---
title: נָחָשׁ — serpent · The Tanakh dictionary
description: נָחָשׁ (5175), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 31 times: serpent. BDB 1906: n.m. serpent. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/5175.html)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [Tanakh](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/) / [נ](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1504-2.md)‎ / נָחָשׁ‎

<!-- .hw dir=rtl lang=hbo -->
# נָחָשׁ

<!-- .meta -->
«נָחָשׁ» in the Tanakh dictionary: **serpent** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Used:** 31 times · **Key:** 5175 · **BDB:** נָחָשׁ

### Glosses

snake (13); a.snake (9); of.a.snake (3)

### Meaning (OSHB)

serpent [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1504/5175/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

n.m. serpent [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1504/5175/#m2)

<!-- fold -->
**The whole BDB entry:** n.m. Gn 3:1 serpent (NH id.; Arabic حَنَشٌ serpent, viper (Lane406 anything hunted) is cp. by LagM i. 230; BN 50, 188 BAES 48, but improb.; Arabic نَحِسَ v. sub \[נָחַשׁ\] infr.; on formation cf. LagBN 50);—abs. נ׳ Am 5:19 +; cstr. נְחָשׁ Nu 21:9 + 2 times; pl. נְחָשִׁים Nu 21:6 Je 8:17;— serpent: as biting, Am 5:19 Ec 10:8, in spite of charm (לַחַשׁ) v 11 \[cf. Ecclus 12:13\], Je 8:17 (+ צִפְעֹנִים; fig. of enemies); so הַנְּחָשִׁים הַשְּׂרָפִים Nu 21:6 (deadly; JE; cf. JacobArab. Dicht. iv. 10 ff.), and sg. v 9, also (coll.) v 7 cf. נ׳ שָׂרָף Dt 8:15 (+ עַקְרָב); נ׳ fig. of oppressor, מִשֹּׁרֶשׁ נָחָשׁ יֵצֵא צֶפַע וּפִרְיוֹ שָׂרָף מְעוֹפֵף Is 14:29; fig. of Dan Gn 49:17 (poem in J; ‖ שְׁפִיפֹן); חֲמַת נ׳ ψ 58:5 (sim. of perniciousness of ungodly), cf. נ׳ 140:4; sim. of effect of wine Pr 23:32 (‖ צִפִעֹנִי). rod becomes נ׳ Ex 4:3 (J), cf. 7:15 (E); דֶּרֶךְ נ׳ עֲלֵי צוּר Pr 30:19. נ׳ (appar.) as hissing Je 46:22 (in sim., cf. Gie); as eating dust Is 65:25 cf. Mi 7:17 (in sim.; v. also Gn 3:14). as crafty tempter Gn 3:1, 2, 4, 13, 14. נ׳ (הַ)נְּחשֶׁת, bronze image of serpent Nu 21:9(×2) 2 K 18:4 (cf. נְחֻשְׁתָּן). mythol. נ׳ בָּרִחַ Jb 26:13 fleeing serpent, of eclipse-dragon (cf. לִוְיָתָן 3:6); also לִוְיָתָן נ׳ בָּרִחַ … לִוְיָתָן נ׳ עֲקַלָּתוֹן Is 27:1 (symbol. of world-powers); נ׳ of sea-monster Am 9:3.—נ׳ c. vb. נָשַׁךְ bite Nu 21:6 + 8 times. On supernat. character of serpents in Arabic belief v. NöZeitschr. für Völkerpsychol. i (1860), 412–416 RSKinship 197; Sem i. 421 f., 2d ed. 442 WeSkizzen iii. 147; Arab. Heid. 2, 152 f. JacobArab. Dicht. iv. 5.

<!-- .note -->
Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 28 of its verses cited, 0 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (8 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 0 with the glosses (5 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «נָחָשׁ» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1504/5175/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

<!-- div verse -->

<!-- .ref -->
[Proverbs 23:32](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/PRO.23.32/)

<!-- .vt dir=rtl lang=hbo -->
אַ֭חֲרִיתוֹ כְּנָחָ֣שׁ יִשָּׁ֑ךְ וּֽכְצִפְעֹנִ֥י יַפְרִֽשׁ׃

*Word for word:* end its like a.snake it.will.bite and like a.viper it.will.sting

*JPS 1917:* At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like a basilisk.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- div verse -->

<!-- .ref -->
[Job 26:13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/JOB.26.13/)

<!-- .vt dir=rtl lang=hbo -->
בְּ֭רוּחוֹ שָׁמַ֣יִם שִׁפְרָ֑ה חֹֽלֲלָ֥ה יָ֝ד֗וֹ נָחָ֥שׁ בָּרִֽיחַ׃

*Word for word:* by wind his \[the\].heavens \[are\].clearness it.pierced hand his \[the\].snake fleeing

*JPS 1917:* By His breath the heavens are serene; His hand hath pierced the slant serpent.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [נַחַשׁ](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/5173.md)
- next →: [נָחָשׁ](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/w/5176.md)
- ↑ back to [נ](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/tanakh/1504-2.md)