---
title: נָהָר — stream · The Tanakh dictionary
description: נָהָר (5104), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 119 times: stream. BDB 1906: n.m. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# נָהָר

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«נָהָר» in the Tanakh dictionary: **stream** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers.

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**Used:** 119 times · **Key:** 5104 · **BDB:** נָהָר

### Glosses

rivers (34); the.river (30); river (16)

### Meaning (OSHB)

stream [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1504/5104/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

n.m. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1504/5104/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** n.m. Gn 2:10 stream, river;—abs. נ׳ Gn 2:10 +; cstr. נְהַר Dt 1:7 +; pl. נְהָרִים Is 18:7 + 4 times, cstr. נַהֲרֵי Is 18:1 + 2 times; but oftener נְהָר(וֹ)ת Is 19:6 + 23 times; cstr. נַהֲרוֹת 2 K 5:12 + 2 times; sf. נַהֲרוֹתֶיךָ Ez 32:2, נַהֲרֹתַיִךְ Is 44:27, נַהֲרֹתֶיהָ Ez 31:4, 15, נַהֲרֹתָם Ex 7:19, נַהֲרוֹתָם Ez 32:2, 14; appar. du. נַהֲרַיִם Gn 24:10 + 2 times, נַהֲרָ֑יִם Ju 3:8 (v. infr.) (all in אֲרַם נ׳);— stream, river, Nu 24:6 (JE), Jb 14:11; 40:23 ψ 105:41 (in sim.), Is 48:18 (id.), 59:19 (id.) + often; freq. of partic. rivers; r. of Eden Gn 2:10 and its branches v 13, 14 (all J); נְהַר מִצְרַיִם 15:18 (J; i.e., si vera l., the Nile) but read prob. נַחַל מ׳, whence נהר through infl. of foll. נהר—cf. 2 K 24:7—NöZMG xl. 1886, 699 (alternat.), LagBN 140 BallHpt; נָהָר of Nile Is 19:5; especially of Euphrates נְהַר פְּרָת Gn 15:18; Dt 1:7 (both + הַנּ׳ הַגָּדוֹל) Jos 1:4 + 8 times + 2 S 8:3 (Qr 𝔊 and ‖ 1 Ch 18:3; Kt om. פְּרָת;—cf. also Gn 2:14b supr.); oftener (of Euphr.) without פ׳: הַנָּהָר κατʼ ἐξοχήν, Gn 31:21 Ex 23:31 Nu 22:5; Jos 24:2, 3, 14, 15 (all E), poss. also Gn 36:37 (P; cf. Di) = 1 Ch 1:48, + 13 times + 2 S 8:3 Kt (v. supr.); and even without art. (poet.) † Is 7:20; Je 2:18 Mi 7:12; Zc 9:10; ψ 72:8; הַנּ׳ הַגּ׳ once of Tigris †Dn 10:4; †נְהַר גוֹזָן (חבור) 2 K 17:6; 18:11 cf. 1 Ch 5:26; pl. נַהֲרֵי כוּשׁ Zp 3:10; perhaps of a canal: נְהַר־כְּבָר Ez 1:1, 3 + 6 times Ez; הַנָּהָר אַהֲוָא Ezr 8:21, נְהַר א׳ v 31; cf. נַהֲרוֹת בָּבֶל ψ 137:1; canals poss. also in שַׁעֲרֵי הַנּ׳ Na 2:7 (of Nineveh); of canals of Egypt Ex 7:19 (‖ יְאֹרִים etc.), 8:1 (‖ id.). נְהָרוֹת (מִבְּכִי) Jb 28:11 usually understood of (underground) streams; SzoldComm. Jb GrMonatsschr. 1887, 410 and PerlesAnalekten. 69 proposes נִבְכֵי נ׳ sources of rivers (cf. 36:16); Wetzst Hoffm Bu מַבְּכֵי נ׳ (not elsewhere) with similar meaning. fig. of י׳s favour ψ 46:5.—On נַהֲרַיִם ending appar. du., v. אֲרַם; Tel Am. Na-ri-ma, Naḫrima (WklTelAm.40), and Egyptian Nhrina (WMMAs. u. Eur. 249 ff.) point however to orig. ending ִים; this inconsistent with view of EMeyGesch. § 180 that ַיִם here a locative ending (cf. Ba§ c. Anm. 1 BuhlGes 12), v. also Di Gn 24:10.

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Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 54 of its verses cited, 0 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (3 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 0 with the glosses (3 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «נָהָר» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1504/5104/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[Psalms 98:8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PSA.98.8/)

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נְהָר֥וֹת יִמְחֲאוּ־כָ֑ף יַ֝֗חַד הָרִ֥ים יְרַנֵּֽנוּ׃

*Word for word:* rivers let.them.clap a.palm together mountains let.them.sing.for.joy

*JPS 1917:* Let the floods clap their hands; let the mountains sing for joy together;

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[Job 28:11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.28.11/)

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מִ֭בְּכִי נְהָר֣וֹת חִבֵּ֑שׁ וְ֝תַעֲלֻמָ֗הּיֹ֣צִא אֽוֹר׃פ

*Word for word:* from weeping rivers he.restrains and what.is.hidden he.brings.out light

*JPS 1917:* He bindeth the streams that they trickle not; and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.

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