Hebrew word · H5115

נָוָה

ve'anvehu

to beautify

Uncertain. Most likely linked to naveh, "pasture, abode": to settle down, dwell, rest. Other proposals are "to reach one's goal / succeed" and "to be beautiful / fitting."

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to beautify

1a) (Hiphil) to beautify, adorn

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 Habakkuk 2:5

Range of meaning

Uncertain. Most likely linked to naveh, "pasture, abode": to settle down, dwell, rest. Other proposals are "to reach one's goal / succeed" and "to be beautiful / fitting."

Against the English

KJV "neither keepeth at home"; WEB "doesn't stay at home"; BSB and ESV "never at rest"; NRSV "do not endure." Each picks one possible sense.

Used elsewhere in the period

The verb occurs only here in this form. 1QpHab has the same consonants (ינוה). The Septuagint's "will accomplish nothing" and the Vulgate's "will not be honoured" (non decorabitur) show that ancient translators were already guessing.

From the study of Exodus 15:2

Range of meaning

The word is very rare and disputed. (1) 'To be beautiful/fitting', so in this form 'to adorn, beautify, praise' (compare nāʾweh 'lovely, fitting'). (2) From nāweh, 'pasture, abode, dwelling' (used in 15:13, 'your holy abode'), so 'to make a dwelling for, house'.

Against the English

BSB, WEB, ESV, NIV and NASB have 'praise'. KJV has 'prepare him an habitation'. YLT has 'glorify'. 'Praise' is a fair guess guided by the parallel 'exalt', but it flattens the picture of beautifying God or giving him a fine home.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint has doxasō auton ('I will glorify him') and the Vulgate glorificabo eum. Targum Onkelos, the ancient Aramaic translation, has 'I will build him a sanctuary', and KJV and some medieval Jewish commentators follow this line. The rabbis also read it as 'I will beautify myself before him': the Mekhilta (an early rabbinic commentary on Exodus) and the Talmud (b. Shabbat 133b) take it as the source of hiddur mitzvah, the practice of doing commandments beautifully.

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 15:2 וְאַנְוֵ֔הוּ and I will glorify him

    The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

    Here: A rare verb. The most likely sense is 'and I will adorn him (with praise)', which matches 'exalt' in the next line. An ancient alternative reads 'I will make him a dwelling place' (KJV 'prepare him an habitation').

Habakkuk · 1

  1. Habakkuk 2:5 יִנְוֶ֑ה he stays at home

    and wealth indeed betrays him. He is an arrogant man never at rest. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, and like Death, he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations to himself and collects all the peoples as his own.

    Here: Probably related to naveh, "pasture, homestead": he does not settle down or stay put. Some take it as "he will not endure" or "he will not reach his goal." The sense is restless, ever-expanding ambition that will not last.

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