Hebrew word · H5359

נָקָם

nakam

vengeance

The root nqm covers punishment, retribution and redress. It is the act by which a wrong is answered and set right. In the Hebrew Bible it is mostly God's act, or an act done under lawful authority, and it is closely tied to justice for victims.

Appears 17 times in 17 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) vengeance

1a) vengeance (by God, by Samson, by enemies of Judah)

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 35:4

Range of meaning

The root nqm covers punishment, retribution and redress. It is the act by which a wrong is answered and set right. In the Hebrew Bible it is mostly God's act, or an act done under lawful authority, and it is closely tied to justice for victims. Its targets are usually oppressors of Israel or of the weak.

Against the English

Every major version says 'vengeance'. NLT turns it into a paraphrase, 'to destroy your enemies', which makes the object clear but drops the legal idea of a wrong being paid back.

How it drifted

In modern English 'vengeance' and 'revenge' suggest personal grudge, retaliation beyond what is fair, and taking the law into your own hands. The biblical word mostly points the other way. It is the rightful ruler's answer to injustice, and Deut 32:35 reserves it to God so that individuals do not take it.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isa 34:8, right before this chapter: 'a day of vengeance (nāqām) for the LORD, a year of repayment for Zion's cause (literally lawsuit)'. Isa 61:2: 'the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn'. Isa 63:4: 'the day of vengeance… the year of my redeemed'. G. E. Mendenhall argued that nqm basically means vindication by a sovereign. H. G. L. Peels (The Vengeance of God, 1995) agrees that it is lawful and tied to justice, but shows that it does involve real punishment.

From the study of Deuteronomy 32:43

Range of meaning

Lawful redress for a wrong, especially bloodshed, carried out by someone with the right and duty to act: a ruler, a judge, or God as king. Often paired with 'recompense' (šillem, 32:35, 41). It can describe human revenge, but it is mostly used of God, and then it means him upholding justice and rescuing his people (Ps 94:1; Isa 35:4; Isa 61:2, where it stands next to 'comfort').

Against the English

The English 'vengeance' and 'avenge' now suggest personal spite, getting even, or retaliation out of hurt pride. Every major English version keeps the word, but a modern reader hears an emotional grudge where the Hebrew describes a sovereign giving a verdict and carrying it out.

How it drifted

English 'vengeance' comes from Latin vindicare, 'to lay legal claim, to vindicate, to punish'. That legal sense has faded, and today the word mostly means personal revenge.

Used elsewhere in the period

G. E. Mendenhall ('The Vengeance of Yahweh') argued that nqm in the Bible and in ancient Near Eastern texts (such as the Amarna letters) describes the legitimate force a sovereign uses for his subjects. H. G. L. Peels (The Vengeance of God, 1995) refined this: the word belongs to the language of kingship and justice, with God as judge and protector. The Septuagint renders it with ekdikeō / ekdikēsis, 'to give justice, to vindicate'. Paul quotes 32:35 in Romans 12:19, and Hebrews 10:30 quotes it too.

From the study of Isaiah 34:8

Range of meaning

Retribution, punitive requital, avenging a wrong. The root nqm covers punishing a wrongdoer and, through that, vindicating or rescuing the wronged party. In the Hebrew Bible God is by far its most frequent subject. When humans take nqm, it is usually either a legitimate public act (Num 31:2–3, where Moses is commanded) or condemned as private grudge-bearing (Lev 19:18: 'you shall not take vengeance').

Against the English

'Vengeance' and especially 'revenge' make a modern reader think of personal, emotional getting-even outside the law. The Hebrew word is not usually that. It sits in a legal and royal frame, where the rightful sovereign punishes wrong and restores order. The English is right that the word is punitive. It does not mean only 'vindication.'

How it drifted

In English, 'vengeance' came to mean private retaliation, especially once states took over punishment. 'Revenge' fixed the sense of a personal grudge. The Hebrew sense of a sovereign's lawful requital lost its natural English word.

Used elsewhere in the period

Paired with šillēm ('recompense') in Deut 32:35, 'Vengeance and recompense are mine,' which Paul quotes in Romans 12:19. Deut 32:41–43 has God taking vengeance for the blood of his servants. Jer 51:36: 'I will plead your case (rîb) and take vengeance (nqm) for you,' the same pairing as this verse. In the Isaiah scroll, 'day of vengeance' recurs at 61:2 and 63:4. The LXX here translates it with krisis, 'judgment', a sign that ancient translators heard it as a judicial act. George Mendenhall (1973) argued that nqm means the legitimate exercise of sovereign power, often 'vindication.' H.G.L. Peels (1995) agreed it belongs to a legal, royal framework but showed it is genuinely punitive.

Where it appears

Leviticus · 1

  1. Leviticus 26:25 נְקַם־ vengeance of

    And I will bring a sword against you to execute the vengeance of the covenant. Though you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague among you, and you will be delivered into the hand of the enemy.

    Here: The noun from the same root as the verb before it, so it reads literally 'avenging the avenging of'. The doubling adds emphasis: the penalty will be carried out in full.

