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נָתַח

𐤍𐤕𐤇

nâthach

H5408 verb

SILEX Entry

Root נתח to cut, to divide, to partition

Definition

To cut up or divide into pieces, especially referring to the practice of sectioning animal carcasses (primarily sacrificial animals) into prescribed portions. Also used in contexts of violent chopping or dismemberment, whether ritual or as an act of destruction.

Semantic Range

to divide or carve up (especially carcasses), to dismember (ritual or violent context), to hew in pieces, to cut into sections, to portion out

Root / Etymology

The root is נתח, signifying the act of cutting or dividing. The verbal form נָתַח (nâthach) directly reflects the idea of partitioning by cutting. While the root focuses on the action of cutting, the verb is used in the context of systematic division, particularly of animal carcasses.

Historical & Contextual Notes

נָתַח appears primarily in priestly contexts, especially in Leviticus (e.g., Lev 1:6, 1:12), describing the ritual dismemberment or division of sacrificial animals into sections as prescribed for offering on the altar. The term encapsulates both the technical, priestly cutting of offerings into pieces for ritual burning and—rarely—the sense of violent hewing or dismemberment of a body (Judg 19:29). In First Temple priestly literature, נָתַח is associated with the orderly, sanctioned process of dividing up animal sacrifices, differentiating it from terms like שָׁחַט (shaḥaṭ, 'to slaughter') and טָבַח (ṭavaḥ, 'to butcher/slay'). The act of נָתַח thus refers not to slaughter itself, but to the subsequent partitioning. Later texts and translations sometimes render this with broader terms (e.g., 'cut in pieces'), yet the lexical core is a precise, measured portioning, largely devoid of connotations of wanton violence except in exceptional narrative contexts (e.g., Judges 19:29), which reflect a shocking inversion of the ritual norm. Modern usage may lose the ritual specificity and interpret the word more generally as 'dismember' or 'hew in pieces,' but in biblical contexts, the ritual aspect is dominant.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; to dismember; cut (in pieces), divide, hew in pieces.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

נתח (n-t-ḥ) — to cut, to divide, to partition

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H5409 נֵתַח the cut portions

Word Forms

8 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H5408-07 וְ/נִתַּ֥ח venitach HC/Vpq3ms and cut and he cut up 2
H5408-04 וַ/יְנַתַּח֙ vayenatach HC/Vpw3ms and he cut up and he cut into pieces 1
H5408-05 וַֽ/יְנַתְּחֶ֨/הָ֙ vayenatecheha HC/Vpw3ms/Sp3fs and cut her up he cut her into pieces 1
H5408-08 וִֽ/ינַתְּחֻ֗/הוּ vinatechuhu HC/Vpj3mp/Sp3ms and cut it up and let them dismember him 1
H5408-03 וָֽ/אֲנַתְּחֶ֔/הָ vaanatecheha HC/Vpw1cs/Sp3fs and I cut her and I cut her up 1
H5408-06 וַֽ/יְנַתְּחֵ֗/הוּ vayenatechehu HC/Vpw3ms/Sp3ms and cut them and he cut him into pieces 1
H5408-01 נִתַּ֖ח nitach HVpp3ms he cut he cut up in pieces 1
H5408-02 תְּנַתֵּ֖חַ tenatecha HVpi2ms you shall cut you will cut up 1

Occurrences in Scripture

9 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H5408-02 Exodus 29:17 תְּנַתֵּ֖חַ tenatecha HVpi2ms you shall cut you will cut up
H5408-07 Leviticus 1:6 וְ/נִתַּ֥ח venitach HC/Vpq3ms and cut and he cut up
H5408-07 Leviticus 1:12 וְ/נִתַּ֤ח venitach HC/Vpq3ms and he shall cut and he cut up
H5408-01 Leviticus 8:20 נִתַּ֖ח nitach HVpp3ms he cut he cut up in pieces
H5408-05 Judges 19:29 וַֽ/יְנַתְּחֶ֨/הָ֙ vayenatecheha HC/Vpw3ms/Sp3fs and cut her up he cut her into pieces
H5408-03 Judges 20:6 וָֽ/אֲנַתְּחֶ֔/הָ vaanatecheha HC/Vpw1cs/Sp3fs and I cut her and I cut her up
H5408-06 1 Samuel 11:7 וַֽ/יְנַתְּחֵ֗/הוּ vayenatechehu HC/Vpw3ms/Sp3ms and cut them and he cut him into pieces
H5408-08 1 Kings 18:23 וִֽ/ינַתְּחֻ֗/הוּ vinatechuhu HC/Vpj3mp/Sp3ms and cut it up and let them dismember him
H5408-04 1 Kings 18:33 וַ/יְנַתַּח֙ vayenatach HC/Vpw3ms and he cut up and he cut into pieces
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