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נוּעַ

𐤍𐤅𐤏

nûwaʻ

H5128 verb

SILEX Entry

Definition

To quiver or shake, to move to and fro, to sway, to wander (physically or metaphorically), or to be unsettled. In its primary usage, נוּעַ refers to physical shaking or movement but is also used figuratively to describe instability, agitation, unsettledness, or wandering from place to place.

Semantic Range

to shake, to sway, to move to and fro, to wander, to be unsettled, to be agitated, to waver physically, to waver in resolve or mind, to stagger, to cause to wander or shake, to be a fugitive, to be unstable, to reel, to oscillate

Root / Etymology

From the root נוע, which connotes the idea of movement, shaking, or instability. The core meaning of the root is 'to move' or 'to be unsteady,' from which arise derived senses of wandering, instability, and agitation. The actual lexical meaning encompasses both literal movement and figurative concepts of mental, social, or political instability.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In early and classical Biblical Hebrew, נוּעַ commonly describes physical movement—waving, shaking, or rocking (e.g., Psalm 109:10, 'let them wander as beggars'). It also frequently carries non-physical senses: a person who is unsteady or wavering in resolve (e.g., Proverbs 7:11), cities or nations unsettled by disasters (e.g., Amos 4:8), or the metaphorical 'shaking' of the earth (e.g., Isaiah 24:20). The term can also convey social or existential marginalization: 'to wander' as a fugitive or outcast (e.g., Genesis 4:12, Cain is sentenced to be a נָע וָנָד, 'wanderer and fugitive'). The root is distinct from similar terms such as נדד (H5074), which emphasizes flight or fleeing, and טעה, which tends to focus on error or straying. Later translation traditions often render נוּעַ as 'vagabond,' 'wander,' 'shake,' or 'be moved,' sometimes importing connotations not present in pre-exilic contexts. The core sense remains one of continual or unstable motion, either physical or metaphorical. In prophetic and poetic books, the term is frequently employed to intensify descriptions of cosmic or social upheaval.

Translation Consistency

primary "move" 14 occurrences

’Move’ is the most natural, flexible English verb that covers the primary physical sense (quiver, shake, sway, go to and fro) and the common figurative senses (be unsettled, wander, be agitated). It is widely attested across the P2 renderings and lets every form of נוּעַ be translated consistently and idiomatically (moved, moving, move, cause to move) without sounding awkward or overly technical. Alternative verbs like “shake” or “wander” are accurate in narrower senses but would misrepresent many occurrences.

Alternatives (28 occurrences):
"swayed" (4x) "shake" (4x) "shaken" (3x) "wandering one" (2x) "sway" (2x) "wander" (2x) "wandered" (2x) "caused them to wander" (1x) "cause you to wander" (1x) "caused to sway" (1x) "swaying" (1x) "cause them to sway" (1x) "them wander" (1x) "unstable" (1x) "wagged" (1x) "made me sway" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

a primitive root; to waver, in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively (as subjoined); continually, fugitive, [idiom] make, to (go) up and down, be gone away, (be) move(-able, -d), be promoted, reel, remove, scatter, set, shake, sift, stagger, to and fro, be vagabond, wag, (make) wander (up and down).

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

נוע (n-w-ʿ) — move, shake, sway, wander, be unstable

Root נוע to move, shake, sway, wander, be unstable
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4517 מְנַעְנַע shaking rattles
H5269 נֵעָה the Shaken-Place
H5270 נֹעָה Noʿah
H8569 תְּנוּאָה my estrangement

Word Forms

29 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H5128-08 נָע֖וּ nau HVqp3cp they wandered they swayed they wandered 5
H5128-05 לָ/נ֖וּעַ lanua HR/Vqc to wave to move unsteadily to move unsteadily 4
H5128-19 וְ/נָע֞וּ venau HC/Vqq3cp and they shall wander and they moved to and fro and they moved to and fro 3
H5128-16 וַ/יָּנֻ֔עוּ vayanuu HC/Vqw3mp and the foundations trembled and they swayed and they swayed 2
H5128-26 יְנִיע֣וּ/ן yeniun HVhi3mp/Sn they-stir-up they cause to sway they will cause to move 2
H5128-03 הֵנִ֔יעָה heniah HVhp3fs she shakes she caused to sway it has shaken 2
H5128-06 נָ֥ע na HVqrmsa a fugitive wandering one a wandering one 2
H5128-04 כְּ/נ֥וֹעַ kenoa HR/Vqc as shakes as swaying as swaying 1
H5128-27 יִנּ֨וֹעַ֙ yinoa HVNi3ms is sifted he will be shaken it is shaken 1
H5128-02 הֲנִיעֵ֣/מוֹ haniemo HVhv2ms/Sp3mp shake-them cause them to sway cause them to sway 1

Occurrences in Scripture

42 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H5128-06 Genesis 4:12 נָ֥ע na HVqrmsa a fugitive wandering one a wandering one
H5128-06 Genesis 4:14 נָ֤ע na HVqrmsa a fugitive wandering one a wandering one
H5128-16 Exodus 20:18 וַ/יָּנֻ֔עוּ vayanuu HC/Vqw3mp and trembled and they swayed and they swayed
H5128-17 Numbers 32:13 וַ/יְנִעֵ/ם֙ vayeniem HC/Vhw3ms/Sp3mp and He made them wander he caused them to wander he caused them to wander
H5128-05 Judges 9:9 לָ/נ֖וּעַ lanua HR/Vqc to wave to move unsteadily to move unsteadily
H5128-05 Judges 9:11 לָ/נ֖וּעַ lanua HR/Vqc to wave to move unsteadily to move unsteadily
H5128-05 Judges 9:13 לָ/נ֖וּעַ lanua HR/Vqc to wave to move unsteadily to move unsteadily
H5128-07 1 Samuel 1:13 נָּע֔וֹת naot HVqrfpa were moving swaying ones were moving
H5128-10 2 Samuel 15:20 אנוע/ך nvkh HVqi1cs/Sp2ms I-make-you-wander I will shake you I will shake you
H5128-01 2 Samuel 15:20 אֲנִֽיעֲ/ךָ֤ aniakha HVhi1cs/Sp2ms I-make-you-wander I will cause you to wander I will cause you to wander
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