Distress - Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old Testament Words
Usage Number: 1
Part Of Speech: Noun
Strong's Number: H6869
Original Word: sarâ
Usage Notes: "distress; straits." The 70 appearances of sarâ occur in all periods of biblical literature, although most occurrences are in poetry (poetical, prophetical, and wisdom literature). Sarâ means "straits" or "distress" in a psychological or spiritual sense, which is its meaning in Gen. 42:21 (the first occurrence): "We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear…."
Usage Number: 2
Strong's Number: H6862
Original Word: sar
Usage Notes: "distress." This word also occurs mostly in poetry. In Prov. 24:10, sar means "scarcity" or the "distress" caused by scarcity. The emphasis of the noun is sometimes on the feeling of "dismay" arising from a distressful situation (Job 7:11). In this usage the word sar represents a psychological or spiritual status. In Isa. 5:30, the word describes conditions that cause distress: "… If one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow…" (cf. Isa. 30:20). This nuance appears to be the most frequent use represented by sar.
Usage Number: 3
Part Of Speech: Verb
Strong's Number: H6887
Original Word: sarar
Usage Notes: "to wrap, tie up, be narrow, be distressed, be in pangs of birth." This verb, which appears in the Old Testament 54 times, has cognates in Aramaic, Syriac, Akkadian, and Arabic. In Judg. 11:7, the word carries the meaning of "to be in distress."
Usage Number: 4
Part Of Speech: Adjective
Strong's Number: H6862
Original Word: sar
Usage Notes: "narrow." Sar describes a space as "narrow" and easily blocked by a single person (Num. 22:26).