Hebrew word · H4996

נֹא

no'

Thebes

Thebes, from Egyptian niwt, 'the City' (in full niwt-imn, 'City of Amun', hence 'No-Amon', Nah 3:8). It stood in Upper Egypt (modern Luxor/Karnak) and was home to the vast temple estate of Amun-Ra.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ No = "disrupting"

the ancient capital of Egypt; also 'Thebes'

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Ezekiel 30:14

Range of meaning

Thebes, from Egyptian niwt, 'the City' (in full niwt-imn, 'City of Amun', hence 'No-Amon', Nah 3:8). It stood in Upper Egypt (modern Luxor/Karnak) and was home to the vast temple estate of Amun-Ra.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'No' is a transliteration and means nothing to most English readers. BSB, NIV, NLT and (as far as can be confirmed) ESV and NASB identify it as 'Thebes'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jer 46:25 ('Amon of No'); Ezek 30:14, 15, 16; Nah 3:8-10, which recalls the sack of Thebes by Ashurbanipal of Assyria in 663 BC. That sack is also described in Ashurbanipal's own annals, which boast of carrying off its treasures and two obelisks. The Septuagint translates No as Diospolis, 'city of Zeus', identifying Amun with Zeus. The Aramaic Targum and the Latin Vulgate render it 'Alexandria', a later identification, since Alexandria was not founded until 331 BC.

Where it appears

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 46:25 מִנֹּ֔א from Thebes

    The LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I am about to punish Amon god of Thebes, along with Pharaoh, Egypt with her gods and kings, and those who trust in Pharaoh.

Ezekiel · 3

  1. Ezekiel 30:14 בְּנֹֽא׃ on Thebes

    I will lay waste Pathros, set fire to Zoan, and execute judgment on Thebes.

    Here: No is Thebes (Egyptian *niwt*, 'the City'), in the far south, the great city of the god Amun (called No-Amon in Nahum 3:8). It was Egypt's grandest religious centre.

  2. Ezekiel 30:15 נֹֽא׃ Thebes

    I will pour out My wrath on Pelusium, the stronghold of Egypt, and cut off the crowds of Thebes.

  3. Ezekiel 30:16 וְנֹ֖א and Thebes

    I will set fire to Egypt, Pelusium will writhe in anguish, Thebes will be split open, and Memphis will face daily distress.

Nahum · 1

  1. Nahum 3:8 מִנֹּ֣א more than No

    Are you better than Thebes, stationed by the Nile with water around her, whose rampart was the sea, whose wall was the water?

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.