Hebrew word · H5399

נֶ֫שֶׁף

neshef

twilight

Twilight, the dim edge of night. It can mean evening dusk (Proverbs 7:9; Isaiah 5:11; 2 Kings 7:5, 7) or the grey before morning (Job 7:4; 1 Samuel 30:17, probably). The context decides which.

Appears 12 times in 12 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) twilight

1a) evening twilight

1b) morning twilight

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 Psalm 119:147

Range of meaning

Twilight, the dim edge of night. It can mean evening dusk (Proverbs 7:9; Isaiah 5:11; 2 Kings 7:5, 7) or the grey before morning (Job 7:4; 1 Samuel 30:17, probably). The context decides which.

Against the English

English versions all choose 'dawn' here, and that is probably right. KJV's 'the dawning of the morning' adds words to make the choice explicit.

Used elsewhere in the period

Job 7:4: 'I am full of tossing until the neshef', clearly the dawn after a sleepless night. Isaiah 5:11: those who 'stay up late into the neshef' drinking, clearly evening. The Septuagint here gives ἀωρία (aōria), 'an untimely hour', the dead of night.

From the study of Isaiah 5:11

Range of meaning

Twilight: the dim light at either edge of the day. It can mean evening dusk (Proverbs 7:9; 2 Kings 7:5) or the grey before dawn (Psalm 119:147; Job 7:4). By extension it can mean the dark of night (Isaiah 21:4; 59:10).

Against the English

BSB 'into the evening', ESV 'late into the evening', KJV 'until night' and WEB 'late into the night' are all defensible. YLT's 'in twilight' is the most literal.

Used elsewhere in the period

Proverbs 7:9 ('in the twilight, in the evening of the day', the adulteress scene); Isaiah 21:4 ('the twilight I longed for'); Isaiah 59:10 ('we stumble at noon as in the twilight').

From the study of Isaiah 21:4

Range of meaning

Twilight, either evening dusk (Proverbs 7:9, 'in the twilight, in the evening'; Isaiah 5:11, those who linger late into the evening over wine) or the half-light of dawn (Job 7:4; Psalm 119:147). Probably connected with the verb nashaf, 'to blow': the breezy cool of the day.

Against the English

KJV 'the night of my pleasure' turns it into night and pleasure, which suits the feast but loses the hour of fading light. Modern versions keep 'twilight.' NLT changes it into a longing for evening and fear of the dark, which is a paraphrase.

Used elsewhere in the period

BDB, HALOT s.v. נֶשֶׁף. Isaiah 5:11 and 59:10 ('we stumble at noon as in the twilight') show that Isaiah uses it both for evening revelry and for dim light.

Where it appears

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 30:17 מֵהַנֶּ֥שֶׁף from the twilight

    And David struck them down from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man escaped, except four hundred young men who fled, riding off on camels.

2 Kings · 2

  1. 2 Kings 7:5 בַנֶּ֔שֶׁף at <the> twilight

    So they arose at twilight and went to the camp of the Arameans. But when they came to the outskirts of the camp, there was not a man to be found.

  2. 2 Kings 7:7 בַנֶּשֶׁף֒ at <the> twilight

    Thus the Arameans had arisen and fled at twilight, abandoning their tents and horses and donkeys. The camp was intact, and they had run for their lives.

Job · 3

  1. Job 3:9 נִ֫שְׁפּ֥וֹ twilight its

    May its morning stars grow dark; may it wait in vain for daylight; may it not see the breaking of dawn.

  2. Job 7:4 נָֽשֶׁף׃ twilight

    When I lie down I think: ‘When will I get up?’ But the night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.

  3. Job 24:15 נֶ֣שֶׁף twilight

    The eye of the adulterer watches for twilight. Thinking, ‘No eye will see me,’ he covers his face.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 119:147 בַ֭נֶּשֶׁף in the twilight

    I rise before dawn and cry for help; in Your word I have put my hope.

    Here: The half-light at the edge of night. Coming right after 'I came before', it most naturally means the grey before sunrise. Hence 'before dawn' in most English versions.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 7:9 בְּנֶֽשֶׁף־ at twilight

    at twilight, as the day was fading into the dark of the night.

Isaiah · 3

  1. Isaiah 5:11 בַנֶּ֔שֶׁף in the twilight

    Woe to those who rise early in the morning in pursuit of strong drink, who linger into the evening, to be inflamed by wine.

    Here: The half-light at the edge of the day. Here it is evening dusk, set against 'morning', and it may stretch into the dark ('into the night'). Morning and dusk together mean all day long.

  2. Isaiah 21:4 נֶ֣שֶׁף [the] twilight of

    My heart falters; fear makes me tremble. The twilight I desired has turned to horror.

    Here: The time of fading or breaking light, probably linked to the root 'to blow': the cool breezy hour. In context it is evening, when work ends and people eat, drink and rest.

  3. Isaiah 59:10 כַּנֶּ֔שֶׁף like the twilight

    Like the blind, we feel our way along the wall, groping like those without eyes. We stumble at midday as in the twilight; among the vigorous we are like the dead.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 13:16 נָ֑שֶׁף twilight

    Give glory to the LORD your God before He brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the dusky mountains. You wait for light, but He turns it into deep gloom and thick darkness.

    Here: The half-light between day and night. Here it is evening dusk, when shapes blur and the traveler still far from home realizes night is coming. 'Mountains of twilight' means hills with darkness falling on them.

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