Hebrew word · H5007

נֶאָצָה

une'atzah

contempt

A noun from na'ats, 'to spurn, treat with contempt, despise, reject'. As a noun it means contempt or disgrace. It appears in this form only here and in the parallel 2 Kgs 19:3. A related plural, neʾatsot, appears in Neh 9:18, 26 and Ezek 35:12 for acts of contempt or blasphemies.

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

What it means

contempt, blasphemy

Also means: ne.a.tsah (נְאָצָה "contempt" H5007A)

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 Isaiah 37:3

Range of meaning

A noun from na'ats, 'to spurn, treat with contempt, despise, reject'. As a noun it means contempt or disgrace. It appears in this form only here and in the parallel 2 Kgs 19:3. A related plural, neʾatsot, appears in Neh 9:18, 26 and Ezek 35:12 for acts of contempt or blasphemies. The verb is used of people despising God or his word (Num 14:11, 23; Isa 1:4; 5:24) and of God spurning his people (Deut 32:19; Lam 2:6; Jer 14:21).

Against the English

KJV 'blasphemy' takes it as contempt aimed at God, like the Rabshakeh's taunts (36:18–20; 37:4). WEB and NASB 'rejection' take it as God spurning Judah, or Judah being cast off. BSB, ESV and NIV 'disgrace' take it as the shame Judah suffers. All three are within the word's range.

How it drifted

KJV 'blasphemy' (probably following the Latin Vulgate's blasphemiae) suggests to modern readers speech against God specifically. The Hebrew is a wider word for scorn and spurning, which can be aimed at God or at people.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezek 35:12, God has heard 'all your neʾatsot that you spoke against the mountains of Israel'. Neh 9:18, 26, 'great neʾatsot' (contempts, blasphemies) of the wilderness generation. 2 Sam 12:14 uses the verb for giving the LORD's enemies occasion to scorn.

From the study of Nehemiah 9:26

Range of meaning

From the root na'ats, "to spurn, despise, treat with contempt." The noun means an act of contempt or insult. It is rare: Neh 9:18 and 9:26, Ezek 35:12 ("your revilings"), and 2 Kgs 19:3 / Isa 37:3 ("a day of… disgrace").

Against the English

BSB/WEB/ESV/NASB-type versions have "blasphemies", KJV "provocations", YLT "despisings". YLT is closest to the root. "Blasphemies" suggests irreverent speech, but the noun here is the object of "they did" and covers contemptuous acts: idolatry, abandoning the torah, murdering the prophets.

How it drifted

Modern English "blasphemy" has narrowed to offensive words about God. Older Latin and English use was broader. The Hebrew points mainly to deeds that treat God as worthless.

Used elsewhere in the period

The verb appears in Num 14:11, 23 ("how long will this people despise me?") and, strikingly, in Deut 31:20: "they will eat and be full and grow fat, and turn to other gods… and despise me (ni'atsuni)." Neh 9:25–26 follows that sequence almost word for word ("they ate and were filled and grew fat… they did great contempts"); compare also Deut 32:15.

Where it appears

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 19:3 וּנְאָצָ֖ה and insult

    to tell him, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace; for children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to deliver them.

Nehemiah · 2

  1. Nehemiah 9:18 נֶאָצ֖וֹת blasphemies

    Even when they cast for themselves an image of a calf and said, ‘This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and when they committed terrible blasphemies,

  2. Nehemiah 9:26 נֶאָצ֖וֹת blasphemies

    But they were disobedient and rebelled against You; they flung Your law behind their backs. They killed Your prophets, who had admonished them to return to You. They committed terrible blasphemies.

    Here: "Contempts": acts that treat God with scorn. It is the same rare word used for the golden calf in verse 18, so the whole history in the land is branded with the calf's verdict.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 37:3 וּנְאָצָ֖ה and insult

    to tell him, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace; for children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to deliver them.

    Here: Being treated with contempt or spurned. The root is used of people despising God (Isa 1:4) and of God spurning his people (Deut 32:19; Jer 14:21). Here it covers the scorn heaped on Judah and on its God.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 35:12 נָאָֽצוֹתֶ֗יךָ insults your

    Then you will know that I, the LORD, have heard every contemptuous word you uttered against the mountains of Israel when you said, ‘They are desolate; they are given to us to devour!’

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