Word

נוּעַ

nûwaʻ · H5128 · Hebrew · 40 occurrences

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Meanings

to move, to sway, to shake

Process by which objects move up and down or sideways

Examples
Judges 9:9 “But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I give up my fatness with which God and mankind are honored, and go to wave over the trees?’
Judges 9:11 “But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I give up my sweetness and my good fruit, and go to wave over the trees?’
Judges 9:13 “But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I give up my new wine, which cheers God and mankind, and go to wave over the trees?’
Causative process by which humans or supernatural beings cause objects to move up and down or sideways (to move (something), to wag, to shake)

Examples
2 Kings 23:18 And he said, “Leave him alone; no one is to disturb his bones.” So they left his bones undisturbed with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.
Daniel 10:10 Then behold, a hand touched me and shook me on my hands and knees.
Amos 9:9 “For behold, I am commanding, And I will shake the house of Israel among all nations As grain is shaken in a sieve, But not a pebble will fall to the ground.
to stray, to wander

Action by which humans move about from place to place without clear destination

Examples
Genesis 4:12 “When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a wanderer and a drifter on the earth.”
Numbers 32:13 “So the LORD’S anger burned against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness for forty years, until the entire generation of those who had done evil in the sight of the LORD came to an end.
Genesis 4:14 “Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground; and I will be hidden from Your face, and I will be a wanderer and a drifter on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
to err, to go astray

Literally: to wander; hence: action by which humans depart from a morally and ethically correct course

Examples
Jeremiah 14:10 This is what the LORD says to this people: “So much they have loved to wander; they have not restrained their feet. Therefore the LORD does not accept them; now He will remember their wrongdoing and call their sins to account.”
to wag, to shake

Action by which humans move parts of their body up and down or sideways

Examples
2 Kings 19:21 “This is the word that the LORD has spoken against him: ‘She, the virgin daughter of Zion, has shown contempt for you and mocked you; She, the daughter of Jerusalem, has shaken her head behind you!
Job 16:4 “I too could speak like you, If only I were in your place. I could compose words against you And shake my head at you.
Psalm 22:7 All who see me deride me; They sneer, they shake their heads, saying,
to tremble

Literally: to shake; hence: process by which humans tremble for fear

Examples
Exodus 20:18 And all the people were watching and hearing the thunder and the lightning flashes, and the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it all, they trembled and stood at a distance.
Isaiah 7:2 When it was reported to the house of David, saying, “The Arameans have taken a stand by Ephraim,” his heart and the hearts of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake from the wind.
Isaiah 19:1 The pronouncement concerning Egypt: Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt; The idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence, And the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.
to reel, to stagger

Literally: to sway; hence: action by which humans move about in an unsteady way like someone who is drunk

Examples
Psalm 107:27 They reeled and staggered like a drunken person, And were at their wits’ end.
Isaiah 24:20 The earth trembles like a heavy drinker And sways like a hut, For its wrongdoing is heavy upon it, And it will fall, never to rise again.
Isaiah 29:9 Be delayed and horrified, Blind yourselves and be blind; They become drunk, but not with wine, They stagger, but not with intoxicating drink.
to wander, to be uncertain

Process by which a course of action is unsteady and subject to change

Examples
Proverbs 5:6 She does not ponder the path of life; Her ways are unstable, she does not know it.

How it’s used In 6 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

36 occurrences in 17 groups

Not stated: they 11
Not stated: he, she or it 4
Not stated (infinitive) 4
Not stated: I 3
Other words · 13 groups that occur once or twice (15) 15

What it acts on, or what is saidObject

12 occurrences in 7 groups

רֹאשׁhead, top, chief 5
הֶםthem 2
בַּיִתhouse, household 1
יָדhand, power 1
עֶצֶםbone 1
נִיme 1

With prepositionsPrepositional phrases

22 occurrences in 22 groups

עַלon, upon, over, against+ עֵץtree, wood 3
Other words · 21 groups that occur once or twice (25) 25

With adverbsAdverbs

1 occurrences in 1 groups

אַלnot, do not 1

What is done to itIt is the object

2 occurrences in 1 groups

הָיָהto be, to become 2

After prepositionsPrepositional phrases

6 occurrences in 2 groups

לto/for 4
כlike/as 2

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.

Semantic domains 5 entries

Move002002001012: נוּעַ denotes wandering or moving to and fro, as Cain becomes "a wanderer and a drifter" on the earth (Genesis 4:12, 14) and the LORD makes Israel "wander" in the wilderness for forty years (Numbers 32:13), tying the word to unsettled, roaming movement.
Sin002003003018: The domain classification here reflects the word's association with wandering as a consequence of wrongdoing, as Cain's wandering follows his murder of Abel and Israel's wilderness wandering follows the generation's sin (Numbers 32:13), tying the term to the punitive result of transgression.
Stance002001001061: The domain classification here reflects the word's use of the people who "stood at a distance" trembling at Sinai (Exodus 20:18), where their trembling accompanies a fixed, standing posture rather than locomotion.
Unsteady002001001067: The word denotes trembling or swaying, as the people trembled at the thunder and lightning of Sinai (Exodus 20:18) and the olive tree is asked to "sway" over the other trees (Judges 9:9), tying the term to an unstable, shaking motion.
Change002001003002: The domain classification here reflects the word's association with a shift from a settled to an unsettled condition (from cultivator to wanderer, Genesis 4:12, or from one generation to its dying off in the wilderness, Numbers 32:13), a change of state accompanying the physical wandering.

