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G995 · Greek · New Testament
βοή
Boē
Noun, feminine
Cry, outcry, shout

Definition

Boē (βοή) is the noun corresponding to the verb boaō, denoting a cry, outcry, or shout. It describes the audible expression of urgent need, alarm, or lamentation. In the one New Testament occurrence (James 5:4), it refers to the "cries" of defrauded workers reaching the ears of God — a powerful image of divine justice.

Theological Significance

The single NT use of boē places it in the context of economic injustice: the wages withheld from laborers cry out to the Lord of Sabaoth. This echoes the blood of Abel crying from the ground (Genesis 4:10). Scripture teaches that the cries of the oppressed are heard by God — injustice does not escape the divine ear, and judgment is coming for those who exploit the vulnerable.

Key Scripture Passages

James 5:4
Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
Genesis 4:10
And the LORD said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground."
Exodus 2:23
During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help.
1 Samuel 9:16
"Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen my people, because their cry has come to me."
Isaiah 65:19
"I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress."

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