נוּס
nûwç · H5127 · Hebrew · 159 occurrences
Meanings
-
to flee
The action by which humans move to another place in haste in order to escape from a dangerous situation
ExamplesGenesis 14:10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell into them. But those who survived fled to the hill country.
Genesis 19:20 now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) so that my life may be saved.”
Genesis 39:12 So she grabbed him by his garment, saying, “Sleep with me!” But he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside.
-
to put to flight or cause to flee
The action by which humans cause other humans to move to another place in haste in order to escape from a dangerous situation
ExamplesExodus 9:20 Everyone among the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of the LORD hurried to bring his servants and his livestock into the houses;
Deuteronomy 32:30 “How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock had sold them, And the LORD had given them up?
-
to drive
Literally: to cause to flee; hence: process by which wind causes water to flow into a certain direction
ExamplesIsaiah 59:19 So they will fear the name of the LORD from the west And His glory from the rising of the sun, For He will come like a rushing stream Which the wind of the LORD drives.
-
to keep safe
Literally: to cause to flee; hence: causative action by which humans cause objects to be safe from danger
ExamplesJudges 6:11 Then the angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save it from the Midianites.
How it’s used In 8 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Who or what does itSubject
154 occurrences in 49 groups
- Not stated: they 29
- Not stated: he, she or it 26
- Not stated: you (more than one) 12
- Not stated (infinitive) 10
- אִישׁman, person, each 6
- Not stated: we 6
- Other words · 37 groups that occur once or twice (46) 46
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
2 occurrences in 3 groups
- מִקְנֶהlivestock, possession 1
- עֶבֶדservant, slave 1
- רְבָבָהten thousand 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
77 occurrences in 39 groups
- מִןfrom+ פָּנִיםface, presence, before 25
- לto/for+ פָּנִיםface, presence, before 8
- לto/for+ אֹהֶלtent 6
- אֵלto, toward+ עִירcity, town 4
- אֵלto, toward+ אֹהֶלtent 3
- Other words · 34 groups that occur once or twice (40) 40
With adverbsAdverbs
19 occurrences in 5 groups
- שָׁםthere 14
- הֵנָּהthey 2
- לֹאnot 2
- יַחַדtogether 1
- אַלnot, do not 1
What it doesIt is the subject
5 occurrences in 4 groups
- נָפַלto fall 2
- נָגַדto tell, to inform, to report 1
- נוּסto flee 1
- עָמַדto stand 1
What is done to itIt is the object
8 occurrences in 4 groups
- רָאָהto see 5
- אָמַרto say 1
- שָׁאַלto ask, to inquire, to request 1
- שָׁמַעto hear, to listen, to obey 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
14 occurrences in 3 groups
- לto/for 11
- בin/on/with 2
- כlike/as 1
In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- קוֹלvoice, sound 1
When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.
MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Near synonyms 2 words
- חָפַז châphaz · H2648 · to be afraid, to panic, to flee in panic
- Both words denote rapid departure or flight—one “make haste (away),” the other “flee (away), put to flight”—describing a hasty escape.
- עוּז ʻûwz · H5756 · to flee for safety, to bring to safety
- Both terms involve the concept of fleeing. One is the common, high-frequency verb for fleeing, while the other is rare and appears to mean "gather oneself to flee" or "retire" — a more specific or nuanced fleeing action.
In the other Testament 2 words
- φεύγω pheúgō · G5343 · to run away, to flee, flight
- Greek φεύγω (pheúgō, G5343) is the standard LXX rendering of Hebrew נוּס (nûwç, H5127), both denoting the core action of fleeing or running away from danger or pursuit, with φεύγω capturing the same semantic range including literal flight, metaphorical escape, and the causative sense of putting to flight.
- ἀναχωρέω anachōréō · G402 · to withdraw, to retire, to go off
- Greek ἀναχωρέω specifies a deliberate withdrawal or retreat motion, often with implications of strategic or measured withdrawal, whereas Hebrew נוּס encompasses a broader range of flight including hasty escape, panic-driven fleeing, and general motion away from danger without the measured-retreat connotation.
Semantic domains 3 entries
- Flee002002001007
- נוּס denotes fleeing, used repeatedly of characters escaping danger, as when the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah flee into the hill country (Genesis 14:10) and Joseph flees from Potiphar's wife (Genesis 39:12-15), tying the word to escape from a threat.
- Flow002002001008
- This entry carries no independent "Flow" sense of its own distinct from ordinary fleeing; every genuine tagged occurrence of נוּס (e.g. Genesis 39:12, Judges 9:21, 1 Samuel 4:16) concerns fleeing or being put to flight, not the flow of a liquid. The domain is bundle-shared with a related sense.
