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נָאָה

𐤍𐤀𐤄

nâʼâh

H4999 noun

SILEX Entry

Root נאה to be beautiful, be comely, be suitable

Definition

A pleasant or beautiful dwelling, often referring to a home, habitation, or, by extension, a pleasant pasture or abode for flocks. The word primarily denotes a place marked by beauty, pleasantness, or appropriateness for dwelling, whether human habitation or animal pasture.

Semantic Range

pleasant dwelling, beautiful dwelling, habitation, pleasant pasture, abode suitable for animals, home, residence, pleasant place

Root / Etymology

נָאָה derives from the root נ-א-ה (נאה), which means 'to be comely, beautiful, suitable.' The noun form absorbs the sense of a place that is pleasant or becoming, connoting a dwelling that is fitting, attractive, or fit to inhabit. While the underlying notion of beauty or suitability remains inherent, the actual lexical meaning focuses on a habitable, pleasing location, especially a home or pasture.

Historical & Contextual Notes

The term appears infrequently in the Hebrew Bible and is contextually linked to both literal dwellings (homes or habitations) and figurative or literal pastures. In poetic texts, especially Psalms and prophetic passages (such as Isaiah and Jeremiah), נָאָה is often associated with a sense of beauty and appropriateness, sometimes referring to the pleasant places where the flocks of Israel are pastured or where the community resides. It contrasts with less favorable or desolate habitations and is distinguished from other terms for dwelling (e.g., בַּיִת 'bayit' for house, מִשְׁכָּן 'mishkan' for tabernacle or dwelling place), by its emphasis on attractiveness or pleasantness. English translations often render the word as 'habitation,' 'dwelling,' or 'pasture,' but may fail to capture the nuance of beauty or suitability. Later Jewish interpretive traditions sometimes spiritualize the term, but in biblical context its focus remains on the pleasantness or propriety of a dwelling or pasture, without specific ethnic or religious connotations.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from נָאָה; a home; figuratively, a pasture; habitation, house, pasture, pleasant place.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

נאה (n-ʾ-h) — to be beautiful, be comely, be suitable

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4998 נָאָה has become fitting
H5000 נָאוֶה the fitting one
H5116 נָוֶה pleasant dwellings of

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H4999-02 נְא֤וֹת neot HNcfpc pastures pleasant dwellings 11
H4999-01 בִּ/נְא֣וֹת bineot HR/Ncfpc in pastures in beautiful dwellings of 1

Occurrences in Scripture

12 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H4999-02 Jeremiah 9:9 נְא֤וֹת neot HNcfpc pastures pleasant dwellings
H4999-02 Jeremiah 23:10 נְא֣וֹת neot HNcfpc pastures pleasant dwellings
H4999-02 Jeremiah 25:37 נְא֣וֹת neot HNcfpc peaceful folds pleasant dwellings
H4999-02 Joel 1:19 נְא֣וֹת neot HNcfpc pastures pleasant dwellings
H4999-02 Joel 1:20 נְא֥וֹת neot HNcfpc pastures pleasant dwellings
H4999-02 Joel 2:22 נְא֣וֹת neot HNcfpc pastures pleasant dwellings
H4999-02 Amos 1:2 נְא֣וֹת neot HNcfpc the pastures pleasant dwellings
H4999-01 Psalms 23:2 בִּ/נְא֣וֹת bineot HR/Ncfpc in pastures in beautiful dwellings of
H4999-02 Psalms 65:13 נְא֣וֹת neot HNcfpc pastures pleasant dwellings
H4999-02 Psalms 74:20 נְא֣וֹת neot HNcfpc habitations pleasant dwellings
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