The Greek noun dakry (also dakryon) means a tear — a teardrop. It appears in contexts of grief, intercession, repentance, and deep emotion. The New Testament records tears shed at death (John 11:35), at the feet of Jesus in repentance (Luke 7:38), by Paul in pastoral ministry (Acts 20:19; 2 Timothy 1:4), and as the tears that God will one day wipe away (Revelation 7:17; 21:4).
Tears in Scripture are never merely weakness — they are the language of the heart before God and others. Jesus wept (edakrysen, John 11:35) — the shortest verse in the Bible, but among the most theologically rich. The incarnate Son of God shed dakrya, validating human grief as real and right. Hebrews 5:7 says Jesus 'offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death.' The eschatological promise of Revelation 21:4 — 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes' — is the gospel in miniature: every dakryon of this age will be tenderly dried by God's own hand.