Hebrew word · H5287

נָעַר

no'er

to shake

To shake, shake out, shake off.

Appears 11 times in 9 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to shake, shake out or off

1a) (Qal) to shake out, show emptiness

1b) (Niphal)

1b1) to be shaken

1b2) to shake oneself

1c) (Piel) to shake off or out

1d) (Hithpael) to shake oneself

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 Exodus 14:27

Range of meaning

To shake, shake out, shake off. Used of shaking out the fold of a garment (Neh 5:13, a curse gesture: 'so may God shake out every man'), of Samson shaking himself free (Judg 16:20), of being 'shaken off like a locust' (Ps 109:23), of shaking off dust (Isa 52:2), of shaking one's hands free of a bribe (Isa 33:15).

Against the English

KJV, WEB and NASB: 'overthrew'. BSB and NIV: 'swept them into the sea'. ESV: 'threw'. YLT: 'shaketh off' (the most literal). None of the dynamic renderings keeps the image of shaking something out like dust or crumbs.

How it drifted

'Overthrew' probably comes through the general sense of 'cast down/destroy'. In modern English 'overthrow' sounds political, like toppling a regime, which the Hebrew picture does not carry.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Greek Septuagint uses ektinassō, 'shake off/out', the same verb used for shaking dust off the feet in the Gospels, which keeps the Hebrew image. Job 38:12–13 makes a striking parallel: the dawn takes hold of the edges of the earth 'so that the wicked are shaken out (yinnāʿărû) of it', with the same verb and the same morning setting.

From the study of Isaiah 33:15

Range of meaning

נָעַר (na'ar) means to shake or shake out, as Nehemiah shook out the fold of his garment as a sign (Nehemiah 5:13), or as the wicked are 'shaken out' of the earth (Job 38:13). כַּף (kaph) is the hollow palm.

Against the English

KJV/ESV 'shaketh his hands' keeps the image. BSB 'whose hand never takes a bribe' and WEB 'gestures with his hands' lose the picture of palms being shaken out so nothing can stick.

Used elsewhere in the period

Bribes passed hand to hand at the city gate, where cases were heard; the Law forbade them repeatedly (Exodus 23:8; Deuteronomy 16:19; 27:25 'cursed is he who takes a bribe to strike down an innocent life'). Isaiah 1:23 accuses Jerusalem's rulers: 'everyone loves a bribe'.

From the study of Isaiah 52:2

Range of meaning

The root na'ar means to shake, shake out or shake off. People shake out a garment or the fold of a robe (Neh 5:13), and locusts are shaken off a body (Ps 109:23). The reflexive form used here (hitpael) means 'shake yourself', that is, shake something off your own body.

Against the English

KJV, WEB and ESV keep the reflexive 'shake yourself (from the dust)'. BSB and NLT simplify it to 'shake off your dust' or 'rise from the dust'. Those simpler renderings lose a little of the bodily picture of a woman shaking herself, but the sense is the same.

Used elsewhere in the period

Nehemiah 5:13 uses na'ar for shaking out the fold of a garment as a gesture with a curse attached. The Septuagint here has ektinaxai, 'shake off', the same Greek verb used in the Gospels for shaking dust off the feet (Mark 6:11), though there it means something different.

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 14:27 וַיְנַעֵ֧ר and he shook off

    So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal state. As the Egyptians were retreating, the LORD swept them into the sea.

    Here: This verb is used for shaking dust or crumbs out of a garment (Neh 5:13) or shaking yourself free (Judg 16:20). YHWH shakes the Egyptians out like debris. The picture is contemptuous and effortless.

Judges · 1

  1. Judges 16:20 וְאִנָּעֵ֔ר so I may shake myself free

    Then she called out, “Samson, the Philistines are here!” When Samson awoke from his sleep, he thought, “I will escape as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him.

    Here: A form meaning "shake myself", as an animal or a man shakes off whatever is clinging to him. Joined to "go out" by a simple "and", it implies purpose: "go out and so shake myself loose" from bonds or attackers.

Nehemiah · 3

  1. Nehemiah 5:13 נָעַ֗רְתִּי יְנַעֵ֪ר נָע֖וּר I shook out, may he shake out, shaken out

    I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, “May God likewise shake out of his house and possessions every man who does not keep this promise. May such a man be shaken out and have nothing!” The whole assembly said, “Amen,” and they praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised.

    Here: “I shook out”: a single, finished act performed before the crowd. This is the first of three uses of the root in the verse.

Job · 1

  1. Job 38:13 וְיִנָּעֲר֖וּ so they may be shaken

    that it might spread to the ends of the earth and shake the wicked out of it?

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 109:23 נִ֝נְעַ֗רְתִּי I have been shaken off

    I am fading away like a lengthening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust.

  2. Psalm 136:15 וְנִ֘עֵ֤ר and he shook off

    but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea. His loving devotion endures forever.

Isaiah · 3

  1. Isaiah 33:9 וְנֹעֵ֥ר and [is] shaking off

    The land mourns and languishes; Lebanon is ashamed and decayed. Sharon is like a desert; Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.

    Here: An active participle, the only non-perfect verb in the line: 'and is shaking off'. Every other verb describes a finished result; this one shows the stripping still going on. No object is stated; '(their leaves)' is implied.

  2. Isaiah 33:15 נֹעֵ֤ר [one who] shakes out

    He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, who refuses gain from extortion, whose hand never takes a bribe, who stops his ears against murderous plots and shuts his eyes tightly against evil—

    Here: 'One who shakes out': a vivid physical gesture, like shaking dust or crumbs off, so that nothing stays stuck to the hands.

  3. Isaiah 52:2 הִתְנַעֲרִ֧י shake yourself free

    Shake off your dust! Rise up and sit on your throne, O Jerusalem. Remove the chains from your neck, O captive Daughter of Zion.

    Here: A feminine singular command in the reflexive form: 'shake yourself'. The picture is someone sitting on the ground who gets up and shakes the dust off her body and clothes, the way a garment is shaken out.

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