What does נָחַשׁ (nāḥaš) mean in the Bible?
נָחַשׁ (nāḥaš): To divine or practice divination through secretive whispering; forbidden occult manipulation of hidden knowledge
Hebrew · H5172
נָחַשׁ
Properly, to hiss , i.e. whisper a (magic) spell; generally, to prognosticate
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נָחַשׁ H5172
Pronunciation nāḥaš
What does נָחַשׁ (nāḥaš) mean in the Bible?
נָחַשׁ (nāḥaš): To divine or practice divination through secretive whispering; forbidden occult manipulation of hidden knowledge
Full entry for נָחַשׁ (H5172) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H5172?
The BSB source-word alignment has 11 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include . . . (2), and divination (1), and soothsaying (1), and uses for divination (1), can surely divine the truth (1).
Where does נָחַשׁ (nāḥaš) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 30:27. Its strongest book concentrations include Genesis (5), 2 Kings (2), 1 Kings (1), 2 Chronicles (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It . . . 2× Genesis 44:5, Genesis 44:15
and divination 1× 2 Kings 21:6
and soothsaying 1× 2 Kings 17:17
and uses for divination 1× Genesis 44:5
can surely divine the truth 1× Genesis 44:15
divination 1× 2 Chronicles 33:6
I have learned by divination 1× Genesis 30:27
interprets omens 1× Deuteronomy 18:10
practice divination 1× Leviticus 19:26
were looking for a sign of hope 1× 1 Kings 20:33
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 30:27 נִחַ֕שְׁתִּי to I have learned by divination Verb - Piel - Perfect - first person common singular Genesis 44:5 נַחֵ֥שׁ to and uses for divination Verb - Piel - Infinitive absolute Genesis 44:5 יְנַחֵ֖שׁ to . . . Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 44:15 נַחֵ֧שׁ to can surely divine the truth Verb - Piel - Infinitive absolute Genesis 44:15 יְנַחֵ֛שׁ to . . . Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Leviticus 19:26 תְנַחֲשׁ֖וּ to practice divination Verb - Piel - Imperfect - second person masculine plural Deuteronomy 18:10 וּמְנַחֵ֖שׁ to interprets omens Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine singular 1 Kings 20:33 יְנַחֲשׁ֨וּ to were looking for a sign of hope Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine plural 2 Kings 17:17 וַיְנַחֵ֑שׁוּ to and soothsaying Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural 2 Kings 21:6 וְנִחֵ֔שׁ to and divination Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 30:27
Aligned rows 11
Books represented 6
Genesis 5 Leviticus 1 Deuteronomy 1 1 Kings 1 2 Kings 2 2 Chronicles 1
Source forms
וַיְנַחֵ֑שׁוּ 1x way·na·ḥê·šū 2 Kings 17:17
וּמְנַחֵ֖שׁ 1x ū·mə·na·ḥêš Deuteronomy 18:10
וְנִחֵ֔שׁ 1x wə·ni·ḥêš 2 Kings 21:6
וְנִחֵשׁ֙ 1x wə·ni·ḥêš 2 Chronicles 33:6
יְנַחֵ֖שׁ 1x yə·na·ḥêš Genesis 44:5
יְנַחֵ֛שׁ 1x yə·na·ḥêš Genesis 44:15
יְנַחֲשׁ֨וּ 1x yə·na·ḥă·šū 1 Kings 20:33
נַחֵ֥שׁ 1x na·ḥêš Genesis 44:5
Parsing patterns
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular 2x 2 Kings 21:6, 2 Chronicles 33:6
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine singular 2x Genesis 44:5, Genesis 44:15
Verb - Piel - Infinitive absolute 2x Genesis 44:5, Genesis 44:15
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural 1x 2 Kings 17:17
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Participle - masculine singular 1x Deuteronomy 18:10
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - second person masculine plural 1x Leviticus 19:26
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine plural 1x 1 Kings 20:33
Verb - Piel - Perfect - first person common singular 1x Genesis 30:27
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. To divine or practice divination through secretive whispering; forbidden occult manipulation of hidden knowledge
Strong's H5172
Lexical occurrences 11 verses Word forms 1 form 7 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Leviticus 19:26-28 Source Gloss
properly, to hiss , i.e. whisper a (magic) spell; generally, to prognosticate
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
To divine or practice divination through secretive whispering; forbidden occult manipulation of hidden knowledge
properly, to hiss, i.e. whisper a (magic) spell; generally, to prognosticate BDB: practice divination Usage: × certainly, divine, enchanter, (use) × enchantment, learn by experience, × indeed, diligently observe.
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 1 Aligned forms 7
Piel intensive active — emphasizes thoroughness or repeated action 7×
Imperfect Gen 44:5 · Gen 44:15 · 1Kgs 20:33 · Lev 19:26 4×
Infinitive absolute Gen 44:5 · Gen 44:15 2×
Perfect Gen 30:27 1×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Practice of divination or magic spell-whispering, prohibited in Israel
Showing 1 selected witness from 11 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
נָחַשׁ is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain