Topical Encyclopedia
Definition and Usage in Scripture: The term "wails" refers to loud cries or lamentations, often associated with mourning, distress, or deep sorrow. In the biblical context, wailing is a common expression of grief and is frequently mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments. It is an outward manifestation of inner turmoil and is often accompanied by other signs of mourning, such as tearing of clothes, wearing sackcloth, and ashes.
Old Testament References: Wailing is prominently featured in the Old Testament, where it is often associated with national calamity, personal loss, or divine judgment. In the book of Jeremiah, the prophet frequently calls for wailing as a response to the impending judgment on Judah.
Jeremiah 9:10 states, "I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains and a lament 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."
In the book of Joel, wailing is a response to the devastation caused by locusts, symbolizing a call to repentance.
Joel 1:5 exhorts, "Wake up, you drunkards, and weep! Wail, all you drinkers of wine, because of the new wine, for it has been snatched from your lips."
New Testament References: In the New Testament, wailing is often associated with the final judgment and the consequences of rejecting Christ. In
Matthew 13:42 , Jesus describes the fate of the wicked: "And they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." This imagery of wailing underscores the eternal regret and sorrow of those who face divine judgment.
The book of Revelation also uses the imagery of wailing to describe the reaction of the world to the fall of Babylon.
Revelation 18:19 states, "Then they will throw dust on their heads as they weep and mourn and cry out: 'Woe, woe to the great city, where all who had ships on the sea were enriched by her wealth! For in a single hour she has been destroyed.'"
Cultural and Theological Significance: Wailing in the Bible is not merely an expression of personal grief but often serves as a communal response to tragedy or divine judgment. It is a call to recognize the seriousness of sin and the need for repentance. The act of wailing can also be seen as a form of intercession, pleading for God's mercy and intervention.
In the prophetic literature, wailing is frequently linked with calls to repentance and the hope of restoration. The prophets often use wailing as a rhetorical device to awaken the people to their spiritual condition and to urge them to return to God.
Conclusion: While wailing is a profound expression of sorrow, it also carries with it the potential for hope and redemption. In the biblical narrative, the call to wail is often accompanied by the promise of God's faithfulness and the possibility of renewal for those who turn back to Him.
Strong's Hebrew
3213. yalal -- to howl, make a howling... Word Origin a prim. root Definition to howl, make a howling NASB Word Usage howl
(1), turn to wailing (1), wail (25), wailed (1), wailing (2),
wails (1).
... 1993. hamah -- to murmur, growl, roar, be boisterous
... an uproar (2), making such an uproar (1), mourning (1), murmur (1), noisy (1), pounding
(1), roar (5), roar like the roaring (1), roars (2), wails (2), yearns ...
Library
On his Father'S Silence, Because of the Plague of Hail.
... Wretched indeed is the sight of the ground devastated, cleared, and shorn of its
ornaments, over which the blessed Joel wails in his most tragic picture of the ...
Preface to the First Edition.
... of God! Her wails are built of jasper-stone; but the City itself is of pure
and shining gold, like to clear crystal glass. And the ...
Chart of the Sixty-Six Books of the Bible
... Lamentations and Jeremiah chronologically belong to the preceding division, but
are placed among the books of the Captivity because their wails betoken that ...
But Whilst the King Has not that Most Blessed Light...
... reason helps us. Age after age has passed with no variation in the fell
discord of its wails, tears, and groans. Generation has ...
The Shout of Faith
... The shout of a steadfast faith is an experience that is in direct contrast to the
moans of a wavering faith, and to the wails of discouraged hearts, both of ...
Strange Account of the Origin of Matter, from the Various ...
... The rains of heaven Achamoth whimpered forth, [6785] and we on our part are anxiously
employed in saving up in our cisterns the very wails and tears of another ...
David's Cry for Pardon
... the penitence, the pardon, the punishment"that he comes to God, who had so freely
forgiven, and likewise so sorely smitten him, and wails out these prayers ...
Explanation of the System of the Naasseni Taken from one of their ...
... And now it weeps on misery flung; Now it mourns, now it thrills with joy; Now it
wails, now it hears its doom; Now it hears its doom, now it dies,. ...
What Befell the Jews that were in Babylon on Occasion of Asineus ...
... It was, besides, not easily to be assaulted by enemies, from the river Euphrates
encompassing it all round, and from the wails that were built about it. ...
How Solomon Fortified the City of Jerusalem, and Built Great ...
... 1. Now when the king saw that the walls of Jerusalem stood in need of being better
secured, and made stronger, [for he thought the wails that encompassed ...
Thesaurus
Wails (3 Occurrences)... Multi-Version Concordance
Wails (3 Occurrences).
... Moab
wails over Nebo and over Medeba.
Baldness is on all of their heads. Every beard is cut off.
...Keener (2 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (n.) A professional mourner who wails at a funeral.
Multi-Version Concordance Keener (2 Occurrences). Hebrews ...
Wailings (1 Occurrence)
Wail (50 Occurrences)
... Isaiah 15:3 In their streets, they dress themselves in sackcloth. In their streets
and on their housetops, everyone wails, weeping abundantly. ...
Wainscoted (2 Occurrences)
Dibon (12 Occurrences)
... Isaiah 15:2 They have gone up to Bayith, and to Dibon, to the high places, to weep.
Moab wails over Nebo and over Medeba. Baldness is on all of their heads. ...
Baldness (11 Occurrences)
... Isaiah 15:2 They have gone up to Bayith, and to Dibon, to the high places, to weep.
Moab wails over Nebo and over Medeba. Baldness is on all of their heads. ...
Bayith (1 Occurrence)
... Isaiah 15:2 They have gone up to Bayith, and to Dibon, to the high places, to weep.
Moab wails over Nebo and over Medeba. Baldness is on all of their heads. ...
Medeba (5 Occurrences)
... Isaiah 15:2 They have gone up to Bayith, and to Dibon, to the high places, to weep.
Moab wails over Nebo and over Medeba. Baldness is on all of their heads. ...
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