📖 Biblical Definition
Weeping is the shedding of tears, often audibly — and in Scripture it is used for grief, repentance, intercession, and even joy. Hannah wept and prayed at Shiloh until Eli thought her drunken (1 Samuel 1:10). David wept until exhausted at Ziklag when the Amalekites had burned the city (1 Samuel 30:4). Hezekiah wept in his sickness toward the wall (2 Kings 20:2-3; Isaiah 38:3). Mary Magdalene wept at the empty tomb until the Lord spoke her name (John 20:11-16). Christ Himself wept at Lazarus’s tomb (John 11:35) and over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). Paul wept warning the Ephesian elders night and day for three years (Acts 20:31). Tears in Scripture are weighed, not wasted: "Put thou my tears into thy bottle" (Psalm 56:8).
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
WEEP'ING, n.
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1. The act of one who weeps; tears, with audible sobs or cries. 2. In scripture, weeping is used to express the deepest sorrow, intercession, repentance, and sometimes joy.
📖 Key Scripture
Psalm 126:5 — "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy."
Psalm 56:8 — "Put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?"
Luke 19:41 — "When he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it."
Acts 20:31 — "Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern stoicism mocks tears; Scripture says God collects them in a bottle.
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Psalm 56:8 is one of the most tender verses in Scripture: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? The image is of God collecting and labeling each tear of His servants — not one wasted, not one forgotten, all to be answered. The God who sees the sparrow fall sees the tear fall further.
Modern Western culture (especially male culture) has built an ethic of stoicism around tears: real men do not cry, real leaders do not weep. Christ broke that ethic. He wept over Jerusalem, wept at Lazarus's tomb, sweat tears of blood in Gethsemane. Paul wept publicly, telling the Ephesian elders he had not stopped warning them with tears. The strongest men in Scripture cry; refusing them is not strength but pride. Sow in tears; the harvest is joy.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew bakah (H1058); Greek klaio (G2799).
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Usage
"God collects each tear in a bottle and labels it — nothing wasted, nothing forgotten."
"The strongest men in Scripture wept; refusing tears is not strength but pride."
"They that sow in tears shall reap in joy — the harvest is real."