What does נָוֶה (nāweh) mean in the Bible?
A dwelling or habitation is a place occupied by people or animals, with context specifying its character. The song in Exodus speaks of the Lord guiding His redeemed people to His holy dwelling.
Hebrew · H5116
נָוֶה
A dwelling or habitation is a place occupied by people or animals, with context specifying its character. The song in Exodus speaks of the Lord guiding His redeemed people to His holy dwelling.
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נָוֶהH5116
Pronunciationnāweh
What does נָוֶה (nāweh) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for נָוֶה (H5116) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H5116?
The BSB source-word alignment has 37 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include their pasture (3), a pasture (2), his homeland (2), His pasture (2), pasture (2).
Where does נָוֶה (nāweh) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Exodus 15:13. Its strongest book concentrations include Jeremiah (11), Isaiah (6), Job (4), Ezekiel (3).
What This Word Actually Means
A dwelling or habitation is a place occupied by people or animals, with context specifying its character. The song in Exodus speaks of the Lord guiding His redeemed people to His holy dwelling. Ezekiel's shepherding promise describes good grazing land where the gathered flock will lie down and feed. Proverbs warns the wicked against attacking the righteous person's dwelling and resting place.
Worship, pastoral imagery and a warning against aggression therefore give the place different meanings. The noun does not imply that every comfortable residence has divine approval or that every insecure household lacks righteousness. Notice who occupies the place, who provides or threatens it and what the passage actually promises. A home or pasture can make safety concrete without becoming a guarantee that faithful people never suffer displacement.
How the Bible Uses It
The Lord's dwelling in Exodus, the flock's grazing land in Ezekiel and a threatened righteous household in Proverbs show how occupancy and surrounding actions define a habitation.
- Exod.15.13
With loving devotion You will lead the people You have redeemed; with Your strength You will guide them to Your holy dwelling.
The redeemed people's guidance follows the song's account of the Lord's strength and loving devotion, directing them toward His holy dwelling.
- Ezek.34.14
I will feed them in good pasture, and the lofty mountains of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in a good grazing land; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
Good grazing land belongs to the Lord's promise to gather, feed and tend His scattered flock with justice.
- Prov.24.15
Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, near the dwelling of the righteous; do not destroy his resting place.
The warning forbids a wicked person from ambushing the righteous household or destroying its resting place.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Ittheir pasture3×Jeremiah 23:3, Jeremiah 49:20, Jeremiah 50:45
a pasture2×Isaiah 65:10, Ezekiel 25:5
his homeland2×Psalms 79:7, Jeremiah 10:25
His pasture2×Jeremiah 25:30, Jeremiah 50:19
pasture2×Isaiah 33:20, Jeremiah 50:7
the pasture2×2 Samuel 7:8, 1 Chronicles 17:7
the watered pasture2×Jeremiah 49:19, Jeremiah 50:44
[a land of] pastures1×Zephaniah 2:6
a haunt1×Isaiah 34:13
a homestead1×Isaiah 27:10
are in the dwelling1×Proverbs 21:20
dwelling1×Exodus 15:13
dwelling place1×Jeremiah 31:23
estate1×Job 8:6
grazing land1×Ezekiel 34:14
haunts1×Psalms 74:20
his dwelling1×Job 18:15
His dwelling place {again}1×2 Samuel 15:25
his house1×Job 5:3
in a meadow1×Hosea 9:13
In the haunt1×Isaiah 35:7
near the dwelling1×Proverbs 24:15
pastures1×Jeremiah 33:12
place1×Isaiah 32:18
she who waits1×Psalms 68:12
the dwellings1×Lamentations 2:2
the home1×Proverbs 3:33
their grazing land1×Ezekiel 34:14
your home1×Job 5:24
Show sample aligned rows
Exodus 15:13נְוֵ֥הtodwellingNoun - masculine singular construct2 Samuel 7:8הַנָּוֶ֔הtothe pastureArticle | Noun - masculine singular2 Samuel 15:25נָוֵֽהוּ׃toHis dwelling place {again}Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular1 Chronicles 17:7הַנָּוֶ֔הtothe pastureArticle | Noun - masculine singularJob 5:3נָוֵ֣הוּtohis houseNoun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singularJob 5:24נָ֝וְךָtoyour homeNoun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singularJob 8:6נְוַ֣תtoestateNoun - feminine singular constructJob 18:15נָוֵ֣הוּtohis dwellingNoun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singularPsalms 68:12וּנְוַתtoshe who waitsConjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular constructPsalms 74:20נְא֣וֹתtohauntsNoun - feminine plural construct
