Faint (Hastings' Dictionary)
From /etn< the ptcp. of Old Yr.feindre to feign, faint signified first ' feigned,' ' pretended,' as Earl Rivers, Dictes, 144, ' He that loueth the FAIES with feynt lone.' But it passed early into the sense of weak : whether (1) as a purely physical state, as Gn 25'' ' Esau came from the field, and he was faint' (^ so 25*>, Dt 25'«, Jg 8''-», Is 2!)
» ; I'y 1 S 14=8- »', 2 S 21" ; vs 1 S 'M^"- » ; li:; 2 S 16», Is 40-« ; iKUo/iai 1 Mac 3") ; or (2) as chiefly Tnoral, almost = ' cowardly,' which occurs only m the phrase faint-hearted, Dt 20 (3?'ri t3, lit. ' soft-hearted ') ; Is 7 {TS^V ^3?l'i, RV ' neither let thine heart be faint '), Jer 49^ {u-::, RV ' they are melted away '), Sir 4 (ij.ii dXtyotf'vx'ficv', so 7'°) j or (3) as spiritual, through sorrow, Jer 8'*, La 1" (both -V!) 1" 5" (both ni^), or calamity. Is 1» Cn).
The verb is derived from the adj. It is used in the foregoing senses, and also m the modern physical sense of ' swoon ' (Dn 8", Ad. Est 15'). Faintnesa is used physically in Ad. Est 15'° and spiritually in Lv 26X J. HASTINGS.
This topic also has an entry in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Both articles offer independent scholarly perspectives.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on Faint
Faint fant (`ayeph, `uph, ya`aph, `alaph, aTaph, dawway, yaghea`, macac, rakhakh, paghar, kahah; ekluo, ekkakeo, kamno): The Hebrew vocabulary for the depressing physical conditions and mental emotions which are rendered in the King James Version by the English words "faint," "fainthess," and other compounds of that stem, is, as will be seen above, wide and varied in derivation. The 11 Hebrew and 3 Greek words and their derivatives are used in 62 passages in the King James Version to express these conditions. ⇒See a list of verses on FAINTING in the Bible. `Ayeph is used to express the exhaustion from fatigue and hunger in the case of Esau (Ge 25:29-30). This and its variants come from a root which primarily means "to cover or conceal," therefore "to be dark or obscure," and so, figuratively, "to be faint or depressed." Israel's helpless state when harassed by Amalek (De 25:18) and the plight of Gideon's weary force when they sought in vain for help at Succoth (Jg 8:4) are described by the same word. Isaiah also uses it to picture the disappointed and unsatisfied appetite of the thir…
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Easton, M.G. (1893) Easton's Bible Dictionary. 3rd edn. Thomas Nelson. [Public Domain]
- Nave, O.J. (1897) Nave's Topical Bible. Topical Bible Publishing Co.. [Public Domain]
- Hastings, J. (ed.) (1909) A Dictionary of the Bible. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Smith, W. (ed.) (1884) Smith's Bible Dictionary. London: John Murray. [Public Domain]
- Fausset, A.R. (1878) Fausset's Bible Dictionary. [Public Domain]A Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopaedia