vexation
ka.as denotes distressing vexation, including personal anguish, irritation, and conduct that provokes a response.
The term most often marks distress or an oppressive emotional burden in personal experience, while other contexts present irritation or anger and actions that provoke an offended response, including toward God. The supplied verses also show it in descriptions of a fool’s aggravation, contentious domestic life, and an enemy’s taunt.
Senses in use
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Personal distress and burdensome grief · dominant
In 1 Samuel 1:16, the construct form כַעְסִ֖ stands with Hannah’s complaint as she explains why she has spoken; the APB renders the clause "out of the abundance of my complaint and my vexation." Absolute forms occur amid wisdom sayings about burdens of knowledge and labor: in Ecclesiastes 1:18 the APB joins wisdom with "vexation," and in Ecclesiastes 2:23 it places the term alongside pain and a heart that does not rest.
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Provocation that brings an offended response · common
In 1 Kings 21:22, the absolute form כַּ֨עַס֙ occurs in the reason given for judgment: the APB renders "because of the vexation with which you have provoked me and have caused Israel to sin." Construct forms in 1 Kings 15:30 and Deuteronomy 32:19 likewise occur in clauses about provoking the LORD, while Ezekiel 20:28 describes offerings as provoking.
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Irritation, anger, or aggravation · common
In 1 Samuel 1:6, the absolute form כַּ֔עַס occurs where a rival repeatedly provokes Hannah; the APB renders "Her rival also provoked her with vexation." Ecclesiastes 7:9 warns against being quick to be angry, and Proverbs 27:3 compares a fool’s vexation with the weight of stone and sand.
In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB variously presents the contexts with "vexation," "provocation," "anger," and related language of trouble, grief, or taunt. These renderings indicate the clauses’ overall sense rather than fixed English equivalents for the term.