נָבִיא
prophet
also: spokesman, speaker fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Absolute-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
76 verses where H5030 appears in the Absolute state in the Book of Jeremiah. Filtered view — show all forms. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Jeremiah
- Jeremiah 1:5 נָבִ֥יא n c ms Before I formed you in the belly I knew you, and before you came forth out of the womb I sanctified you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.
- Jeremiah 2:8 וְ/הַ/נְּבִיאִים֙ conj + ptcl def.art + n c mp The priests didn't say, Where is Yahweh? and those who handle the law didn't know me: the rulers also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
- Jeremiah 4:9 וְ/הַ/נְּבִיאִ֖ים conj + ptcl def.art + n c mp It shall happen at that day, says Yahweh, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.
- Jeremiah 5:13 וְ/הַ/נְּבִיאִים֙ conj + ptcl def.art + n c mp and the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done to them.
- Jeremiah 5:31 הַ/נְּבִיאִ֞ים ptcl def.art + n c mp the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will you do in the end of it?
- Jeremiah 6:13 וּ/מִ/נָּבִיא֙ conj + prep + n c ms For from the least of them even to the greatest of them everyone is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even to the priest everyone deals falsely.
- Jeremiah 7:25 הַ/נְּבִיאִ֔ים ptcl def.art + n c mp Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them:
- Jeremiah 8:1 הַ/נְּבִיאִ֗ים ptcl def.art + n c mp At that time, says Yahweh, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves;
- Jeremiah 8:10 מִ/נָּבִיא֙ prep + n c ms Therefore will I give their wives to others, and their fields to those who shall possess them: for everyone from the least even to the greatest is given to covetousness; from the prophet even to the priest every one deals falsely.
- Jeremiah 13:13 הַ/נְּבִיאִ֗ים ptcl def.art + n c mp Then shall you tell them, Thus says Yahweh, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings who sit on David's throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.
- Jeremiah 14:13 הַ/נְּבִאִ֜ים ptcl def.art + n c mp Then said I, Ah, Lord Yahweh! behold, the prophets tell them, You shall not see the sword, neither shall you have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.
- Jeremiah 14:14 הַ/נְּבִאִים֙ ptcl def.art + n c mp Then Yahweh said to me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name; I didn't send them, neither have I commanded them, neither spoke I to them: they prophesy to you a lying vision, and divination, and a thing of nothing, and the deceit of their own heart.
- Jeremiah 14:15 הַ/נְּבִאִ֞ים הַ/נְּבִאִ֖ים ptcl def.art + n c mp ptcl def.art + n c mp Therefore thus says Yahweh concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name, and I didn't send them, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land: By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.
- Jeremiah 14:18 נָבִ֧יא n c ms If I go forth into the field, then, behold, the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then, behold, those who are sick with famine! for both the prophet and the priest go about in the land, and have no knowledge.
- Jeremiah 18:18 מִ/נָּבִ֑יא prep + n c ms Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.
- Jeremiah 20:2 הַ/נָּבִ֑יא ptcl def.art + n c ms Then Pashhur struck Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper gate of Benjamin, which was in the house of Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 23:9 לַ/נְּבִאִ֞ים prep det + n c mp Concerning the prophets. My heart within me is broken, all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine has overcome, because of Yahweh, and because of his holy words.
- Jeremiah 23:11 נָבִ֥יא n c ms for both prophet and priest are profane; yes, in my house have I found their wickedness, says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 23:15 הַ/נְּבִאִ֔ים נְבִיאֵ֣י ptcl def.art + n c mp n c mp cs Therefore thus says Yahweh of Hosts concerning the prophets: Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall; for from the prophets of Jerusalem is ungodliness gone forth into all the land.
- Jeremiah 23:16 הַ/נְּבִאִים֙ ptcl def.art + n c mp Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, Don't listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you: they teach you vanity; they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 23:21 הַ/נְּבִאִ֖ים ptcl def.art + n c mp I sent not these prophets, yet they ran: I didn't speak to them, yet they prophesied.
- Jeremiah 23:25 הַ/נְּבִאִ֔ים ptcl def.art + n c mp I have heard what the prophets have said, who prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.
