נֵרְגַּל
𐤍𐤓𐤂𐤋
Neregal
H5370 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
Nergal, a deity worshiped among certain Mesopotamian peoples, particularly identified as a chief god in the pantheon of Cuthah (Kutû) and associated with the underworld, war, and pestilence. In the Hebrew Bible, the name appears as a proper noun designating a foreign god.
Semantic Range
proper name of a Mesopotamian deity (Nergal); refers to the god of the people of Cuthah; symbol of foreign cultic worship in post-exilic period
Root / Etymology
Of foreign (Akkadian) origin. The name derives from Akkadian 'Nergal' (dNerigal or dNirgal), composed of two elements: 'nēru' (possibly 'lord', 'light', or 'torch') and 'gal' (great). Exact root meaning in Hebrew is absent, as the term is a direct loan of a Mesopotamian theonym.
Historical & Contextual Notes
The term נֵרְגַּל occurs in the Hebrew Bible in the context of the resettlement of peoples after the Assyrian exile (2 Kings 17:30), referring to a chief deity of those transplanted from Cuthah. Nergal was a prominent underworld god in Mesopotamian religion, associated with war, pestilence, and devastation. His cult center was at Cuthah, near Babylon. The passage serves both to catalog the deities worshiped by various foreign communities settled in Samaria and to contrast these with the worship of YHWH. In translation tradition, later English Bibles may gloss this as the name of a 'god' or 'idol,' but ancient readers would have understood it as a specific Mesopotamian divine name. The word appears only as a proper noun and does not exhibit semantic development in Hebrew contexts. Its presence reflects historical contact during and after the Assyrian exile period. There is no evidence of later Israelite or Judean religious adoption or syncretism involving Nergal.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
of foreign origin; Nergal, a Cuthite deity; Nergal.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
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נרגל (n-r-g-l) — uncertain, loanword, Mesopotamian deity name
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H5370-01 |
נֵֽרְגַ֑ל | neregal | HNp |
Nergal | Nergal | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H5370-01 |
2 Kings 17:30 | נֵֽרְגַ֑ל | neregal | HNp |
Nergal | Nergal |