What does נָחָשׁ (nāḥāš) mean in the Bible?
נָחָשׁ (nāḥāš): Serpent; symbol of deception and evil in theological narratives, especially Genesis 3 temptation account
Hebrew · H5175
נָחָשׁ
A snake (from its hiss)
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נָחָשׁ H5175
Pronunciation nāḥāš
What does נָחָשׁ (nāḥāš) mean in the Bible?
נָחָשׁ (nāḥāš): Serpent; symbol of deception and evil in theological narratives, especially Genesis 3 temptation account
Full entry for נָחָשׁ (H5175) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H5175?
The BSB source-word alignment has 31 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include the serpent (5), serpent (4), snakes (4), snake (3), a snake (2).
Where does נָחָשׁ (nāḥāš) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 3:1. Its strongest book concentrations include Genesis (6), Numbers (5), Isaiah (4), Amos (2).
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 the serpent 5× Genesis 3:2, Genesis 3:4, Genesis 3:13, Genesis 3:14
serpent 4× Job 26:13, Isaiah 27:1, Jeremiah 46:22
snakes 4× Numbers 21:6, Deuteronomy 8:15, Psalms 140:3, Jeremiah 8:17
snake 3× Numbers 21:9, 2 Kings 18:4
a snake 2× Genesis 49:17, Exodus 4:3
by a snake 2× Ecclesiastes 10:8, Amos 5:19
like a snake 2× Proverbs 23:32, Micah 7:17
of a snake 2× Psalms 58:4, Proverbs 30:19
. . . 1× Numbers 21:9
into a snake 1× Exodus 7:15
Now the serpent 1× Genesis 3:1
of the serpent 1× Isaiah 65:25
of the snake 1× Isaiah 14:29
the snake 1× Ecclesiastes 10:11
the snakes 1× Numbers 21:7
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 3:1 וְהַנָּחָשׁ֙ to Now the serpent Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine singular Genesis 3:2 הַנָּחָ֑שׁ to the serpent Article | Noun - masculine singular Genesis 3:4 הַנָּחָ֖שׁ to the serpent Article | Noun - masculine singular Genesis 3:13 הַנָּחָ֥שׁ to The serpent Article | Noun - masculine singular Genesis 3:14 הַנָּחָשׁ֮ to the serpent Article | Noun - masculine singular Genesis 49:17 נָחָ֣שׁ to a snake Noun - masculine singular Exodus 4:3 לְנָחָ֑שׁ to a snake Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular Exodus 7:15 לְנָחָ֖שׁ to into a snake Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular Numbers 21:6 הַנְּחָשִׁ֣ים to snakes Article | Noun - masculine plural Numbers 21:7 הַנָּחָ֑שׁ to the snakes Article | Noun - masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 3:1
Aligned rows 31
Books represented 13
Genesis 6 Exodus 2 Numbers 5 Deuteronomy 1 2 Kings 1 Job 1 Psalms 2 Proverbs 2 Ecclesiastes 2 Isaiah 4 Jeremiah 2 Amos 2 Micah 1
Source forms
הַנָּחָ֖שׁ 3x han·nā·ḥāš Genesis 3:4, Ecclesiastes 10:11, Amos 9:3
הַנָּחָ֑שׁ 2x han·nā·ḥāš Genesis 3:2, Numbers 21:7
נָחָ֣שׁ 2x nā·ḥāš Genesis 49:17, Isaiah 27:1
הַנָּחָ֥שׁ 1x han·nā·ḥāš Genesis 3:13
הַנָּחָשׁ֮ 1x han·nā·ḥāš Genesis 3:14
הַנָּחָשׁ֙ 1x han·nā·ḥāš Numbers 21:9
הַנָּחָֽשׁ׃ 1x han·nā·ḥāš Amos 5:19
הַנְּחָשִׁ֣ים 1x han·nə·ḥā·šîm Numbers 21:6
Parsing patterns
Noun - masculine singular 10x Genesis 49:17, Deuteronomy 8:15, Job 26:13, Psalms 58:4
Article | Noun - masculine singular 9x Genesis 3:2, Genesis 3:4, Genesis 3:13, Genesis 3:14
Noun - masculine singular construct 3x Numbers 21:9, 2 Kings 18:4
Preposition-k, Article | Noun - masculine singular 2x Jeremiah 46:22, Micah 7:17
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular 2x Exodus 4:3, Exodus 7:15
Article | Noun - masculine plural 1x Numbers 21:6
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular 1x Isaiah 65:25
Conjunctive waw, Article | Noun - masculine singular 1x Genesis 3:1
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Serpent; symbol of deception and evil in theological narratives, especially Genesis 3 temptation account
Source Gloss
a snake (from its hiss)
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Serpent; symbol of deception and evil in theological narratives, especially Genesis 3 temptation account
a snake (from its hiss) BDB: serpent Usage: serpent.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Miraculous transformation of staff into snake, demonstrating divine power
Metaphorical serpent symbolizing danger, threat, or enemy nation's threat
Literal snakes as divine punishment, agents of God's judgment on people
Snake's movement on rock used in wisdom context, illustrating mysterious natural phenomena
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 31 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
נָחָשׁ is built from this root:
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.
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