the prostration of utter fatigue whereby one is unable to raise himself or to proceed on a journey, as were some of David’s little band (1Sa 30:10-21). A cognate word describes the prostration of amazement and incredulity with which Jacob heard of Joseph’s condition in Egypt (Gen 45:26).
Kahah, the pining of earnest, longing desire, is translated fainteth in Psa 84:2; Psa 119:81; elsewhere it is rendered by words expressing wasting or languishing. The panic in Canaan due to famine is expressed (Gen 47:13) by the word lahah, which implies a state of frenzy.
The only records of actual fainting are (1) Daniel, in Dan 8:27, where the word used is the Niphal of the verb hayah, literally, became, meaning that he became weak; (2) swooning is mentioned in Additions to Esther 15:7-15.
In the New Testament faint is used in the sense of physical exhaustion (Mat 9:36 the King James Version; Mat 15:32; Mar 8:3), where it is part of the verb ekluo, to relax. Otherwise it is used figuratively of discouragement of spirit. The same verb is used in Gal 6:9; Heb 12:3, Heb 12:5; but in Luk 18:1; 2 Cor 4:1-16; Eph 3:13 it is part of the verb ekkakeo (according to some authorities egkakeo, pronounced enkakeo, meaning to be faint-hearted or to be culpably negligent). In Rev 2:3 it is , kopiao, literally, to be tired.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Faint
denotes (a) “to loose, release” (ek, “out,” luo, “to loose”); (b) “to unloose,” as a bow-string, “to relax,” and so, “to enfeeble,” and is used in the Passive Voice with the significance “to be faint, grow weary,” (1) of the body, Mat 15:32; (some mss. have it in Mat 9:36); Mar 8:3; (2) of the soul, Gal 6:9 (last clause), in discharging responsibilities in obedience to the Lord; in Heb 12:3, of becoming weary in the strife against sin; in Heb 12:5, under the chastening hand of God. It expresses the opposite of anazonnumi, “to gird up,” 1Pe 1:13.
“to lack courage, lose heart, be fainthearted” (en, “in,” kakos, “base”), is said of prayer, Luk 18:1; of Gospel ministry, 2Co 4:1, 2Co 4:16; of the effect of tribulation, Eph 3:13; as to well doing, 2Th 3:13, “be not weary” (AV marg., “faint not”). Some mss. have this word in Gal 6:9 (No. 1).
primarily signified “to work;” then, as the effect of continued labor, “to be weary;” it is used in Heb 12:3, of becoming “weary” (see also No. 1), RV, “wax not weary;” in Jam 5:15, of sickness; some mss. have it in Rev 2:3, AV, “hast (not) fainted,” RV, “grown weary.” See SICK, WEARY.
Note: For apopsucho, Luk 21:26, RV, see FAIL, Note (3).