. One of the most common Jewish expressions is "OY." If I've heard it once I've heard it a thousand times. It is overused--oy this, oy that.
The Hebrew word for "woe" is אוֹי. It is pronounced "OY." It is an exclamation used to express grief, despair, or a lament.
Biblically speaking, "Oy" has greater significance. Biblical "woe" (Hebrew: "oy" or "hoy") carried a much deeper weight than a casual complaint--it was a prophetic cry of warning, grief, or impending judgment. The prophets used it to announce God’s displeasure, warn of coming disaster, or lament sin and injustice.
Here are key verses in the Tenach with "Woe":
- Isaiah 5:20-21 -- “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight!”
- Isaiah 10:1 -- “Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees.”
- Ezekiel 13:3 -- “Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!”
- Amos 5:18 -- “Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light.”
- Micah 2:1 -- “Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand.”
- Nahum 3:1 -- “Woe to the bloody city! it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not.” (Speaking of the destruction of Nineveh.)
“Woe” was not a throwaway phrase--it signaled grave warning, divine judgment, or deep lament, especially from the prophets confronting sin and injustice.
I have heard plenty of Christians throw out an "Oy." But I think they have fallen into the same trap as Jews. They don't take "OY" seriously. It is a light-hearted complaint.
Jews and Christians should both know better. They both should know the scriptures.
Like the Jewish prophets and their warnings, Jesus used "woe" as a strong prophetic warning, especially against religious hypocrisy and spiritual blindness. In the Gospels, He pronounced a series of woes--most famously in Matthew 23 and Luke 11 directed at the scribes and Pharisees.
In the Seven (or Eight) Woes in Matthew 23 Jesus denounced the religious leaders for:
- Shutting the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces (Matthew 23:13)
- Devouring widows’ houses and making a show of lengthy prayers (Matthew 23:14 - included in some translations)
- Traveling to win a convert, then making them twice as much a child of hell (Matthew 23:15)
- Swearing oaths deceptively; blind guides (Matthew 23:16-22)
- Tithing minor herbs but neglecting justice, mercy, and faithfulness (Matthew 23:23-24)
- Cleaning the outside of the cup and dish, but being full of greed and self-indulgence inside (Matthew 23:25-26)
- Being like whitewashed tombs-outwardly righteous, but inwardly full of hypocrisy and wickedness (Matthew 23:27-28)
- Building tombs for the prophets and boasting they would not have killed them, yet being the descendants of those who did (Matthew 23:29-36)
Yeshua's "woes" highlight the difference between outward religiosity and genuine righteousness, exposing leaders who looked holy but were inwardly corrupt, especially among religious leaders who misled others and neglected the heart of God’s law.
The word "Oy" isn't exclusive to Jews. Christians deserve Woes too. Surely we have witnessed that in condemnations of Churches in modern times.
WOW...The Connection between Woe and the Sign of Jonah
But I want to bring this post back to the same chapter in the Gospel of Luke that Yeshua speaks of "Woes." Specifically look at Luke 11:52 --"Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering."
What is so interesting about this reference to knowledge is that it in the same chapter, and just after that Jesus says in Luke 11:29-31:
As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom; and now something greater than Solomon is here.
What is it about the wisdom of Jesus that is "greater than Solomon?" Jesus is making a crucial point about why the wisdom he offers is greater than Solomon. It is Holy Spirit that gives us understanding. Jesus is also rebuking the "lawyers." He is speaking directly to the Jewish leaders who "have taken away the key of knowledge." He tells them, "You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering."
The Jewish leaders didn't get it. But to be fair, even the apostles didn't "understand" Jesus's wisdom at that point in his ministry. It wasn't until John and Peter saw the burial Linens that they understood "the sign of Jonah."
Holy Spirit In The Room
The Holy Spirit was with Jesus throughout His life as a man. According to the New Testament, Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, anointed by the Spirit at His baptism, led by the Spirit during His ministry, empowered by the Spirit for miracles, and even raised from the dead by the Spirit. Jesus lived in constant dependence on the Holy Spirit, serving as a model for how believers are also called to live--relying on the Spirit’s presence and power. The Holy Spirit was Jesus’ inseparable companion and helper at every stage of His earthly life.
Therefore, when Jesus said "something greater than Solomon is here," .... IS HE EVER!! The Holy Spirit is in the room. and the Pharisees don't get it. The very sages who teach the Proverbs don't understand the Parables or the rest of what Jesus just said! (Incredible irony.) Frankly, not long ago, I didn't understand either. But thanks to Amazing Grace...now I see.
Context is Everything - The time has come for the people to recognize the sign.
The contextual relationship between the "wisdom of Solomon" with the "Sign of Jonah" is significant. In John 14:16-17, Jesus said when "returns to the Father" he leaves his followers the Holy Spirit. It is "the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." (John 14:26)
The good new is that he left the sign for all future generations of Jews to see. The sign the Peter and John saw, the same actual Linen Clothes have been preserved for these times. Thanks to the knowledge that has increased since then, especially in the last 50 years, everyone around the world can see them and believe in the crucifixion, the suffering and death and the ressurection.
I wonder what would happen if Yeshua was back on trial now considering the evidence of his ressurection? I don't mean a literal trial in the Sanhedrin. I mean figuratively in Jewish minds. Be not afraid to open up the "New Testament" and read it.
Conclusion:
Wisdom and understanding are often intertwined, however while someone can possess knowledge, true wisdom usually involves a broader understanding of life, its complexities, and the interconnectedness of different ideas. This comes from what believers in Yeshua is say is the gift of the Holy Spirit.
“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
"Oy" versus "Woe" is a simple language thing. They are both a world thing. Woe to a world without God. Woe to our lack of understanding. I would say that's there is plenty of "woe" to go around for everyone. Which reminds me of something Yeshua said in Matthew 7:3-5.