Deuteronomy · 3

  1. Deuteronomy 32:35 נָקָם֙ vengeance

    Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”

    Here: The rightful settling of a wrong by the one entitled to settle it. Here that is God as judge and as protector of his people. It is not a private grudge.

  2. Deuteronomy 32:41 נָקָם֙ vengeance

    when I sharpen My flashing sword, and My hand grasps it in judgment, I will take vengeance on My adversaries and repay those who hate Me.

    Here: Lawful retribution carried out by the rightful authority: punishment of the wrongdoer that also vindicates the wronged. In this song that means Israel, whose blood God avenges (v.43). It is not a personal grudge.

  3. Deuteronomy 32:43 וְנָקָם֙ and vengeance

    Rejoice, O heavens, with Him, and let all God’s angels worship Him. Rejoice, O nations, with His people; for He will avenge the blood of His children. He will take vengeance on His adversaries and repay those who hate Him; He will cleanse His land and His people.

    Here: The noun from the same root, placed first in its clause for emphasis: 'and vengeance he will turn back'. It picks up God's own line in 32:35 ('Vengeance is mine, and recompense'), which is now being carried out.

Judges · 1

  1. Judges 16:28 נְקַם־ vengeance of

    Then Samson called out to the LORD: “O Lord GOD, please remember me. Strengthen me, O God, just once more, so that with one vengeful blow I may pay back the Philistines for my two eyes.”

    Here: The noun repeats the verb's root: 'avenge a vengeance', which intensifies it. Naqam is retribution that makes a wrong right, here for the gouging of his eyes.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 58:10 נָקָ֑ם vengeance

    The righteous will rejoice when they see they are avenged; they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.

    Here: Punishment carried out by a legitimate authority to set right a wrong left unpunished. Here it is God's act (vv. 6–9, 11), aimed at unjust rulers. The Hebrew does not say whose vengeance it is or on whose behalf. It is simply 'vengeance' that becomes visible.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 6:34 נָקָֽם׃ vengeance

    For jealousy enrages a husband, and he will show no mercy in the day of vengeance.

Isaiah · 6

  1. Isaiah 34:8 נָקָ֖ם vengeance

    For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

    Here: Punishment carried out by the one who has the right to carry it out, to answer a wrong and restore justice. Here it is the act of the divine King and Judge against Edom for what it did to Judah.

  2. Isaiah 35:4 נָקָ֣ם vengeance

    Say to those with anxious hearts: “Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance. With divine retribution He will come to save you.”

    Here: Punishment carried out by a rightful authority to put a wrong right, here on the oppressors of Isa 34 (see v. 8 there, 'a day of vengeance… for Zion's cause'). It is not private spite. It is the judge-king settling the account for the victims.

  3. Isaiah 47:3 נָקָ֣ם vengeance

    Your nakedness will be uncovered and your shame will be exposed. I will take vengeance; I will spare no one.”

    Here: Placed first for emphasis: 'Vengeance is what I will take.' It means the punishment a rightful ruler carries out to set right a wrong. Here the wrong is Babylon's merciless treatment of God's people (v. 6).

  4. Isaiah 59:17 נָקָם֙ vengeance

    He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on His head; He put on garments of vengeance and wrapped Himself in a cloak of zeal.

    Here: Lawful punishment that puts a wrong right, carried out by the one with the right to do it. Verse 18 spells it out: repayment 'according to their deeds' on his adversaries.

  5. Isaiah 61:2 נָקָ֖ם vengeance

    to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all who mourn,

    Here: Punishment carried out by a rightful authority against wrongdoers, which also sets their victims right. In Isaiah it falls on the nations that crushed Zion (34:8; 47:3; 63:4). For the mourners it is part of the good news: their oppressors will be held to account.

  6. Isaiah 63:4 נָקָ֖ם vengeance

    For the day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redemption had come.

    Here: The punishment a rightful party inflicts to answer a wrong already done. Here God punishes the nations, Edom above all, for what they did to his people. The word means paying back a wrong, not spite.

Ezekiel · 3

  1. Ezekiel 24:8 נָקָ֔ם vengeance

    In order to stir up wrath and take vengeance, I have placed her blood on the bare rock, so that it would not be covered.’

  2. Ezekiel 25:12 נָקָ֖ם vengeance

    This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because Edom acted vengefully against the house of Judah, and in so doing incurred grievous guilt,

    Here: The noun repeats the verb ('avenging vengeance'). This doubling stresses that Edom's whole action was vengeance-taking, deliberately carried out.

  3. Ezekiel 25:15 נָקָם֙ vengeance

    This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because the Philistines acted in vengeance, taking vengeance with malice of soul to destroy Judah with ancient hostility,

    Here: The noun repeats the verb ('avenged themselves vengeance'). The doubling hammers the point: it was retaliation through and through.

Micah · 1

  1. Micah 5:15 נָקָ֖ם vengeance

    I will take vengeance in anger and wrath upon the nations that have not obeyed Me.”

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