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowExodus 15:13
Aligned rows37
Books represented12
Exodus12 Samuel21 Chronicles1Job4Psalms3Proverbs3Isaiah6Jeremiah11Lamentations1Ezekiel3Hosea1Zephaniah1
Source forms
נְוֵ֣ה4xnə·wêhIsaiah 34:13, Jeremiah 33:12, Jeremiah 49:19, Jeremiah 50:44
בִּנְוֵ֣ה2xbin·wêhProverbs 21:20, Isaiah 32:18
הַנָּוֶ֔ה2xhan·nā·weh2 Samuel 7:8, 1 Chronicles 17:7
לִנְוֵ֣ה2xlin·wêhProverbs 24:15, Ezekiel 25:5
נְא֣וֹת2xnə·’ō·wṯPsalms 74:20, Lamentations 2:2
נְוֵה־2xnə·wêh-Jeremiah 31:23, Jeremiah 50:7
נָוֵ֣הוּ2xnā·wê·hūJob 5:3, Job 18:15
נָוֵ֔הוּ2xnā·wê·hūJeremiah 25:30, Jeremiah 50:19
Parsing patterns
Noun - masculine singular construct7xExodus 15:13, Isaiah 34:13, Jeremiah 31:23, Jeremiah 33:12
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular7x2 Samuel 15:25, Job 5:3, Job 18:15, Psalms 79:7
Noun - masculine singular3xIsaiah 27:10, Isaiah 33:20, Jeremiah 50:45
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct3xProverbs 21:20, Isaiah 32:18, Isaiah 35:7
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct3xProverbs 24:15, Isaiah 65:10, Ezekiel 25:5
Article | Noun - masculine singular2x2 Samuel 7:8, 1 Chronicles 17:7
Noun - feminine plural construct2xPsalms 74:20, Lamentations 2:2
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural2xJeremiah 49:20, Ezekiel 34:14
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Support housing needs without treating displacement as evidence of deficient faith.
- Distinguish an encouraging shepherd image from an assurance of material prosperity.
Avoid claiming...
- The habitation noun does not promise that righteous people will never lose a home.
- Every pasture or residence is not a sanctuary simply because this word describes it.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. A dwelling that conveys both physical shelter and aesthetic beauty, suggesting contentment and proper order.
Source Gloss
(adjectively) at home ; hence (by implication of satisfaction) lovely ; also (noun) a home , of God (temple), men (residence), flocks (pasture), or wild animals ( den )
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
A dwelling that conveys both physical shelter and aesthetic beauty, suggesting contentment and proper order.
(adjectively) at home; hence (by implication of satisfaction) lovely; also (noun) a home, of God (temple), men (residence), flocks (pasture), or wild animals (den) BDB: dwelling Usage: comely, dwelling (place), fold, habitation, pleasant place, sheepcote, stable, tarried.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
A residence or home, particularly in context of entering someone's house
Showing 1 selected witness from 35 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
נָוֶה is built from this root:
נָוָהH5115
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
The warning in Proverbs recognizes that a righteous person's dwelling can become the target of wrongdoing. It places responsibility on the aggressor rather than interpreting the threatened household's vulnerability as moral failure. Ezekiel similarly speaks of scattered sheep before promising gathered grazing and tending; the good place belongs to the Lord's stated shepherding action.
Exodus celebrates divine guidance toward a holy dwelling after redemption. These contexts let inhabited places carry themes of belonging and care without turning property ownership into a spiritual test. Teaching should distinguish a concrete house, a grazing image and God's holy dwelling. The noun helps locate life, while the passage names the provider, threat or promised destination.
Such reading can encourage concern for displaced people without claiming to know God's private explanation for their circumstances.
Anchor passage
Ezek.34.14
Doctrinal connections
- Exodus 15:13 links the holy dwelling with guidance of people already redeemed.
- Ezekiel 34:12-16 sets good grazing within rescue, gathering and just shepherding.
- Proverbs 24:15 places blame upon the person threatening the righteous household.
- Isaiah 32:18 portrays peaceful dwelling places within the prophet's promised picture.
- Jeremiah 33:12 describes renewed shepherd dwellings in places previously laid waste.
- John 10:9 describes Jesus' sheep finding pasture through His stated saving work.
The Hebrew dwelling range includes human residences and animal grazing places. Ezekiel's flock context supplies a pastoral image, while the same noun does not make every habitation a temple.
From Old to New Testament
John 10:9 speaks of finding pasture in Jesus' account of the door and His sheep. It can be compared with Ezekiel's promised shepherding, while Jesus' own claims establish the connection's significance rather than an English dwelling gloss alone.