Hebrew word · H5042

נָבַע

novea'

to bubble

To flow, bubble up, gush like a spring. In the causative stem: to pour forth, make bubble out, belch out. The related noun mabbua' means a spring of water (Isa 35:7; Eccl 12:6).

Appears 11 times in 11 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to flow, pour out, pour, gush forth, spring, bubble up, ferment

1a) (Qal) to flow

1b)(Hiphil) to pour out, emit, cause to bubble, belch forth

1b1) to pour out

1b2) to cause to bubble, ferment

1b3) to pour forth, emit, belch forth

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 Proverbs 15:2

Range of meaning

To flow, bubble up, gush like a spring. In the causative stem: to pour forth, make bubble out, belch out. The related noun mabbua' means a spring of water (Isa 35:7; Eccl 12:6). The verb is neutral in itself: Lady Wisdom says "I will pour out (abbi'ah) my spirit to you" (Prov 1:23), and "day to day pours forth speech" (Ps 19:2). It turns negative only when what flows out is bad: "they belch out with their mouths" (Ps 59:7 [Heb 59:8]); "the mouth of the wicked pours out evil" (Prov 15:28).

Against the English

"Spouts" (BSB, NASB), "gushes" (WEB, NIV), "pours out" (ESV, KJV), "belches out" (NLT), "uttereth" (YLT). YLT's "uttereth" loses the spring picture entirely. NLT's "belches" adds a crude, digestive feel the Hebrew does not require, though Ps 59:7 shows the word can be used contemptuously.

Used elsewhere in the period

Prov 18:4 uses the same root positively: "the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook." Prov 15:28 is the closest parallel and makes the contrast explicit: the righteous heart "ponders how to answer", while the wicked mouth "pours out" evil.

From the study of Proverbs 1:23

Range of meaning

To flow, bubble up, spring forth (qal). The causative form (hiphil), used here, means to make gush out or to pour forth. It is used almost entirely of speech: words, praise, folly or evil 'bubbling out' of a mouth.

Against the English

'Pour out' (most versions) is acceptable, but it hides the picture of a spring. It also makes English readers think of Joel 2:28 ('I will pour out my Spirit'), which uses a different Hebrew verb, šāpak, 'to pour out (liquid)'.

How it drifted

The shared English phrase 'pour out my spirit' creates a link between Proverbs 1:23 and Joel/Acts 2 that is much weaker in Hebrew, where the verbs differ.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 19:2 (day to day 'pours forth speech'); Ps 78:2 ('I will utter riddles', the same form ʾabbîʿâ); Ps 119:171; 145:7; Prov 15:2 ('the mouth of fools gushes folly'); 15:28; 18:4 ('the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook', naḥal nōbēaʿ); Eccl 10:1. Per BDB and HALOT s.v. נבע.

From the study of Proverbs 18:4

Range of meaning

To bubble up, gush, flow out. In the Hiphil form (the causative form, 'make to gush'), it means to pour out words or a spirit. It is used almost entirely for speech or what comes out of a person.

Against the English

'Flowing' (KJV, WEB, YLT) and 'bubbling' (BSB, ESV) render the water picture well, but they lose the fact that the verb was a normal word for pouring out speech.

Used elsewhere in the period

Proverbs 1:23 (Wisdom: 'I will pour out my spirit to you'); 15:2 ('the mouth of fools pours out folly'); 15:28 ('the mouth of the wicked pours out evil'); Psalm 19:2 ('day to day pours forth speech'); Psalm 78:2; 145:7 ('they shall pour forth the memory of your goodness'). Ecclesiastes 10:1 uses it for ointment fermenting or bubbling.

Where it appears

Psalms · 6

  1. Psalm 19:2 יַבִּ֣יעַֽ it pours forth

    Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.

    Here: Literally 'makes bubble up'. This is the picture of a spring overflowing. The day's speech is not measured out. It wells up and keeps flowing.

  2. Psalm 59:7 יַבִּ֘יע֤וּן they pour forth !

    See what they spew from their mouths—sharp words from their lips: “For who can hear us?”

    Here: The picture is a spring gushing up from the ground. Their speech pours out of them non-stop, more than they can hold back. The Hebrew never says what they pour out. The next phrase ('swords') fills that in. The verb form (with an extra -n at the end) suggests something they keep on doing.

  3. Psalm 78:2 אַבִּ֥יעָה I will pour forth

    I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the beginning,

    Here: Causative form, again with the resolve ending: 'let me make gush out'. The picture is a spring overflowing. The speech comes out in a full, steady stream, the way wisdom is described as a 'bubbling brook' (Proverbs 18:4).

  4. Psalm 94:4 יַבִּ֣יעוּ they pour forth

    They pour out arrogant words; all workers of iniquity boast.

    Here: The picture is a spring bubbling over: their speech comes out in a steady, unchecked stream. The verb has no object of its own here. It runs straight into the next verb, so the line opens with a burst.

  5. Psalm 119:171 תַּבַּ֣עְנָה may they pour forth

    My lips pour forth praise, for You teach me Your statutes.

  6. Psalm 145:7 יַבִּ֑יעוּ they will pour forth

    They will extol the fame of Your abundant goodness and sing joyfully of Your righteousness.

    Here: The verb of a spring welling up. Here: 'they make it gush out', meaning the memory of God's goodness comes out of people's mouths like water from a spring, unforced and hard to stop. The verb form describes ongoing or future action: they will keep doing this.

Proverbs · 4

  1. Proverbs 1:23 אַבִּ֣יעָה I will pour out

    If you had repented at my rebuke, then surely I would have poured out my spirit on you; I would have made my words known to you.

    Here: 'I will make (it) gush out.' The root is used of a spring bubbling up. In poetry it is used for gushing speech (Ps 19:2; 78:2; Prov 15:2, 28; 18:4). The form expresses resolve or eagerness: 'I will / let me pour forth.'

  2. Proverbs 15:2 יַבִּ֥יעַ it pours forth

    The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool spouts folly.

    Here: "Pours forth, gushes": a word for a spring welling up and spilling over. The fool's mouth is a fountain that runs on its own, with no shaping and no restraint.

  3. Proverbs 15:28 יַבִּ֥יעַ it pours forth

    The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked blurts out evil.

    Here: The picture is a spring bubbling and overflowing. Words pour out of the wicked person's mouth freely and nonstop, with nothing checking them. As in the first line, the tense describes a habit.

  4. Proverbs 18:4 נֹ֝בֵ֗עַ flowing

    The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

    Here: Gushing, pouring out, ongoing action. Elsewhere this verb often describes speech ('pours out folly', 15:2; 'pours forth speech', Psalm 19:2), so the stream 'gushes' the way words gush. That is a quiet wordplay.

Ecclesiastes · 1

  1. Ecclesiastes 10:1 יַבִּ֖יעַ it ferments

    As dead flies bring a stench to the perfumer’s oil, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

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