Hebrew word · H5276

נָעֵם

yin'am

be pleasant

To be pleasant, lovely, sweet, delightful. Used of good food and drink, attractive land, a beloved person and well-chosen words. Related words: nōʿam, "delightfulness, favour" (Ps 27:4; 90:17; Prov 3:17, "her ways are ways of pleasantness"), and the name Naomi, "my delight".

Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

(Qal) to be pleasant, be beautiful, be sweet, be delightful, be lovely

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 Proverbs 2:10

Range of meaning

To be pleasant, lovely, sweet, delightful. Used of good food and drink, attractive land, a beloved person and well-chosen words. Related words: nōʿam, "delightfulness, favour" (Ps 27:4; 90:17; Prov 3:17, "her ways are ways of pleasantness"), and the name Naomi, "my delight".

Against the English

KJV, WEB, ESV and NASB: "pleasant". BSB: "delight". NLT turns it into joy. "Pleasant" is accurate but weak in modern English ("a pleasant afternoon"). The Hebrew is stronger and more sensory: sweet, delicious, lovely.

Used elsewhere in the period

The most telling parallel is Prov 9:17, where Woman Folly uses the same form, yinʿām: "stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant." Other uses: Gen 49:15 (land that was pleasant); 2 Sam 1:26 ("you were very pleasant to me", David of Jonathan); Song 7:6; Prov 24:25.

From the study of Psalm 141:6

Range of meaning

To be pleasant, delightful, lovely, agreeable. It is used of beauty (Song 7:6), friendship (2 Sam 1:26, Jonathan 'very pleasant to me'), food or bread gained by deceit (Prov 9:17), and knowledge that is 'pleasant to your soul' (Prov 2:10). Related words: noʿam 'delight, favour' (Ps 27:4; 90:17) and manʿammîm 'delicacies' (Ps 141:4).

Against the English

KJV 'sweet' is close to the word's sensory feel. BSB/ESV/NASB/YLT 'pleasant' is accurate. WEB 'well spoken' (and NIV 'well spoken') shifts the meaning toward 'true, apt'. That is a reasonable inference, but it drops the link to taste.

Used elsewhere in the period

Proverbs 9:17 ('stolen water is sweet, bread eaten in secret is pleasant [yinʿam]') shows the word moving between pleasure in food and moral temptation, as it does in Ps 141:4–6.

From the study of 2 Samuel 1:26

Range of meaning

To be pleasant, sweet, lovely, delightful. Used of beauty (Song 7:7, 'how beautiful and how pleasant'), of pleasing words, and of companionship. Its noun no'am means 'delight, loveliness', as in 'the beauty of the LORD' (Ps 27:4).

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'very pleasant', BSB 'delightful', NIV 'very dear'. 'Pleasant' has weakened in modern English to mean merely 'nice'. The Hebrew is warmer: lovely, sweet, a delight.

How it drifted

'Pleasant' in 1611 was stronger than it now sounds.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the same poem Saul and Jonathan are 'beloved and lovely' (2 Sam 1:23, ha-ne'ehavim ve-ha-ne'imim). The word appears for erotic delight in Song 7:7, but also for brothers living in unity (Ps 133:1, 'how good and how pleasant') and for wise speech (Prov 23:8; 24:4). So it is not inherently romantic.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 49:15 נָעֵ֑מָה it was pleasant

    He saw that his resting place was good and that his land was pleasant, so he bent his shoulder to the burden and submitted to labor as a servant.

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 1:26 נָעַ֥מְתָּ you were pleasant

    I grieve for you, Jonathan, my brother. You were delightful to me; your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women.

    Here: 'You were lovely, delightful to me.' It is a warm word for what gives pleasure and sweetness. It echoes verse 23, where Saul and Jonathan are 'beloved and lovely' (ne'imim, from the same root).

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 141:6 נָעֵֽמוּ׃ they are pleasant

    When their rulers are thrown down from the cliffs, the people will listen to my words, for they are pleasant.

    Here: 'They are pleasant.' This is the same root as the 'delicacies' (manʿammîm) of the wicked that the psalmist refused in verse 4. Their tasty food is set against his words, which turn out to be the truly pleasant thing.

Proverbs · 3

  1. Proverbs 2:10 יִנְעָֽם׃ it will be pleasant

    For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will delight your soul.

    Here: "It will be sweet / delightful." A word of enjoyment, used of good food, a beloved friend and good land. The point is that knowledge stops being a discipline imposed from outside and becomes something you enjoy and want.

  2. Proverbs 9:17 יִנְעָֽם׃ it is delightful

    “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is tasty!”

  3. Proverbs 24:25 יִנְעָ֑ם it will be pleasant

    but it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come upon them.

Song of Songs · 1

  1. Song of Songs 7:6 נָּעַ֔מְתְּ you are lovely

    How fair and pleasant you are, O love, with your delights!

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 32:19 נָעָ֑מְתָּ are you lovely

    Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be placed with the uncircumcised!

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