Hebrew word · H5181

נָחֵת

nachet

to descend

To go down or descend (Jer 21:13; Job 21:13, 'go down to Sheol'). It also means to go deep into or make an impression on: Prov 17:10 says 'a rebuke goes deeper into a discerning person than a hundred blows into a fool'. It is a common word for 'descend' in Aramaic (Dan 4:13).

Appears 11 times in 10 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to go down, descend

1a) (Qal)

1a1) to go down, descend

1a2) to descend, descend into (chastisement) (fig.)

1b) (Niphal) to come down into, penetrate

1c) (Piel) to cause to descend, press down, stretch (a bow)

1d) (Hiphil) to bring down

Aramaic equivalent: ne.chat (נְחֵת "to descend" H5182)

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 38:2

Range of meaning

To go down or descend (Jer 21:13; Job 21:13, 'go down to Sheol'). It also means to go deep into or make an impression on: Prov 17:10 says 'a rebuke goes deeper into a discerning person than a hundred blows into a fool'. Other forms of the verb mean to bend a bow, literally to press it down (Ps 18:34), to press down or level ground (Ps 65:10), and to bring down (Joel 3:11). It is a common word for 'descend' in Aramaic (Dan 4:13).

Against the English

English translations use two different verbs: 'pierced / sunk into' for the arrows and 'pressed down / come down' for the hand. That reads well, but it hides the fact that the Hebrew uses the same verb twice. YLT keeps it ('come down... lettest down'), and ESV partly does ('sunk into... come down').

Used elsewhere in the period

This exact passive-reflexive form appears only here. The ordinary form with 'hand' as subject is unusual, and that probably explains why the Septuagint rendered the line differently (see textual notes). Proverbs 17:10 uses the same verb for a rebuke going deep. Verse 1 of this psalm also mentions rebuke, so the verb may link the two verses.

From the study of Proverbs 17:10

Range of meaning

To go down or descend, and with the preposition 'into' (bə-), to sink in or penetrate. It is a rare verb in Hebrew that appears mostly in poetry. Aramaic uses it far more often as the ordinary word for 'go down' (e.g. Daniel 4:13, 23). Its derived forms can mean 'press down' or 'bend' a bow (Psalm 18:34).

Against the English

KJV and WEB say 'entereth / enters', and ESV and NASB say 'goes deeper'. All of these keep the picture of penetration. BSB's 'cuts into' gives the rebuke a blade, which is vivid but not quite the Hebrew picture. The Hebrew image is of something sinking or driving down into a person. NIV's 'impresses' and NLT's 'does more for' turn the picture into an abstract idea.

Used elsewhere in the period

Psalm 38:2 (Hebrew v. 3) gives the closest parallel: 'your arrows have sunk into me (niḥăṯû ḇî)'. Jeremiah 21:13 uses it of an enemy 'coming down' against a city. Biblical Aramaic uses the verb regularly for descent (Daniel 4:13; Ezra 6:1, 5 in derived forms). The Greek Septuagint seems to have read the consonants differently (see debates).

From the study of Psalm 18:34

Range of meaning

Simple form: 'go down, descend' (Jer 21:13; Job 21:13). Intensive form: 'press down, make go down' — used of God's hand pressing on the sufferer (Ps 38:2 [Heb 38:3]), of rain settling the furrows (Ps 65:10), and here of bending a bow.

Against the English

KJV 'is broken' treats the word as coming from a different root, חתת ('be shattered, dismayed'). Modern lexicons and translations take it from נחת and render 'bend.' YLT's 'was brought down' keeps the root's basic picture of downward pressure.

How it drifted

The KJV translators followed an older interpretation (found in some Jewish commentators) that linked the form to חתת, 'break.' The result shows a man snapping a bow, not drawing it.

Used elsewhere in the period

BDB and HALOT list Ps 18:35 [Eng 34] and 2 Sam 22:35 under the intensive sense 'press down, bend (a bow).' The common Hebrew idiom for stringing or bending a bow is 'tread the bow' (dārak qešet), because the archer braced the bow with his foot to string it. This verse expresses the same downward force with a different verb.

Where it appears

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 2:10 יֵחַ֣תּוּ they will be shattered

    Those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder from heaven against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth and will give power to His king. He will exalt the horn of His anointed.”

    Here: The verb covers both being physically broken and losing one's nerve in terror. The image is of an enemy force that breaks apart. It looks back to v. 4, 'the bows of the mighty are broken.'

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 22:35 וְנִחַ֥ת and it will stretch

    He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

Job · 2

  1. Job 17:16 נָֽחַת׃ ס will we descend

    Will it go down to the gates of Sheol? Will we go down together into the dust?”

  2. Job 21:13 יֵחָֽתּוּ׃ they descend

    They spend their days in prosperity and go down to Sheol in peace.

Psalms · 4

  1. Psalm 18:34 וְֽנִחֲתָ֥ה and it will stretch

    He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

    Here: From a root meaning 'go down.' In the intensive form it means 'press down,' here bending a bow by bearing down on it. The 'and' with this verb form after the participle gives the result: he trains me, so my arms can bend it. The supplied gloss 'it will stretch' is loose.

  2. Psalm 38:2 נִ֣חֲתוּ וַתִּנְחַ֖ת they have penetrated, and it has come down

    For Your arrows have pierced me deeply, and Your hand has pressed down on me.

    Here: 'Have sunk down / gone down into' me. The arrows did not graze him. They went in and stayed in. This passive-reflexive form of the verb occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible.

  3. Psalm 65:10 נַחֵ֣ת you press down

    You soak its furrows and level its ridges; You soften it with showers and bless its growth.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 17:10 תֵּ֣חַת it goes deep

    A rebuke cuts into a man of discernment deeper than a hundred lashes cut into a fool.

    Here: The proverb opens with this verb: the rebuke 'goes down into' or 'sinks into' the listener, the way arrows sink into flesh (the same verb appears in Psalm 38:2). The verb is feminine because its subject, 'rebuke', is a feminine noun. Its imperfect (ongoing) form describes what typically happens.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 21:13 יֵחַ֣ת will he come down

    Behold, I am against you who dwell above the valley, atop the rocky plateau—declares the LORD—you who say, “Who can come against us? Who can enter our dwellings?”

    Here: 'Will come down', a rare verb used of something sinking or swooping onto a target (arrows, warriors). It pictures an attacker dropping onto the city, perhaps from the higher hills around it.

Joel · 1

  1. Joel 3:11 הַֽנְחַ֥ת bring down

    Come quickly, all you surrounding nations, and gather yourselves. Bring down Your mighty ones, O LORD.

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