- Safe002003003019
- The word is closely tied to seeking refuge and safety, as Lot flees to a small town to save his life (Genesis 19:20), associating the term with escaping to a place of security.
Word family 4 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H5127. nus נוּס160 verb flee, escape (Syriac tremble (rare), compare Brock; Arabic move…
נוּס160 verb flee, escape (Syriac tremble (rare), compare Brock; Arabic move to and fro, be in commotion, dangle, Lane2866); —
Qal Perfect נָס Num 35:25 +; נַ֫סְתָּה 2Ki 9:3; נַ֫סְתִּי 1Sa 4:16, etc.; Imperfect יָנוּס Exo 21:13 +; וַיָּנָ֫ס Gen 39:12 +; יְנוּס֑וּן Psa 104:7, etc.; Imperative masculine plural נֻ֫סוּ Jer 48:6 Jer 48:4t. Jeremiah, Zechariah; Infinitive absolute נוֺס 2Sa 18:3; construct לָנוּס (לָנֻס) Gen 19:20 +; Participle נָס Amo 9:1 +; נָסִים Exo 14:27 +; —
1 flee, absolute Gen 39:12, Gen 39:15; Num 16:34 (all J); Jos 10:16 (JE); Lev 26:17, Lev 26:36; (H); figurative of sea Psa 114:3; Psa 114:5; compare Psa 104:7; followed by accusative of congnate meaning with verb מָנוֺס Jer 46:5, followed by דֶּרֶךְ Jos 8:15 (J), 2Ki 9:27; followed by בְּדֶרֶךְ Deu 28:7, Deu 28:25; ׳נ אֶלנַֿפְשָׁם 2Ki 7:7 flee for their life, ׳נ בְּרַגְלָיו, Jdg 4:15 flee on foot; + 44 t. absolute (not elsewhere Hexateuch); followed by אֶלֿ location Deu 4:42; Deu 19:5, Deu 19:11 (D), Num 35:32; Jos 20:4 (both P), Jdg 4:17; 1Ki 2:28-29, Isa 13:14; followed by לְ 1Sa 4:10 1Sa 4:6t. + לִקְרָאתוֺ Exo 14:27 (E; not elsewhere Hexateuch); followed by עַד Jdg 7:22 + Pro 28:17 (עַדבּֿוֺר, see בּוֺר); followed by עַלֿ Isa 10:3; followed by ָ ה locative Gen 14:10 Gen 14:4t. J E, Num 35:6 Num 35:6t. P, Deu 4:42; Deu 19:3-4, (D), + 6 t.; followed by שָׁם Isa 20:6; followed by accusative of location Jos 8:20 (J), + 4 t.; followed by מִמֶּרְחָק Isa 17:13 = far away; followed by מִן from, Jos 20:6 (P), 1Sa 4:16 1Sa 4:3t.; מִתּוֺךְ Jer 51:6; especially מִמְּנֵי from before Exo 4:3; Exo 14:25; Num 10:35; Jos 10:11 (all J E), 1Sa 17:24; Jer 48:44 (Qr הַנָּס, > Kt הניס), + 19 t.; followed by לִפְנֵי Jos 7:4; Jos 8:5 (twice in verse); Jos 8:6 (all J), 1Sa 4:17; 2Sa 24:13, מִלִּפְנֵי 1Ch 19:18.
2 escape Amo 9:1 (|| נמלט) so Jer 46:6; hence
3 take flight, depart, disappear, only figurative; Deu 34:7 (JE) his freshness (לֵחֹה vigour) was not gone (|| עינו כָֽהֲתָה לֹא); of shadows (at evening), Son 2:17; Son 4:6; of sorrow etc. Isa 35:10; Isa 51:11.
4 ׳נ עַלסֿוּס Isa 30:16 fly (to the attack) on horseback.
Po`lel Perfect Isa 59:19 י ׳רוּחַ בּוֺ נֹסֲסָה the breath of ׳י driveth at it, driveth it on (compare Hiph`il 2).
Hithpo`l. Infinitive construct מִמְּנֵי לְהִתְנוֺסֵס Psa 60:6 in order to take flight before the bow (so Vrss Hup-Now Che Bae and others).
Hiph`il Perfect הֵנִיס Exo 9:20; Imperfect יָנִיסוּ Deu 32:30 + Jdg 7:21 Kt (Qr וַיָּנוּסוּ
Qal); Infinitive construct לְתָנִיס Jdg 6:11; —
1 put to flight, followed by accusative Deu 32:30 (|| רדף).
2 drive hastily to a safe place Exo 9:20, followed by accusative + אֶלֿ.
3 cause to disappear, hide Jdg 6:11 (no object expressed) followed by מִמְּנֵי.
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 3 entries
Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Sources
eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0
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