Word family 2 words

Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.

נוּעַnûwaʻ · H5128מְנַעְנַע mᵉnaʻnaʻ · H4517 · shaker, rattle · 1×

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H5128. nua נוּעַ verb quiver, wave, waver, tremble, totter (Late Hebrew Pilpal נִעְנַע…

H5128. nua
נוּעַ verb quiver, wave, waver, tremble, totter (Late Hebrew Pilpal נִעְנַע shake, Aramaic נוּעַ waver, stagger (rare); Arabic , bend (of boughs), see commotus fuit (of id.), so Kam Frey; also change, kind, species, variety; Di compare Ethiopic hunt); —
Qal Perfect נָ֫עוּ Job 28:4 +; וְנָע֫וּ Amo 4:8 Amo 4:2t.; Imperfect וַיָּ֫נַע Isa 7:2-3;feminine singular תָּנוּעַ Isa 24:20; אֲנוּעֲךָ 2Sa 15:20 Kt (but read Qr Hiph`il q. v.); יָנ֫וּעוּ Psa 109:10; יְנוּע֑וּן Psa 59:16 Kt (so read; not Qr Hiph`il), etc.; Infinitive absolute Isa 24:20; Psa 109:10; construct נוּעַ Jdg 9:9 Jdg 9:3t.; נוֺעַ Isa 7:2; Participle נָע Gen 4:12, Gen 4:14; נָעִים Pro 22:19; נָעוֺת 1Sa 1:13: —
1 wave, of trees, followed by עַל Jdg 9:9, Jdg 9:11, Jdg 9:13 followed by מִמְּנֵי of cause Isa 7:2; quiver, vibrate, of lips 1Sa 1:13; swing (to and fro) of miners Job 28:4 (|| דלל); stagger like drunkard, of mariners in storm Psa 107:27 (|| חגג), compare Isa 29:9 (|| שׁכר); hence be unstable, figurative of ways of harlot Pro 5:6; tremble, of doorposts, Isa 6:4 (followed by מִן causative ), idols Isa 19:1 (followed by מִמְּנֵי), earth Isa 24:20 (|| התנודד), people Exo 20:18 (E); figurative of heart Isa 7:2.
2 totter, go tottering (faint and uncertain) Lam 4:14 Lam 4:15 (|| נוּץ), Amo 8:12 (|| שׁוטט); as beggars Psa 109:10 (|| שִׁאֵל), compare Psa 59:16; Amo 4:8 followed by אֶלֿ; participle vagabond Gen 4:12, Gen 4:14 (both || נָד); figurative = err, sin, Jer 14:10.
Niph`al Imperfect יִנּוֺעַ Amo 9:9 be tossed about (of corn) in a sieve; יִנּוֺעוּ id., of bulwarks as fig-trees Nah 3:12 (|| נפל).
Hiph`il Perfect3feminine singular הֵנִ֫יעָה 2Ki 19:21 = Isa 37:22; וַהֲנִָֽעוֺתִ֫י Amo 9:9; Imperfect יָנִיעַ Zep 2:15; jussive יָ֫נַע 2Ki 23:18; אֲנִיעֲךָ 2Sa 15:20 Qr (compare Qal); יְנִיעוּן Psa 109:25 + Psa 59:16 Qr (read Kt
Qal q. v. ), etc.; Imperative suffix הֲנִיעֵ֫מוֺ Psa 59:12; —
1 toss about Amo 9:9 subject ׳י, object Israel followed by בַּגּוֺיִם (compare Niph`al).
2 shake, cause to totter: = set me tottering Dan 10:10 on my knees and hands; especially shake or wag the head, in mockery 2Ki 19:21 = Isa 37:22 (|| לעג בוז,) compare Psa 22:8; Psa 109:25; followed by עַלֿ Job 16:4 (ר ׳בְּמוֺ [Ges§ 119q]), also Lam 2:15 (|| שׁרק), Zep 2:15 יָדוֺ (|| id.), [see also Ecclus 12:18; Ecclus 13:7 (׳בְּר)].
3 (shake), disturb, bones of dead 2Ki 23:18.
4 cause to wander Num 32:13 (J); 2Sa 15:20 (followed by ללכת); Psa 59:12 (|| הוריד, for which LagProph. Chald. xlviii. proposes הניד).

Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain

Topical studies with this word 5 entries

Stance7 occurrences Unsteady7 occurrences Change1 occurrence Move24 occurrences Sin1 occurrence

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