Hebrew word · H5183

נַ֫חַת

nachat

quietness

Nachat here comes from the verb nachat, 'to go down, descend', used of arrows coming down (Psalm 38:2) and of a hand pressing down. As a noun it means 'descent, coming down'. A different word spelled the same way, from nuach 'to rest', means 'quietness, rest' (Isaiah 30:15).

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

What it means

1) rest, quietness

1a) quietness, quiet attitude

1b) rest (of death)

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 Isaiah 30:30

Range of meaning

Nachat here comes from the verb nachat, 'to go down, descend', used of arrows coming down (Psalm 38:2) and of a hand pressing down. As a noun it means 'descent, coming down'. A different word spelled the same way, from nuach 'to rest', means 'quietness, rest' (Isaiah 30:15). Zeroa means arm, forearm, and by extension strength, military power, or a force of troops.

Against the English

KJV has 'the lighting down of his arm' and WEB 'the descent of his arm', both of which keep the motion. BSB 'His mighty arm to be revealed' turns a downward blow into a display of power and loses the picture of the stroke. NIV and ESV keep the motion ('come down', 'descending blow').

How it drifted

KJV's 'lighting down' uses the old verb 'light' meaning 'to come down, alight' (as a bird alights). Modern readers easily hear 'lightning', which fits the storm but is not what the KJV wording means.

Used elsewhere in the period

'Outstretched arm' is a core phrase of the Exodus story (Exodus 6:6; Deuteronomy 4:34; 26:8). Isaiah uses Yahweh's arm for both judgment and rescue (Isaiah 40:10; 51:9; 52:10; 53:1). Egyptian and Assyrian royal art routinely shows the king's raised arm about to strike down enemies.

From the study of Ecclesiastes 4:6

Range of meaning

Rest, repose, calm, quietness; the settled state of something no longer driven or agitated. It comes from the root nuaḥ, 'to rest, settle down', the same family as the rest given in the land (menuḥah).

Against the English

KJV/YLT 'quietness', BSB/NIV 'tranquility', NASB 'rest'. 'Quietness' can sound like silence or an introverted temperament to modern ears. The Hebrew is about being at rest, not about being quiet in sound.

How it drifted

Mild. 'Quietness' in older English meant calm and peace, but today it leans toward 'not noisy'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isa 30:15 'in returning and rest (naḥat) you shall be saved'; Eccl 6:5, where the stillborn child 'has more rest than' the restless rich man; Eccl 9:17, 'words of the wise heard in calm (naḥat)'; Prov 29:9. The Greek translation (LXX) renders it anapausis, 'rest, relief'.

From the study of Isaiah 30:15

Range of meaning

Rest, quietness, calm, gentle settledness. From the root of נוּחַ (nuach), 'to settle, rest' (the root behind 'Noah' and menuchah, 'resting place'). In Eccl 4:6; 6:5; 9:17 it means quiet or tranquillity as opposed to toil and shouting.

Against the English

All the major versions say 'rest', which is accurate. The risk is hearing it as a break or a nap. It means a settled state, not passivity from fatigue.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isa 28:12 is the key parallel: 'This is the rest (menuchah); give rest to the weary; this is the repose — yet they were not willing to hear.' Isaiah 30:15 nearly repeats it. Behind both stands the old tradition of YHWH fighting for Israel while they stand still (Exod 14:13–14).

Similar words

Where it appears

Job · 1

  1. Job 36:16 וְנַ֥חַת and [the] quietness of

    Indeed, He drew you from the jaws of distress to a spacious and broad place, to a table full of richness.

    Here: Either 'the quiet/ease of your table' (from the root 'to rest') or 'what is set down on your table' (from the root 'to come down'). Either way the picture is a meal laid out in safety.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 29:9 נָֽחַת׃ [is] rest

    If a wise man goes to court with a fool, there will be raving and laughing with no resolution.

    Here: The settled calm that comes when a matter is finished and tempers come down. In a dispute, that means resolution. The fool never lets things reach it.

Ecclesiastes · 3

  1. Ecclesiastes 4:6 נָ֑חַת quietness

    Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and pursuit of the wind.

    Here: Rest and settled calm, freedom from agitation (related to nuaḥ, 'to rest, settle'). Grammatically it sits right beside 'a palmful', so the rest can be read as what fills the hand, not just something that comes with it.

  2. Ecclesiastes 6:5 נַ֥חַת rest

    The child, though neither seeing the sun nor knowing anything, has more rest than that man,

  3. Ecclesiastes 9:17 בְּנַ֖חַת in quietness

    The calm words of the wise are heeded over the shouts of a ruler among fools.

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 30:15 וָנַ֙חַת֙ and rest

    For the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “By repentance and rest you would be saved; your strength would lie in quiet confidence—but you were not willing.”

    Here: 'And rest': settled calm, the opposite of restless scrambling. Related to the 'rest' God offered in 28:12, which they likewise refused.

  2. Isaiah 30:30 וְנַ֤חַת and [the] lowering of

    And the LORD will cause His majestic voice to be heard and His mighty arm to be revealed, striking in angry wrath with a flame of consuming fire, and with cloudburst, storm, and hailstones.

    Here: The arm 'coming down': the downward stroke of a raised arm as it strikes. The picture is a blow falling, not just strength on display.

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