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נָזָה

𐤍𐤆𐤄

nâzâh

H5137 verb

SILEX Entry

Root נזה to scatter, to spray, to sprinkle

Definition

To splash, spatter, or scatter liquid in drops; primarily, to sprinkle or to cause to be sprinkled, especially with reference to ritual contexts involving blood or water. The act often involves intentional, controlled scattering of liquid upon objects, persons, or areas to achieve ritual purification or to mark something as consecrated or affected by an action; figuratively, it can denote making clean or symbolically reconciling.

Semantic Range

to sprinkle liquid (esp. water or blood) for ritual purification, to spatter or cause to be sprinkled, to symbolically cleanse or purify through sprinkling, to consecrate or mark an object by ritual sprinkling

Root / Etymology

Root: נזה. The root נזה conveys the action 'to spray, scatter, sprinkle.' The verb נָזָה represents the causative or active scattering of a liquid, typically water or blood, in ritual acts. While the core notion is physical dispersal of liquid, the lexical form takes on ritual significance in biblical usage.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Usage of נָזָה centers in priestly and ritual passages, especially in the Torah (e.g., Leviticus, Numbers) and Ezekiel, describing procedures by which purification, expiation, or consecration is enacted. The primary context is the sprinkling of blood or water by priests in ceremonies of atonement, cleansing of impurities (such as those associated with corpse contamination, leprosy, or sacred spaces), or initiation of holy objects. The action is often performed with the finger or a branch (e.g., hyssop), marking a clear distinction from pouring (שָׁפַךְ) or anointing (מָשַׁחַ). Later biblical and post-biblical traditions link this term—and practices connected with it—with notions of ritual cleansing that are sometimes rendered as 'purification' or even 'atonement,' though its use is concrete and procedural in biblical texts. English translations (e.g., 'sprinkle') capture only part of its nuance, particularly underrepresenting its specific ritual and legal context. In post-exilic texts and Second Temple period writings, the imagery of sprinkling, including נָזָה, at times acquires metaphorical expansion into spiritual or moral purification, but the root action in the Hebrew Bible is always physical and procedural.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; to spirt, i.e. besprinkle (especially in expiation); sprinkle.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

נזה (n-z-h) — scatter, spray, sprinkle

Word Forms

9 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H5137-05 וְ/הִזָּ֨ה vehizah HC/Vhq3ms and he shall sprinkle and he sprinkled 13
H5137-03 וַ/יַּ֥ז vayaz HC/Vhw3ms and sprinkled and he caused to sprinkle 2
H5137-08 יַזֶּ֧ה yazeh HVhi3ms he shall sprinkle he will sprinkle 2
H5137-09 יִזֶּ֤ה yizeh HVqi3ms is sprinkled he will sprinkle 2
H5137-01 הַזֵּ֥ה hazeh HVhv2ms sprinkle this one 1
H5137-07 וְ/יֵ֤ז veyez HC/Vqi3ms and is sprinkled and he will sprinkle 1
H5137-04 וַ/יִּ֨ז vayiz HC/Vqw3ms and he spattered and he sprinkled 1
H5137-06 וְ/הִזֵּיתָ֤ vehizeyta HC/Vhq2ms and sprinkle and you will sprinkle 1
H5137-02 וּ/מַזֵּ֤ה umazeh HC/Vhrmsc And the one who sprinkles and sprinkling-one 1

Occurrences in Scripture

24 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H5137-06 Exodus 29:21 וְ/הִזֵּיתָ֤ vehizeyta HC/Vhq2ms and sprinkle and you will sprinkle
H5137-05 Leviticus 4:6 וְ/הִזָּ֨ה vehizah HC/Vhq3ms and he shall sprinkle and he sprinkled
H5137-05 Leviticus 4:17 וְ/הִזָּ֞ה vehizah HC/Vhq3ms and sprinkle and he sprinkled
H5137-05 Leviticus 5:9 וְ/הִזָּ֞ה vehizah HC/Vhq3ms and he shall sprinkle and he sprinkled
H5137-09 Leviticus 6:20 יִזֶּ֤ה yizeh HVqi3ms is sprinkled he will sprinkle
H5137-09 Leviticus 6:20 יִזֶּ֣ה yizeh-2 HVqi3ms it is sprinkled he will sprinkle
H5137-03 Leviticus 8:11 וַ/יַּ֥ז vayaz HC/Vhw3ms and he sprinkled and he caused to sprinkle
H5137-03 Leviticus 8:30 וַ/יַּ֤ז vayaz HC/Vhw3ms and sprinkled and he caused to sprinkle
H5137-05 Leviticus 14:7 וְ/הִזָּ֗ה vehizah HC/Vhq3ms and he shall sprinkle and he sprinkled
H5137-05 Leviticus 14:16 וְ/הִזָּ֨ה vehizah HC/Vhq3ms and shall sprinkle and he sprinkled
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