- Jeremiah 23:26 הַ/נְּבִאִ֖ים וּ/נְבִיאֵ֖י ptcl def.art + n c mp conj + n c mp cs How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy lies, even the prophets of the deceit of their own heart?
- Jeremiah 23:28 הַ/נָּבִ֞יא ptcl def.art + n c ms The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; and he who has my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the straw to the wheat? says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 23:30 הַ/נְּבִאִ֖ים ptcl def.art + n c mp Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, says Yahweh, who steal my words everyone from his neighbor.
- Jeremiah 23:31 הַ/נְּבִיאִ֖ם ptcl def.art + n c mp Behold, I am against the prophets, says Yahweh, who use their tongues, and say, He says.
- Jeremiah 23:33 הַ/נָּבִ֤יא ptcl def.art + n c ms When this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask you, saying, What is the burden of Yahweh? then shall you tell them, What burden! I will cast you off, says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 23:34 וְ/הַ/נָּבִ֤יא conj + ptcl def.art + n c ms As for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, who shall say, The burden of Yahweh, I will even punish that man and his house.
- Jeremiah 23:37 הַ/נָּבִ֑יא ptcl def.art + n c ms Thus shall you say to the prophet, What has Yahweh answered you? and, What has Yahweh spoken?
- Jeremiah 25:2 הַ/נָּבִיא֙ ptcl def.art + n c ms which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying:
- Jeremiah 25:4 הַ/נְּבִאִ֛ים ptcl def.art + n c mp Yahweh has sent to you all his servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, (but you have not listened, nor inclined your ear to hear),
- Jeremiah 26:5 הַ/נְּבִאִ֔ים ptcl def.art + n c mp to listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I send to you, even rising up early and sending them, but you have not listened;
- Jeremiah 26:7 וְ/הַ/נְּבִאִ֖ים conj + ptcl def.art + n c mp The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 26:8 וְ/הַ/נְּבִאִ֛ים conj + ptcl def.art + n c mp It happened, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that Yahweh had commanded him to speak to all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold on him, saying, You shall surely die.
- Jeremiah 26:11 וְ/הַ/נְּבִאִים֙ conj + ptcl def.art + n c mp Then spoke the priests and the prophets to the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy of death; for he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears.
- Jeremiah 26:16 הַ/נְּבִיאִ֑ים ptcl def.art + n c mp Then said the princes and all the people to the priests and to the prophets: This man is not worthy of death; for he has spoken to us in the name of Yahweh our God.
- Jeremiah 27:14 הַ/נְּבִאִ֗ים ptcl def.art + n c mp Don't listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, You shall not serve the king of Babylon; for they prophesy a lie to you.
- Jeremiah 27:15 וְ/הַ/נְּבִאִ֖ים conj + ptcl def.art + n c mp For I have not sent them, says Yahweh, but they prophesy falsely in my name; that I may drive you out, and that you may perish, you, and the prophets who prophesy to you.
- Jeremiah 27:18 נְבִאִ֣ים n c mp But if they be prophets, and if the word of Yahweh be with them, let them now make intercession to Yahweh of Hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of Yahweh, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, don't go to Babylon.
- Jeremiah 28:1 הַ/נָּבִ֜יא ptcl def.art + n c ms It happened the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet, who was of Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of Yahweh, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying,
- Jeremiah 28:5 הַ/נָּבִ֔יא הַ/נָּבִ֑יא ptcl def.art + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people who stood in the house of Yahweh,
- Jeremiah 28:6 הַ/נָּבִ֔יא ptcl def.art + n c ms even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: Yahweh do so; Yahweh perform your words which you have prophesied, to bring again the vessels of Yahweh's house, and all them of the captivity, from Babylon to this place.
- Jeremiah 28:8 הַ/נְּבִיאִ֗ים ptcl def.art + n c mp The prophets who have been before me and before you of old prophesied against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence.
- Jeremiah 28:9 הַ/נָּבִ֕יא הַ/נָּבִ֗יא הַ/נָּבִ֔יא ptcl def.art + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms The prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet shall happen, then shall the prophet be known, that Yahweh has truly sent him.
- Jeremiah 28:10 הַ/נָּבִיא֙ הַ/נָּבִ֑יא ptcl def.art + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms Then Hananiah the prophet took the bar from off the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and broke it.
