נוּא
𐤍𐤅𐤀
nûwʼ
H5106 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To refuse, oppose, or prevent; to deny permission, disallow, or otherwise set aside an action or request. The term generally denotes a purposeful act of negation or discouragement, often by an authority or with a sense of curtailing or neutralizing another's desire or intention. In some contexts, can carry the nuance of discouraging or rendering invalid.
Semantic Range
to refuse, to deny permission, to disallow or annul, to neutralize or render ineffective, to discourage, to break (a promise or vow), to prevent from happening
Root / Etymology
Root: נוּא. The primary root meaning is 'to waver, shake, refuse.' The verbal root suggests motion or instability, developing specialized lexical senses such as refusing, preventing, or neutralizing (especially by authority). The form נוּא is rare in Biblical Hebrew.
Historical & Contextual Notes
נוּא (nûʼ) appears infrequently in the Hebrew Bible. In the contexts where it is attested, its meaning is shaped by legal and interpersonal scenarios, such as refusing to grant a request or preventing the fulfillment of a vow. The meaning can overlap with other Hebrew terms for negation or prevention (such as מָנַע manáʿ, 'to withhold'), but נוּא often connotes an active disallowance rather than passive withholding. The sense of 'forbid' or 'render void' ties to acts of annulment or authoritative refusal, especially in priestly or legal contexts (e.g., Numbers 30:6, concerning the annulment of vows). Standard translations like 'break' or 'disallow' sometimes obscure the nuance of deliberate or authoritative negation, and do not always capture the active quality implied by the root. There is little development in semantic range across periods, as usages are clustered in legal language.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
a primitive root; to refuse, forbid, dissuade, or neutralize; break, disallow, discourage, make of none effect.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
נוא (n-w-ʾ) — refusing, disallowing, preventing, neutralizing
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H4996 | נֹא | No–Thebes |
Word Forms
5 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H5106-01 |
הֵנִ֨יא | heni | HVhp3ms |
frustrates | he disallowed | 4 |
H5106-05 |
יָנִ֣יא | yani | HVhi3ms |
he forbids | he will disallow | 2 |
H5106-02 |
תְנִיא֔וּ/ן | teniun | HVhi2mp/Sn |
you discourage | you disallow | 1 |
H5106-04 |
וַ/יָּנִ֕יאוּ | vayaniu | HC/Vhw3mp |
they discouraged | and they disallowed | 1 |
H5106-03 |
תנואו/ן | tnvvn | HVqi2mp/Sn |
do you discourage | you all refuse | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
9 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H5106-01 |
Numbers 30:6 | הֵנִ֨יא | heni | HVhp3ms |
he-nullifies | he disallowed |
H5106-01 |
Numbers 30:6 | הֵנִ֥יא | heni-2 | HVhp3ms |
nullifies | he disallowed |
H5106-05 |
Numbers 30:9 | יָנִ֣יא | yani | HVhi3ms |
he forbids | he will disallow |
H5106-01 |
Numbers 30:12 | הֵנִ֖יא | heni | HVhp3ms |
he-hinders | he disallowed |
H5106-03 |
Numbers 32:7 | תנואו/ן | tnvvn | HVqi2mp/Sn |
do you discourage | you all refuse |
H5106-02 |
Numbers 32:7 | תְנִיא֔וּ/ן | teniun | HVhi2mp/Sn |
you discourage | you disallow |
H5106-04 |
Numbers 32:9 | וַ/יָּנִ֕יאוּ | vayaniu | HC/Vhw3mp |
they discouraged | and they disallowed |
H5106-01 |
Psalms 33:10 | הֵ֝נִ֗יא | heni | HVhp3ms |
frustrates | he disallowed |
H5106-05 |
Psalms 141:5 | יָנִ֣י | yani | HVhj3ms |
let it refuse | he will disallow |