Hebrew word · H5197

נָטַף

vehatef

to drip|prophesy

The basic meaning is "to drip" or "to drop": of rain and clouds (Judg 5:4; Ps 68:8), of myrrh (Song 5:5, 13), of honey or sweet wine dripping from lips and mountains (Prov 5:3; Joel 3:18; Amos 9:13), of Job's words settling on his hearers like drops (Job 29:22).

Appears 18 times in 14 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to drop, drip, distil, prophesy, preach, discourse

1a) (Qal) to drop, drip

1b) (Hiphil)

1b1) to drip

1b2) to drop (prophecy)

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 Ezekiel 20:46

Range of meaning

The basic meaning is "to drip" or "to drop": of rain and clouds (Judg 5:4; Ps 68:8), of myrrh (Song 5:5, 13), of honey or sweet wine dripping from lips and mountains (Prov 5:3; Joel 3:18; Amos 9:13), of Job's words settling on his hearers like drops (Job 29:22). In the causative form used here it means "to make words drip", that is, to speak at length, to preach or to prophesy (BDB, HALOT).

Against the English

KJV's "drop [thy word]" keeps the image, though it has to add "thy word" in brackets. BSB, WEB and most modern versions say "preach". YLT flattens it to a second "prophesy". NASB-type versions say "speak out". "Preach" gets the function right but loses the picture of liquid speech, and to modern ears it suggests a church sermon.

How it drifted

The figure of speech has no natural English equivalent, so translators replaced the image with what it does.

Used elsewhere in the period

As a word for prophetic speech it occurs in Amos 7:16 ("do not drip against the house of Isaac", Amaziah's order silencing Amos), Micah 2:6 and 2:11 ("'Do not drip,' they drip", the false prophets' order to the true ones; and a prophet who "drips" about wine and beer is the kind this people wants), and twice in Ezekiel, here and in the parallel at Ezek 21:2 (Heb. 21:7). In Amos and Micah it is what opponents call unwelcome preaching, so some scholars hear a slightly derogatory edge: rambling, flowing on. Others see it as a neutral poetic term. The Latin Vulgate keeps the image with stilla ("drip").

From the study of Ezekiel 21:2

Range of meaning

In its basic form natap means 'drip, drop' (myrrh from hands, Song of Songs 5:5; clouds dripping water, Judges 5:4). In the causative form used here it means 'cause to drip', and with words as the object it means 'pour out speech, preach, prophesy' (Amos 7:16; Micah 2:6, 11; Ezekiel 21:2, 7 Hebrew). Related images: 'Let my teaching drop as the rain' (Deuteronomy 32:2, a parallel verb); Job's words 'dropped' on his hearers (Job 29:22).

Against the English

KJV keeps the picture: 'drop [thy word]', with the added word marked. BSB, WEB and NASB say 'preach' or 'speak', which loses the image of drops. YLT simply repeats 'prophesy'.

How it drifted

'Preach' in modern English suggests a sermon explaining a text to a congregation. The Hebrew pictures oracle-words raining down on a target from a distance.

Used elsewhere in the period

Amos 7:16: Amaziah the priest forbids Amos, 'do not drip against the house of Isaac'. Micah 2:6, 11: Micah's opponents say 'do not drip', and Micah mocks a preacher who would 'drip' about wine and strong drink. Some lexicons (HALOT) list the speech sense as a separate meaning. In Amos and Micah the word comes from hostile lips, which some take as a sign of a slightly mocking tone ('to drivel on').

From the study of Amos 9:13

Range of meaning

To drip, drop, flow drop by drop: used of rain (Judg 5:4), of myrrh (Song 5:5), and of lips dripping honey (Prov 5:3). In the causative stem it means 'make drip' or 'let drip'. Figuratively it means 'drip words', that is, preach or prophesy (Amos 7:16; Mic 2:6, 11; Ezek 21:2).

Against the English

English 'drip' or 'drop' captures the physical sense. No English version can carry the second meaning, 'preach', that Amos's audience could hear.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Amos 7:16 the priest Amaziah orders Amos: 'Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not drip (tattîp) against the house of Isaac.' Micah 2:6, 11 plays on the same verb for preaching.

Where it appears

Judges · 2

  1. Judges 5:4 נָטָ֑פוּ נָ֥טְפוּ they dropped

    O LORD, when You went out from Seir, when You marched from the land of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens poured out rain, and the clouds poured down water.

    Here: 'Dripped.' The sky starts to release water. The 'prophesy' sense listed in the lexicon belongs to another verb form and does not apply here.

