body
tired
At a glance
In short
Ayef is tired, a little more frequent in Tanach than yaef and the word Modern Hebrew kept. Yaef is the same three letters in a different order. Some explain the two as one word by metathesis, and the Rid compares kesev and keves. Rabbi Shimon Schwab reads them as two degrees of tiredness: ayef is tired but with some energy left, and yaef is exhausted, with nothing left, which for him is why the morning berachah says ha'nosen la'yaef koach. Yagea is worn out, tiredness from a different cause. For Malbim it comes from (over)exertion, where ayef is the regular tiredness of one whose energy is naturally low; for Rabbi Yosef of Saragossa it comes from the speed of one's actions, where ayef comes from the persistence of an action.
Distinctions
Ayef (עיף)
The more frequent of the pair in Tanach (a few more occurrences than yaef) and the surviving word in Modern Hebrew.
- Wertheimer: fatigue severe enough to bring a man to faint; from that comes its borrowed sense "thirsty" (Iyov 22:7, Tehillim 63:2), which Radak notes in Sefer HaShorashim, dehydration being what generally makes tired people faint.
- For Schwab it is the lighter of ayef and yaef;
- for Malbim it is the ordinary tiredness of one whose energy is naturally low;
- for Rabbi Yosef of Saragossa, tiredness from persistent, repeated action.
Yaef (יעף)
Yeshayahu 40:29, in the haftarah of Lech Lecha: "the Giver of strength to the tired (yaef), and to those without energy, an abundance of might." The first part is paraphrased in the morning berachah ha'nosen la'yaef koach, and is commonly appended to the end of works of Torah literature as the author's way of saying that his ability to endure weariness while writing came from Above.
- Some treat the form as ayef transposed (the Rid compares kesev/keves).
- Schwab treats the choice of yaef in the berachah as meaningful.
Yagea (יגע)
Three occurrences only: Devarim 25:18 (ve'atah ayef veyagea), Shmuel II 17:2, and Koheles 1:8 (there in the plural, yegei'im). The word is related to the root of the verb yaga, "he toiled."
Where the authorities disagree
Whether ayef and yaef differ at all.
- Some explain that they do not: the two are one word by metathesis, the ayin and yud trading places. Rabbi Yeshayah of Trani, the Rid, compares the case to another well-known pair of metathetical synonyms, kesev and keves, both "lamb" in Tanach.
- Rabbi Shimon Schwab says they differ in degree, and reads the morning berachah accordingly: on the surface its wording simply follows Yeshayahu's, but he sees more in its use of yaef rather than ayef, chosen for maximum effect, that Hashem strengthens even the completely exhausted.
What sets yagea apart from ayef.
- Rabbi Yosef of Saragossa (d. 1420, a student of the Ran) addresses ayef/yaef against yagea: all mean tired in the same way, but from different causes, ayef from repeatedly performing certain movements, the persistence of the action, and yagea from the speed of one's actions, having overexerted oneself.
- Malbim also sees two causes, but different ones: ayef is the regular tiredness that one with naturally low energy experiences, yagea the tiredness that results from (over)exerting oneself.
Radak on these roots
Sefer HaShorashim
י-ג-ע
To toil; the sense of toil, he says, is known, like the sense of weariness. The noun is labour, and the adjective, weary.
Toil that wears a man out
יָגַעְתִּי בְקָרְאִי נִחַר גְּרוֹנִי (Tehillim 69:4), I am worn out with calling, my throat is dry, עַד כִּי־יָגְעָה יָדוֹ (Shmuel II 23:10), until his hand was weary, and לֹא יִיגְעוּ לָרִיק (Yeshayahu 65:23), they will not toil for nothing. Radak says the sense of toil is known, like the sense of weariness.
Wearying somebody else
Turned on another the verb is wearying him: הוֹגַעְתַּנִי בַּעֲוֹנֹתֶיךָ (Yeshayahu 43:24), you have wearied me with your sins, and אַל־תְּיַגַּע־שָׁמָּה אֶת־כָּל־הָעָם (Yehoshua 7:3), do not weary the whole people there.
Labour, the noun
The noun: יְגִיעַ מִצְרַיִם (Yeshayahu 45:14), the labour of Mitzrayim, and וְכָל־יְגִיעֲךָ (Devarim 28:33), and all your labour; and in another pattern, all kamatz, מֵשִׁיב יָגָע וְלֹא יִבְלָע (Iyov 20:18), he gives back the labour and does not swallow it.
Weary, and wearying
The adjective: עָיֵף וְיָגֵעַ (Devarim 25:18), faint and weary, and כָּל־הַדְּבָרִים יְגֵעִים (Koheles 1:8), all things are wearying, which are described in the language of toil because there is labour and toil for anyone occupied with them. In another pattern, וְשָׁם יָנוּחוּ יְגִיעֵי כֹחַ (Iyov 3:17), there those worn out of strength are at rest, the singular of which would be יָגִיעַ.
