נַעַר (naʿar) identifies a young person and can also designate an attendant or servant whose role, not precise age, is prominent. First Samuel 3:1 calls Samuel a boy as he ministers before the Lord under Eli.
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Full entry for נַעַר (H5288) · Open the biblical lexicon
נַעַר (naʿar) identifies a young person and can also designate an attendant or servant whose role, not precise age, is prominent. First Samuel 3:1 calls Samuel a boy as he ministers before the LORD under Eli.
The BSB source-word alignment has 239 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include the boy (25), the servant (9), . . . (8), The young man (8), young men (8).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 14:24. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Samuel (60), Genesis (27), 2 Samuel (26), 2 Kings (24).
H5288 identifies a young person and can also designate an attendant or servant whose role, not precise age, is prominent. First Samuel 3:1 calls Samuel a boy as he ministers before the Lord under Eli. First Samuel 17:33 uses the word when Saul judges David too young to face Goliath. First Kings 3:7 places it in Solomon's prayerful admission that he is like a little child who lacks governing experience.
Exodus 33:11 describes Joshua as Moses' young assistant who remains at the tent. The noun has a broad social and age range, so no single English label fits every occurrence. H5288 can help teachers take young people seriously as hearers and servants of God while resisting romantic stories that erase their dependence, vulnerability, or need for wise protection.
Youth does not make a person insignificant, and divine calling does not make a child self-sufficient. Likewise, servant language must not be used to naturalize exploitation. The surrounding narrative must show whether the text emphasizes age, inexperience, household service, military contrast, or a particular assignment.
H5288 appears across childhood, adolescence, service, apprenticeship, and public responsibility. Samuel, David, Solomon, and Joshua show that young people can receive real callings, while their stories also require attention to formation, authority, vulnerability, and the difference between divine faithfulness and adult negligence.
And the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. Now in those days the word of the Lord was rare, and visions were scarce.
Samuel serves before the Lord as a boy under Eli during a time of scarce revelation, establishing both his real ministry and his dependent place within a troubled sanctuary.
But Saul replied, “You cannot go out against this Philistine to fight him. You are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
Saul contrasts David's youth with Goliath's long military experience, making age and combat readiness part of the narrative tension rather than a universal dismissal of young people.
And now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in my father David’s place. But I am only a little child, not knowing how to go out or come in.
Solomon calls himself a little child to confess his inexperience before the task of ruling, and the prayer turns that limitation into dependence on God's wisdom rather than false competence.
Thus the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young assistant Joshua son of Nun would not leave the tent.
Joshua is identified as Moses' young assistant who remains at the tent, showing H5288 can describe service and apprenticeship alongside age.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Hebrew word. Youth marked by active vigor and subordinate status, spanning infancy through adolescence regardless of gender.
Youth marked by active vigor and subordinate status, spanning infancy through adolescence regardless of gender.
(concretely) a boy (as active), from the age of infancy to adolescence; by implication, a servant; also (by interch. of sex), a girl (of similar latitude in age) BDB: boy Usage: babe, boy, child, damsel (from the margin), lad, servant, young (man).
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 5 selected witnesses from 239 lexical occurrence verses.
נַעַר is built from this root:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
H5288 keeps dignity, limitation, and calling in the same frame. Samuel truly ministers and hears God's word as a boy, yet his story unfolds under Eli's supervision and within a sanctuary already damaged by adult corruption. David's youth is not proof that preparation is unnecessary. The narrative contrasts visible experience with trust in the Lord, while David also arrives with prior shepherding courage and accepts a singular confrontation that should not become a template for sending children into danger.
Solomon's self-description as a little child is an act of humility before public responsibility. He does not pretend expertise; he asks for discernment. Joshua's designation as a young assistant highlights formation through faithful presence and service. Together these texts resist two common distortions. Young people are not merely future members of God's people, and adults should listen when they speak truth, serve, pray, and grow in vocation.
At the same time, a church must never use biblical youth stories to demand public performance, unquestioning obedience, dangerous service, or adult emotional labor from children. Calling does not cancel safeguarding, consent appropriate to age, education, rest, family support, or accountable leadership. The church honors H5288 when it receives young people as persons before God, provides trustworthy formation, and refuses to make their usefulness the measure of their worth.
1Sam.3.1
H5288 is a common Hebrew noun with a wide contextual range from boy or child to young man and attendant. Narrative setting, possessive relationships, assigned tasks, and contrasts with older adults determine whether age, dependence, or service is primary.
The New Testament receives children as persons welcomed by Jesus and also calls younger believers toward faithful example and formation. Those parallels support participation without collapsing developmental differences or transferring adult authority and risk onto children. Mature communities make room for young voices while maintaining transparent safeguarding and accountable care.