Hebrew word · H5106

נוּא

heni'

to forbid

In the causative form: to refuse, forbid, annul, frustrate, discourage.

Appears 8 times in 7 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to hinder, hold back, forbid, disallow, restrain, frustrate

1a) (Qal) to hinder, hold back

1b) (Hiphil)

1b1) to restrain, forbid, frustrate

1b2) to restrain, make averse, discourage

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 141:5

Range of meaning

In the causative form: to refuse, forbid, annul, frustrate, discourage.

Against the English

'Refuse' (most modern versions) fits the known uses. The KJV's 'shall not break my head' follows an older interpretive tradition and does not match the attested meaning of the root.

Used elsewhere in the period

A father or husband 'disallows' a woman's vow (Num 30:6, 9, 12). Moses asks why the tribes 'discourage' Israel (Num 32:7, 9). The LORD 'frustrates' the plans of the peoples (Ps 33:10). The form here (yani) lacks the expected final aleph (yaniʾ). The Greek has 'anoint richly' (lipanatō), the same verb its translators used for Psalm 23:5, which suggests they read or guessed differently.

From the study of Psalm 33:10

Range of meaning

In the causative form: to hold back, restrain, forbid, disallow, discourage. It occurs only a few times: Num 30:6, 9, 12 (a father or husband 'disallows' a woman's vow); Num 32:7, 9 ('why do you discourage the heart of the Israelites?'); and here in Ps 33:10. Ps 141:5 may also belong here.

Against the English

'Thwarts' (BSB, NIV) and 'frustrates' (ESV, NASB) are reasonable. YLT's 'disallowed' best keeps the sense of an authority refusing permission. KJV's 'maketh … of none effect' gives the result rather than the action.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Num 30:9 (Eng 30:8) this verb and hēpîr occur together: if her husband 'disallows' her (yānîʾ), 'he shall annul' (hēpēr) her vow. The two verbs seem to have been a recognised pair for a superior's power to veto. The Septuagint here has athetei, 'sets aside, rejects as invalid.'

Where it appears

Numbers · 6

  1. Numbers 30:5 הֵנִ֨יא הֵנִ֥יא he forbade

    But if her father prohibits her on the day he hears about it, then none of the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand. The LORD will absolve her because her father has prohibited her.

  2. Numbers 30:8 יָנִ֣יא he will forbid

    But if her husband prohibits her when he hears of it, he nullifies the vow that binds her or the rash promise she has made, and the LORD will absolve her.

  3. Numbers 30:11 הֵנִ֖יא he forbade

    and her husband hears of it but says nothing to her and does not prohibit her, then all the vows or pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand.

  4. Numbers 32:7 תְנִיא֔וּן do you discourage !

    Why are you discouraging the Israelites from crossing into the land that the LORD has given them?

  5. Numbers 32:9 וַיָּנִ֕יאוּ and they discouraged

    For when your fathers went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land that the LORD had given them.

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 33:10 הֵ֝נִ֗יא he frustrates

    The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations; He thwarts the devices of the peoples.

    Here: 'He disallowed / held back.' In the law of vows (Num 30) it is what a father or husband does when he refuses to let a vow stand. Here it means YHWH vetoes the peoples' plans before they take effect.

  2. Psalm 141:5 יָנִ֣י it refuse

    Let the righteous man strike me; let his rebuke be an act of loving devotion. It is oil for my head; let me not refuse it. For my prayer is ever against the deeds of the wicked.

    Here: 'Let [my head] not refuse/reject it.' The verb is used for a father or husband cancelling a vow. The spelling is unusual, and that is why translations differ here.

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