יָגַעְתִּי בְקָרְאִי נִחַר גְּרוֹנִי (תהלים סט, ד), עַד כִּי־יָגְעָה יָדוֹ (שמואל ב' כג, י), כִּֽי־יָגַעְתָּ בִּי יִשְׂרָאֵֽל (ישעיה מג, כב), אַל־תִּיגַע לְֽהַֽעֲשִׁיר מִֽבִּינָֽתְךָ חֲדָֽל (משלי כג, ד), לֹא יִֽיגְעוּ לָרִיק (ישעיה סה, כג), וְיִֽגְעוּ עַמִּים בְּדֵי־רִיק (ירמיה נא, נח). ופעל הכבד [הִפְעִיל] הֽוֹגַעְתֶּם י"י בְּדִבְרֵיכֶם (מלאכי ב, יז), הֽוֹגַעְתַּנִי בַּֽעֲוֹנֹתֶֽיךָ (ישעיה מג, כד). וכבד אחר [פִּעֵל] אַל־תְּיַגַּע־שָׁמָּה אֶת־כָּל־הָעָם (יהושע ז, ג). והשם יְגִיעַ מִצְרַיִם (ישעיה מה, יד), וְכָל־יְגִיעֲךָ (דברים כח, לג). ומשקל אחר מֵשִׁיב יָגָע וְלֹא יִבְלָע (איוב כ, יח), כי הוא כולו קמוץ. ושם התאר עָיֵף וְיָגֵעַ (דברים כה, יח), כָּל־הַדְּבָרִים יְגֵעִים (קהלת א, ח), תארם בלשון יגיעה לפי שיש עמל ויגיעה לכל המתעסק בהם. ומשקל אחר וְשָׁם יָנוּחוּ יְגִיעֵי כֹֽחַ (איוב ג, יז), יאמר האחד ממנו יָגִיעַ, ענין היגיעה ידוע כענין העייפות.
י-ע-ף
Weariness: to tire, and the weary man. מֻעָף בִּיעָף is of the sense of flying; and in another sense, תּֽוֹעָפוֹת is strength.
Tiring, and the tired man
לֹא יִיעַף וְלֹא יִיגָע (Yeshayahu 40:28), he neither tires nor wearies, and וְיִֽעֲפוּ נְעָרִים וְיִגָעוּ (Yeshayahu 40:30), youths will tire and weary. As a description, לִשְׁתּוֹת הַיָּעֵף (Shmuel II 16:2), for the weary man to drink; Radak says the sense of weariness is known.
The weary man thirsty to hear
לָעוּת אֶת־ יָעֵף דָּבָר (Yeshayahu 50:4), to hold up the weary with a word, and Radak says this is the man thirsty to hear the word of Hashem.
מֻעָף בִּיעָף, of flying
מֻעָף בִּיעָף (Daniel 9:21), made to fly in flight, is of the sense of flying, מֻעָף being a passive form and בִּיעָף a noun. The pasuk means: Gavriel, whom Daniel had seen in the earlier vision flying above, he now saw touching him.
תועפות, a word for strength
Another sense: וְתֽוֹעֲפוֹת הָרִים לֽוֹ (Tehillim 95:4), the strength of the mountains is His, כְּתֽוֹעֲפֹת רְאֵם לֽוֹ (Bamidbar 23:22), he has as it were the strength of a re'em, and וְכֶסֶף תּֽוֹעָפוֹת לָֽךְ (Iyov 22:25), silver of strength will be yours. Their sense is strength.
וּלְאֻמִּים בְּדֵי־אֵשׁ וְיָעֵֽפוּ (ירמיה נא, נח), לֹא יִיעַף וְלֹא יִיגָע (ישעיה מ, כח), וְיִֽעֲפוּ נְעָרִים וְיִגָעוּ (ישעיה מ, ל), וּלְאֻמִּים בְּדֵי־רִיק יִעָֽפוּ (חבקוק ב, יג). והתאר לִשְׁתּוֹת הַיָּעֵף (שמואל ב' טז, ב), ענין העיפות ידוע. וכן לָעוּת אֶת־יָעֵף דָּבָר (ישעיה נ, ד), והוא הצמא לשמוע דבר י"י. מֻעָף בִּיעָף (דניאל ט, כא), מענין עוף. מועף פעול בפלס מוצק וביעף שם בפלס ביקר. ופירוש הפסוק גבריאל שראיתי בחזון בתחלה שהיה עוף למעלה עתה ראיתיו שהיה נוגע אלי. וענין אחר וְתֽוֹעֲפוֹת הָרִים לֽוֹ (תהלים צה, ד), כְּתֽוֹעֲפֹת רְאֵם לֽוֹ (במדבר כג, כב), וְכֶסֶף תּֽוֹעָפוֹת לָֽךְ (איוב כב, כה). ענינם ענין חוזק.
ע-י-ף
Weary: עָיֵף וְיָגֵעַ, faint and weary, and my soul is faint. He gives no gloss here, having set these pesukim down already under the root עוף.
The whole entry, two pesukim
עָיֵף וְיָגֵעַ (Devarim 25:18), faint and weary, and כִּי־ עָֽיְפָה נַפְשִׁי (Yirmiyahu 4:31), for my soul faints. Radak adds only that he has already mentioned them under the root עוף, and gives no gloss here at all.
עָיֵף וְיָגֵעַ (דברים כה, יח), כִּי־עָֽיְפָה נַפְשִׁי (ירמיה ד, לא). כבר זכרנום בשרש עוף.
Radak, Sefer HaShorashim, Berlin 1847. Public domain, digitised by Sefaria from the National Library of Israel.
Sources
Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein, "Energizing the Tired and Exhausted," What's in a Word?, Ohr Somayach, 28 October 2017.
Cited in the essay: Yeshayahu 40:29; Devarim 25:18; Shmuel II 17:2; Koheles 1:8; Iyov 22:7; Tehillim 63:2; the Rid (Rabbi Yeshayah of Trani), comparing kesev and keves; Rabbi Shimon Schwab on ha'nosen la'yaef koach; Rabbi Shlomo Aharon Wertheimer, Beiurei Shemos Nirdafim s.v. עיף\יגע\עמל; Radak, Sefer HaShorashim; Rabbi Yosef of Saragossa; Malbim.