Hebrew word · H5095

נָהַל

vaynahalem

to guide

To lead or guide with care, especially to a watering place. To escort the weak. To provide for, sustain or refresh.

Appears 10 times in 10 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated November 01, 2026

What it means

1) to lead, give rest, lead with care, guide to a watering place or station, cause to rest, bring to a station or place of rest, guide, refresh

1a) (Piel)

1a1) to lead to a watering-place or station and cause to rest there

1a2) to lead or bring to a station or goal

1a3) to lead, guide

1a4) to give rest to

1a5) to refresh (with food)

1b) (Hithpael)

1b1) to lead on

1b2) to journey by stations or stages

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

Range of meaning: To lead or guide with care, especially to a watering place. To escort the weak. To provide for, sustain or refresh.
Against the English: 'Leads' (all major versions) is accurate but flat. It loses the gentleness and the sense of providing that the Hebrew carries.
Used elsewhere in the period: Exodus 15:13 ('you guided them by your strength to your holy abode', with the same verb and the related noun nāweh). Isaiah 40:11 (the shepherd 'gently leads those that are with young'). Isaiah 49:10 ('he who has compassion on them will lead them, and by springs of water guide them'). Genesis 47:17 (Joseph 'sustained them with bread'). 2 Chronicles 28:15 (captives led on donkeys, the weak carried). The Septuagint renders it 'he nourished / brought me up' (exethrepsen).

Range of meaning: A shepherd's word: to lead a flock carefully to water or a resting place, to guide gently, and by extension to provide for and sustain (Gen 33:14, Jacob moving slowly with the young animals; Gen 47:17, Joseph "sustained them with bread"; Ps 23:2, "he leads me beside quiet waters"; Isa 40:11, "gently leads those with young"; Isa 49:10, "guides them to springs of water").
Against the English: "Guide" (BSB, KJV, WEB) is accurate but generic, and it loses the sense of pastoral care and provision. YLT's "tend me" is closer. The ancient Greek and Latin translations ("you will nourish me") bring out the provision.
Used elsewhere in the period: The Septuagint renders it διαθρέψεις με, "you will nourish/sustain me", and the Vulgate has enutries me, "you will nourish me". Exod 15:13 pairs it with nāḥâ.

Range of meaning: To lead or guide with care, especially to a watering place or resting station. It can also mean to provide for or sustain (Gen 47:17; 2 Chr 32:22).
Against the English: English versions add "gently". That is a fair reading, since the verb itself implies careful, provisioning guidance, but the Hebrew has no separate adverb. The ideas of water and rest stops are lost in English.
Used elsewhere in the period: Ps 23:2 ("beside quiet waters he leads me", yənahălēnî); Exod 15:13 ("you have guided them in your strength to your holy abode", the exodus); Isa 49:10 ("he who has compassion on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them"); Isa 51:18; Gen 33:14 (Jacob's slow pace with nursing animals).

Genesis · 2

Genesis 33:14 אֶתְנָהֲלָ֣ה I will journey on

Please let my lord go ahead of his servant. I will continue on slowly, at a comfortable pace for the livestock and children, until I come to my lord at Seir.”
Genesis 47:17 וַיְנַהֲלֵ֤ם and he refreshed them

So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their flocks and herds, and their donkeys. Throughout that year he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock.

Exodus · 1

Exodus 15:13 נֵהַ֥לְתָּ you have led [them]

With loving devotion You will lead the people You have redeemed; with Your strength You will guide them to Your holy dwelling.

Here: "You guided [them]." A shepherd's word: leading a flock carefully to water and rest (Ps 23:2; Isa 40:11; 49:10). Its pace matches the weakest of the flock. It sits alongside the power word "strength" in this line.

2 Chronicles · 2

2 Chronicles 28:15 וַיְנַהֲל֤וּם and they led them

Then the men who were designated by name arose, took charge of the captives, and provided from the plunder clothing for the naked. They clothed them, gave them sandals and food and drink, anointed their wounds, and put all the feeble on donkeys. So they brought them to Jericho, the City of Palms, to their brothers. Then they returned to Samaria.

Here: A shepherd's verb for leading a flock carefully, often toward water and rest (Ps 23:2; Isa 40:11). It pictures slow, careful guiding, not driving them along.
2 Chronicles 32:22 וַֽיְנַהֲלֵ֖ם and he led them

So the LORD saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hands of King Sennacherib of Assyria and all others, and He gave them rest on every side.

Psalms · 2

Psalm 23:2 יְנַהֲלֵֽנִי׃ he leads me

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

Here: A verb for leading carefully, often to a watering place, and sometimes simply for providing or sustaining (Genesis 47:17). It is gentler and more caring than plain 'lead'. The line ends with '-me', like the first line.
Psalm 31:3 וּֽתְנַהֲלֵֽנִי׃ and you lead me

For You are my rock and my fortress; lead me and guide me for the sake of Your name.

Here: "And you guide me": a shepherd's word for leading the flock carefully to water and resting places and caring for it on the way. It adds care and provision to the idea of leading.

Isaiah · 3

Isaiah 40:11 יְנַהֵֽל׃ ס he will lead

He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.

Here: To lead carefully, especially to a watering place or resting station (Ps 23:2; Isa 49:10; Exod 15:13). The "gently" in English translations is a fair reading of what the verb already implies: guiding at the pace the weakest can manage, with stops for water and rest.
Isaiah 49:10 יְנַהֲלֵֽם׃ he will lead them

They will not hunger or thirst, nor will scorching heat or sun beat down on them. For He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.

Here: 'Will guide them.' The verb a shepherd uses for bringing a flock to water and rest, and for caring for weak animals. It is the verb of Psalm 23:2 ('beside quiet waters he leads me') and Isaiah 40:11 ('gently leads those that have young'). In Genesis 47:17 it means to keep people alive with food. It sounds almost the same as the earlier 'will lead them' (yənahăgēm / yənahălēm), a deliberate echo.
Isaiah 51:18 מְנַהֵ֣ל [is one who] leads

Among all the sons she bore, there is no one to guide her; among all the sons she brought up, there is no one to take her hand.

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