Hebrew word · H4999

נָוָה

ne'ot

habitation

Pasture-ground, grazing land, especially in the open steppe. Also the 'abode' or 'homestead' of shepherds and flocks, and by extension any dwelling. The closely related noun nāweh (H5116) can even mean God's own dwelling.

Appears 12 times in 12 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) pasture, abode, abode of shepherd, habitation, meadow

1a) pasture, meadow

1b) abode

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 Psalm 23:2

Range of meaning

Pasture-ground, grazing land, especially in the open steppe. Also the 'abode' or 'homestead' of shepherds and flocks, and by extension any dwelling. The closely related noun nāweh (H5116) can even mean God's own dwelling.

Against the English

'Pastures' (all major versions) is right for this verse. What English loses is the second sense, 'home ground' or 'abode'. The supplied lexical gloss 'habitation' points to it.

Used elsewhere in the period

Joel 1:20 and 2:22 ('the pastures of the wilderness'; in 2:22 they 'sprout green', the verb related to deshe'). Amos 1:2 ('the pastures of the shepherds mourn'). Jeremiah 25:37 ('peaceful pastures/folds'). Lamentations 2:2 ('the dwellings of Jacob'). Psalm 83:12 ('the pastures of God'). The related nāweh is used of God's holy abode in Exodus 15:13 and 2 Samuel 15:25. Jeremiah 33:12 joins nāweh with the verb of this verse: 'a pasture of shepherds making flocks lie down.'

From the study of Lamentations 2:2

Range of meaning

Plural of a noun meaning pasture, meadow, grazing ground. By extension it means the abode of shepherds and flocks: a homestead, encampment or settlement in open country. It is related to nawe, 'pasture, abode'. A separate root naʾah means 'to be lovely', and ancient translators sometimes connected the two.

Against the English

KJV 'habitations', BSB/WEB/NIV/NASB 'dwellings', YLT 'pleasant places'. 'Dwellings' can make a modern reader think of houses in a town. The word points to the open, unwalled countryside: pastures and the farmsteads in them.

How it drifted

'Pleasant places' (YLT, following the Greek and Latin tradition) comes from linking the word to naʾah, 'be lovely'. 'Habitations/dwellings' generalises the pastoral picture into housing.

Used elsewhere in the period

Psalm 23:2, 'in grassy pastures' (binʾot deshe). Jeremiah 25:37, 'the peaceful pastures (nəʾot hashalom) are laid waste because of the fierce anger of the LORD', a very close parallel. Joel 1:19–20, 'the pastures of the wilderness'.

From the study of Amos 1:2

Range of meaning

Plural, 'pastures' or 'pasture-grounds'. It is related to nāweh, 'abode, steading, pasture', the place where flocks graze and rest (Ps 23:2, 'pastures of grass'; Jer 9:10 [9]; Joel 1:19–20; 2:22).

Against the English

KJV says 'habitations', the other versions 'pastures' or 'pasture grounds'. The Vulgate's speciosa pastorum ('the beautiful places of the shepherds') linked the word to a different Hebrew root, nāʾâ, 'to be lovely'.

How it drifted

The underlying word can mean a dwelling for flocks or people, and the KJV chose 'habitations'. Today that sounds like houses. The point is grazing land.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 23:2 (bin'ôt deshe', 'in pastures of green grass'); Joel 1:19–20, where fire devours 'the pastures of the wilderness'.

Where it appears

Psalms · 4

  1. Psalm 23:2 בִּנְא֣וֹת in pastures of

    He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.

    Here: The preposition 'in' joined to a plural word for open grazing grounds, which can also mean the camp or home ground where a flock and its shepherd stay. It comes first in the sentence, so the place is what the line puts forward.

  2. Psalm 65:12 נְא֣וֹת [the] pastures of

    The pastures of the wilderness overflow; the hills are robed with joy.

  3. Psalm 74:20 נְא֣וֹת settlements of

    Consider Your covenant, for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the land.

    Here: 'Pastures of' or 'homesteads of'. It is the word for grazing grounds and shepherds' camps (Ps 23:2, 'green pastures'). The psalm began with Israel as 'the sheep of your pasture' (v. 1), so it is bitter that the pastures now belong to violence. They have become lairs.

  4. Psalm 83:12 נְא֣וֹת [the] pastures of

    who said, “Let us possess for ourselves the pastures of God.”

Jeremiah · 3

  1. Jeremiah 9:10 נְא֤וֹת [the] pastures of

    I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, a dirge over the wilderness pasture, for they have been scorched so no one passes through, and the lowing of cattle is not heard. Both the birds of the air and the beasts have fled; they have gone away.

    Here: Grazing grounds and shepherds' camps, the places where flocks lie down (compare Ps 23:2, 'green pastures', neʾot desheʾ). They do not mean houses.

  2. Jeremiah 23:10 נְא֣וֹת [the] pastures of

    For the land is full of adulterers—because of the curse, the land mourns and the pastures of the wilderness have dried up—their course is evil and their power is misused.

    Here: The open grazing lands where flocks were driven. Shepherds' country, the land's reserve of grass.

  3. Jeremiah 25:37 נְא֣וֹת [the] pastures of

    The peaceful meadows have been silenced because of the LORD’s burning anger.

Lamentations · 1

  1. Lamentations 2:2 נְא֣וֹת [the] settlements of

    Without pity the Lord has swallowed up all the dwellings of Jacob. In His wrath He has demolished the fortified cities of the Daughter of Judah. He brought to the ground and defiled her kingdom and its princes.

    Here: Grazing lands and the open, unwalled homesteads of herders and farmers: the countryside. They stand opposite the walled fortresses of the next line, so together the two lines cover the whole land.

Joel · 3

  1. Joel 1:19 נְא֣וֹת [the] pastures of

    To You, O LORD, I call, for fire has consumed the open pastures and flames have scorched all the trees of the field.

  2. Joel 1:20 נְא֥וֹת [the] pastures of

    Even the beasts of the field pant for You, for the streams of water have dried up, and fire has consumed the open pastures.

  3. Joel 2:22 נְא֣וֹת [the] pastures of

    Do not be afraid, O beasts of the field, for the open pastures have turned green, the trees bear their fruit, and the fig tree and vine yield their best.

    Here: Grazing grounds where flocks are pastured. Joel 1:19 and 1:20 both say that 'fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness', with the same Hebrew phrase. This verse answers that line almost word for word.

Amos · 1

  1. Amos 1:2 נְא֣וֹת [the] pastures of

    He said: “The LORD roars from Zion and raises His voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the summit of Carmel withers.”

    Here: The open grazing land and folds where flocks are kept. It does not mean houses. These are the pastures Amos the herdsman knew.

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