- Jeremiah 28:11 הַ/נָּבִ֖יא ptcl def.art + n c ms Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus says Yahweh: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon within two full years from off the neck of all the nations. The prophet Jeremiah went his way.
- Jeremiah 28:12 הַ/נָּבִיא֙ הַ/נָּבִ֖יא ptcl def.art + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, after that Hananiah the prophet had broken the bar from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
- Jeremiah 28:15 הַ/נָּבִ֛יא הַ/נָּבִ֖יא ptcl def.art + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms Then said the prophet Jeremiah to Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah: Yahweh has not sent you; but you make this people to trust in a lie.
- Jeremiah 28:17 הַ/נָּבִ֖יא ptcl def.art + n c ms So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
- Jeremiah 29:1 הַ/נָּבִ֖יא הַ/נְּבִיאִים֙ ptcl def.art + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c mp Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the residue of the elders of the captivity, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon,
- Jeremiah 29:15 נְבִאִ֖ים n c mp Because you have said, Yahweh has raised us up prophets in Babylon;
- Jeremiah 29:19 הַ/נְּבִאִים֙ ptcl def.art + n c mp because they have not listened to my words, says Yahweh, with which I sent to them my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but you would not hear, says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 29:29 הַ/נָּבִֽיא ptcl def.art + n c ms Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.
- Jeremiah 32:2 הַ/נָּבִ֗יא ptcl def.art + n c ms Now at that time the king of Babylon's army was besieging Jerusalem; and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the king of Judah's house.
- Jeremiah 34:6 הַ/נָּבִ֔יא ptcl def.art + n c ms Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem,
- Jeremiah 35:15 הַ/נְּבִאִ֣ים ptcl def.art + n c mp I have sent also to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return you now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and don't go after other gods to serve them, and you shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but you have not inclined your ear, nor listened to me.
- Jeremiah 36:8 הַ/נָּבִ֑יא ptcl def.art + n c ms Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the words of Yahweh in Yahweh's house.
- Jeremiah 36:26 הַ/נָּבִ֑יא ptcl def.art + n c ms The king commanded Jerahmeel the king's son, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet; but Yahweh hid them.
- Jeremiah 37:2 הַ/נָּבִֽיא ptcl def.art + n c ms But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did listen to the words of Yahweh, which he spoke by the prophet Jeremiah.
- Jeremiah 37:3 הַ/נָּבִ֖יא ptcl def.art + n c ms Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now to Yahweh our God for us.
- Jeremiah 37:6 הַ/נָּבִ֖יא ptcl def.art + n c ms Then came the word of Yahweh to the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
- Jeremiah 37:13 הַ/נָּבִיא֙ ptcl def.art + n c ms When he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he laid hold on Jeremiah the prophet, saying, You are falling away to the Chaldeans.
- Jeremiah 38:9 הַ/נָּבִ֔יא ptcl def.art + n c ms My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is likely to die in the place where he is, because of the famine; for there is no more bread in the city.
- Jeremiah 38:10 הַ/נָּבִ֛יא ptcl def.art + n c ms Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with you, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die.
- Jeremiah 38:14 הַ/נָּבִיא֙ ptcl def.art + n c ms Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet to him into the third entry that is in the house of Yahweh: and the king said to Jeremiah, I will ask you a thing; hide nothing from me.
- Jeremiah 42:2 הַ/נָּבִ֗יא ptcl def.art + n c ms and said to Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we pray you, our supplication be presented before you, and pray for us to Yahweh your God, even for all this remnant; for we are left but a few of many, as your eyes do see us:
- Jeremiah 42:4 הַ/נָּבִיא֙ ptcl def.art + n c ms Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray to Yahweh your God according to your words; and it shall happen that whatever thing Yahweh shall answer you, I will declare it to you; I will keep nothing back from you.
- Jeremiah 43:6 הַ/נָּבִ֔יא ptcl def.art + n c ms the men, and the women, and the children, and the king's daughters, and every person who Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan; and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah;
- Jeremiah 44:4 הַ/נְּבִיאִ֔ים ptcl def.art + n c mp However I sent to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Oh, don't do this abominable thing that I hate.
