a. To bewail.
b. A primary root.
1. Abal is used in the simple, active verbal form primarily in poetry, and usually in a figurative sense. When it is used of mourning for the dead in a literal sense, the word is found in prose sections and in the reflexive form, indicating action back to the subject.
Basic sentence structure: Subject verb object. Example, He loves himself.
Reflexive form: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.
2. To mourn, lament for the dead in a literal sense over the dead; Genesis 37:34, "And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.".
3. When used in the figurative sense, abal expresses "mourning" by:
- Gates. Isaiah 3:26, "And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.".
- Land. Isaiah 24:4, "The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish."
- Pastures. Amos 1:2, "And he said, The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither."
4. In addition to mourning for the dead, "mourning" may be over:
- Jerusalem. Isaiah 66:10, "Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her:"
- Sin. Ezra 10:6, "Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away."
- God's judgment. Exodus 33:4, "And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments."
Syn: 5594 is more dramatic stressing wailing and tearing out the hair.