Job · 1

  1. Job 29:22 תִּטֹּ֥ף it dropped

    After my words, they spoke no more; my speech settled on them like dew.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 68:8 נָטְפוּ֮ they dropped

    the earth shook and the heavens poured down rain before God, the One on Sinai, before God, the God of Israel.

    Here: The sky 'dripped', meaning it let loose rain. This is the storm that comes with God's arrival, and it leads straight into the 'generous rain' of verse 9.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 5:3 תִּ֭טֹּפְנָה they drip

    Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil,

    Here: The verb form describes something that keeps happening: her lips go on dripping. The same verb is used for pouring out words, even prophetic preaching (Amos 7:16; Mic 2:6), so dripping lips naturally means a flow of speech. Its sounds (n-t-p) echo the noun nōp̄et (n-p-t) in a deliberate sound-play: honey drips.

Song of Songs · 3

  1. Song of Songs 4:11 תִּטֹּ֥פְנָה they drip

    Your lips, my bride, drip sweetness like the honeycomb; honey and milk are under your tongue, and the fragrance of your garments is like the aroma of Lebanon.

    Here: "They drip," in a verb form that here suits something ongoing rather than a single moment. This is the plain sense of dripping, as with myrrh in Song 5:5 and 5:13; the "preach" sense of this verb belongs to a different verb form used elsewhere and is not in view here.

  2. Song of Songs 5:5 נָֽטְפוּ־ they dripped

    I rose up to open for my beloved. My hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with flowing myrrh on the handles of the bolt.

    Here: "Dripped." The liquid is running off her hands, not just giving off a scent. The Song uses the same verb for honey dripping from her lips (4:11) and myrrh dripping from his lips (5:13).

  3. Song of Songs 5:13 נֹטְפ֖וֹת dripping

    His cheeks are like beds of spice, towers of perfume. His lips are like lilies, dripping with flowing myrrh.

Ezekiel · 2

  1. Ezekiel 20:46 וְהַטֵּ֖ף and prophesy

    “Son of man, set your face toward the south, preach against it, and prophesy against the forest of the Negev.

    Here: Literally "and make [words] drip". It is a picture of speech pouring or trickling out, used of prophetic preaching in Amos and Micah. It is a second way of saying "speak a prophetic message", set in parallel with "prophesy".

  2. Ezekiel 21:2 וְהַטֵּ֖ף and prophesy

    “Son of man, set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries. Prophesy against the land of Israel

    Here: Literally 'and let drip'. Prophetic words are pictured as falling in drops, like rain or dew. The verb is a recognised idiom for prophetic speech (Amos 7:16; Micah 2:6, 11).

Joel · 1

  1. Joel 3:18 יִטְּפ֧וּ they will drip

    And in that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. All the streams of Judah will run with water, and a spring will flow from the house of the LORD to water the Valley of Acacias.

    Here: Used for drops that keep falling: rain, honey, myrrh. The mountains become like a press or a honeycomb that oozes. The same verb can mean 'preach' elsewhere (Amos 7:16), but here it is plainly physical dripping.

Amos · 2

  1. Amos 7:16 תַטִּ֖יף you must prophesy

    Now, therefore, hear the word of the LORD. You say: ‘Do not prophesy against Israel; do not preach against the house of Isaac.’

  2. Amos 9:13 וְהִטִּ֤יפוּ and they will drip

    “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when the plowman will overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes, the sower of seed. The mountains will drip with sweet wine, with which all the hills will flow.

    Here: 'And they will drip.' The verb is used for liquid falling drop by drop (honey, myrrh, rain). In Amos 7:16 the same verb is used of 'dripping' words, meaning preaching. The hillsides themselves become a winepress.

Micah · 5

  1. Micah 2:6 תַּטִּ֖פוּ יַטִּיפ֑וּן יַטִּ֣פוּ you prophesy, they prophesy !, they will prophesy

    “Do not preach,” they preach. “Do not preach these things; disgrace will not overtake us.”

    Here: Plural command form: 'Don't you (prophets) drip!' The verb pictures words dripping or pouring out. Here it means prophesying, with a dismissive edge: 'Stop spouting!' or 'Stop preaching at us!'

  2. Micah 2:11 אַטִּ֣ף מַטִּ֖יף I will prophesy, [the] prophesier of

    If a man of wind were to come and say falsely, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,” he would be just the preacher for this people!

    Here: 'I will drip / I will preach'. These are the liar's own words, quoted. The verb literally means letting something fall in drops and is used for prophetic speech. It picks up the 'dripping' of verse 6 and suits a promise of wine.

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