Hebrew word · H5123

נוּם

namu

to slumber

Slumber, doze, drowse: the light sleep that comes before deep sleep. It is often paired with yāshēn, 'to sleep', as in the very next verse.

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated October 31, 2026

What it means

1) to be drowsy, slumber, sleep

1a) (Qal) to slumber, be drowsy

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: Slumber, doze, drowse: the light sleep that comes before deep sleep. It is often paired with yāshēn, 'to sleep', as in the very next verse.
Against the English: 'Slumber' is accurate, though a little poetic. 'Doze' or 'nod off' brings out the lightness: not even a moment's lapse.
Used elsewhere in the period: Isaiah 5:27 describes the Assyrian army: 'none slumbers (yānûm) or sleeps', a picture of a force always on alert. Isaiah 56:10 condemns Israel's watchmen as dogs who 'love to slumber (lānûm)'. Proverbs 6:10 has 'a little sleep, a little slumber'. Elsewhere in the ancient Near East, gods slept. In the Babylonian Atrahasis story the gods' sleep is disturbed by human noise, and in 1 Kings 18:27 Elijah mocks Baal: 'perhaps he is asleep.' Israel's own laments could cry 'Awake! Why do you sleep, O Lord?' (Psalm 44:23).

Range of meaning: To be drowsy, to doze or slumber: the light sleep that comes over someone who should be awake. Often joined with or set against 'sleep' (yashen).
Against the English: 'Slumber' is a fair rendering, though it can sound gentle and pleasant in modern English. In the Bible, slumber at the wrong moment is a mark of negligence or ruin.
Used elsewhere in the period: Ps 121:3–4 ('He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep'); Isa 5:27 (in Assyria's army 'none slumbers or sleeps', so alert is the invader); Nah 3:18 ('Your shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria', a close parallel that pairs slumbering with failed 'shepherds' just as v. 11 does); Prov 6:10; 23:21; 24:33.

Range of meaning: To be drowsy, doze, slumber: the light, early stage of sleep. It is used of lazy or careless watchmen (Isa 56:10, "dumb dogs... loving to slumber") and of soldiers who never flag (Isa 5:27). The related noun tənûmâ means drowsiness or a nap (Prov 6:4, 10).
Against the English: All the major versions say "slumber." The word is accurate, but in modern English it sounds like a fancier word for sleep. That hides the step-by-step sense: nûm is the nodding-off that comes before real sleep.
Used elsewhere in the period: Isa 5:27 uses the identical phrase lōʾ yānûm wəlōʾ yîšān of the Assyrian army, which never tires, never drowses, never sleeps: a picture of relentless, tireless power. Ps 76:5 uses it with "sleep" for warriors who have sunk into the sleep of death. The same verb closes Ps 121:3, and v.4 repeats it.

Psalms · 3

Psalm 76:5 נָמ֣וּ they slumbered

The valiant lie plundered; they sleep their last sleep. No men of might could lift a hand.

Here: "They slumbered / dozed off." This is the verb for drifting into sleep (compare Ps 121:4, the God of Israel "will neither slumber nor sleep"). The verse turns that ordinary nodding-off into death.
Psalm 121:3 יָ֝נ֗וּם he slumber

He will not allow your foot to slip; your Protector will not slumber.

Here: Lighter than full sleep: nodding off, a guard's eyelids drooping on watch. The claim goes further than 'he won't fall asleep'. He won't even drift for a moment.
Psalm 121:4 יָ֭נוּם he will slumber

Behold, the Protector of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

Here: The lighter stage of sleep: nodding off, heavy eyelids, a guard's head dropping at his post. The claim is that he does not even begin to drift. The word picks up the same verb from the end of verse 3.

Isaiah · 2

Isaiah 5:27 יָנ֖וּם anyone will slumber

None of them grows weary or stumbles; no one slumbers or sleeps. No belt is loose and no sandal strap is broken.
Isaiah 56:10 לָנֽוּם׃ <of> to slumber

Israel’s watchmen are blind, they are all oblivious; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they are dreamers lying around, loving to slumber.

Here: Light sleep or dozing, the kind a sentry must not give in to. It recalls Psalm 121:4, where Israel's true Guardian 'will neither slumber nor sleep', and these human guardians are the opposite.

Nahum · 1

Nahum 3:18 נָמ֤וּ they are slumbering

O king of Assyria, your shepherds slumber; your officers sleep. Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them.

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