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נֶגַע

𐤍𐤂𐤏

negaʻ

H5061 noun

SILEX Entry

Root נגע to touch, to strike, to reach, to inflict

Definition

A mark, lesion, or affliction manifest on the body, person, object, or surface, especially a physical disorder or blemish viewed as a sign of disease or ritual impurity; more generally, an inflicted blow or calamity, divine or human in origin. The term encompasses both literal wounds and ritual-legal conditions that require examination and adjudication.

Semantic Range

mark, lesion, physical blemish, outbreak on skin, affliction (ritual or medical), wound, injury, spot or stain (on objects), calamity, act of affliction, plague-like condition, stricken condition

Root / Etymology

From the root נגע meaning 'to touch, to strike, to reach out and make contact (often with force or impact).' The noun form נֶגַע derives from the concrete sense of 'something struck' or the result of being touched/afflicted, developing specialized meanings for distinctive marks or public afflictions (especially those demanding priestly scrutiny).

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Torah, especially Leviticus (e.g. Lev 13–14), נֶגַע is a technical term for physical manifestations (spots, lesions, eruptions) on the skin, clothing, or houses that are evaluated for ritual purity and associated with tsara‘at, a broader category than later leprosy. The term is used for both minor and severe conditions, ranging from minor blemishes to afflictions perceived as acts of punishment or signals of impurity. In narratives, a נֶגַע can indicate a calamity or blow, sometimes interpreted as divine judgment but also as literal injury or infection. Later translations (including some English versions) often render נֶגַע as 'plague' or 'leprosy,' but these can be misleading—biblical נֶגַע includes a variety of conditions not strictly matching modern disease categories. The term is distinguished from מַכָּה (makka, 'wound' or 'plague') both by its ritual-legal context and by its broader application to physical marks, not just traumatic injuries. In post-exilic literature, as impurity regulations evolved, the association with divine judgment or contagiousness became more pronounced.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from נָגַע; a blow (figuratively, infliction); also (by implication) a spot (concretely, a leprous person or dress); plague, sore, stricken, stripe, stroke, wound.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

נגע (n-g-ʿ) — to touch, to strike, to reach, to inflict

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H3021 יָגַע she touches
H5060 נָגַע in his touching

Word Forms

17 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H5061-04 הַ/נֶּ֣גַע hanega HTd/Ncmsa the infection the affliction-mark 31
H5061-09 נֶ֤גַע nega HNcmsa plague affliction-mark 23
H5061-03 הַ/נָּ֑גַע hanaga HTd/Ncmsa the mark the affliction-mark 8
H5061-08 נָ֑גַע naga HNcmsa plague/sore he struck 2
H5061-13 נִגְעֽ/וֹ nigeo HNcmsc/Sp3ms affliction his affliction-mark 2
H5061-16 וְ/הַ/נֶּ֣גַע vehanega HC/Td/Ncmsa and the mark and the affliction-mark 1
H5061-14 וּ/בְ/נִגְעֵ֖י uvenigeey HC/R/Ncmpc and with strokes and in afflictions of 1
H5061-15 וּ/בִ/נְגָעִ֥ים uvinegaim HC/R/Ncmpa and with stripes and in afflictions 1
H5061-01 בַּ/נֶּ֜גַע banega HRd/Ncmsa in the infection in the affliction-mark 1
H5061-17 וְ֝/נֶ֗גַע venega HC/Ncmsa and plague stricken lesion 1

Occurrences in Scripture

78 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H5061-10 Genesis 12:17 נְגָעִ֥ים negaim HNcmpa plagues affliction-marks
H5061-09 Exodus 11:1 נֶ֤גַע nega HNcmsa plague affliction-mark
H5061-07 Leviticus 13:2 לְ/נֶ֣גַע lenega HR/Ncmsc as a mark for an affliction-mark
H5061-04 Leviticus 13:3 הַ/נֶּ֣גַע hanega HTd/Ncmsa the infection the affliction-mark
H5061-01 Leviticus 13:3 בַּ/נֶּ֜גַע banega HRd/Ncmsa in the infection in the affliction-mark
H5061-04 Leviticus 13:3 הַ/נֶּ֨גַע֙ hanega-2 HTd/Ncmsa of the infection the affliction-mark
H5061-09 Leviticus 13:3 נֶ֥גַע nega HNcmsc infection affliction-mark
H5061-04 Leviticus 13:4 הַ/נֶּ֖גַע hanega HTd/Ncmsa the infection the affliction-mark
H5061-04 Leviticus 13:5 הַ/נֶּ֨גַע֙ hanega HTd/Ncmsa the infection the affliction-mark
H5061-04 Leviticus 13:5 הַ/נֶּ֖גַע hanega-2 HTd/Ncmsa the infection the affliction-mark
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