- Jeremiah 45:1 הַ/נָּבִ֔יא ptcl def.art + n c ms The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he wrote these word in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying,
- Jeremiah 46:1 הַ/נָּבִ֖יא ptcl def.art + n c ms The word of Yahweh which came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.
- Jeremiah 46:13 הַ/נָּבִ֑יא ptcl def.art + n c ms The word that Yahweh spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, how that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon should come and strike the land of Egypt.
- Jeremiah 47:1 הַ/נָּבִ֖יא ptcl def.art + n c ms The word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before that Pharaoh struck Gaza.
- Jeremiah 49:34 הַ/נָּבִ֖יא ptcl def.art + n c ms The word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
- Jeremiah 50:1 הַ/נָּבִֽיא ptcl def.art + n c ms The word that Yahweh spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet.
- Jeremiah 51:59 הַ/נָּבִ֗יא ptcl def.art + n c ms The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was chief chamberlain.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
“prophet” is the headline sense of the Hebrew noun נביא (nâbîyʼ). Beyond “prophet” it also covers “spokesman” and “speaker” — see its full sense range. With 288 verses in 27 books, it is a common word in the Hebrew Bible. It concentrates in Jeremiah, which alone accounts for 30% of its uses. First canonically at Genesis 20:7, it enters the text early. The sections below give every sense, occurrence, and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H5030 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 288
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 288 distinct verses.
- 27 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 27 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #158
- by frequency
- Top 250 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 158 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 288 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 288 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 230 verses · 80%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 46 verses · 16%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 12 verses · 4%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Prophet 139×, Prophets 108×, All the prophets 7×
- American Standard Version: Prophet 131×, Prophets 99×, All the prophets 6×
- Berean Standard Bible: Prophet 150×, Prophets 135×, Among the prophets 5×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Prophet 134×, Prophets 114×, Prophets of 13×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H5030 across 314 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 40 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 2 further occurrences.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H5030 across 313 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 51 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H5030 across 310 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 12 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 6 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H5030 across 292 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 12 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Senses in the full BDB
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 3 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
- 1. genuine prophet of י׳, נביא, anciently called רֹאֶה, 1 S 9:9 (antiquarian note); change prob. occurred in times of Elijah and is first reflected in Ephr. lit. as applied to Abraham Gn 20:7; Moses Dt 34:10, M. and other early proph. Ho 6:5; 12:11(×2), 14(×2) Am 2:11, 12; of proph. in ecstatic state Nu 12:6 (E), 11:24 (JE). So in Judaic lit., of prophet like Moses Dt 18:15, 18 (D), of Aaron (as mouthpiece of M.) Ex 7:1 (P), of Sam. 1 S 3:20, an unknown Ju 6:8; in time of Sam. proph. were organized in bands: †הֶבֶל נביאים 1 S 10:5, 10; †להקת הנ׳ 1 S 19:20; and in time of Elijah were †בְּנֵי הַנְּבִיאִים = members of prophets’ guilds 1 K 20:35 2 K 2:3, 5, 7, 15; 4:1, 38(×2) נָבִיא of genuine proph. (besides phrases), in Judaic prophets, only of Jer., Je 1:5; Ezekiel, Ez 2:5 = 33:33; of ancient prophets Je 28:8, 9(×3) Zc 1:6; 8:9; especially †הנביאים הראשׁנים Zc 1:4; 7:7, 12, cf. †עבדי(ו) הנביאים my (his) servants the prophets 2 K 9:7; 17:13, 23; 21:10; 24:2 (all RD) Ezr 9:11 Dn 9:10 Je 7:25; 25:4; 26:5; 29:19; 35:15; 44:4 Am 3:7 Zc 1:6, cf. Ez 38:17 Dn 9:6; †עבדוֹ הַנּ׳ his servant the prophet 1 K 14:18 2 K 14:25; הַנָּבִיא with n.pr.: Jer, 2 Ch 36:12 Dn 9:2 + 31 times Je (but 𝔊 only 4 times, the rest prob. redactional, see GieJer. xxvii); Elijah 1 K 18:36 (om 𝔊), 2 Ch 21:12 Mal 3:23; Nathan 2 S 7:2 + 10 times S. and K.; 4 times Chr ψ 51:2 (title); Isaiah, 2 K 19:2; 20:1, 14 = Is 37:2; 38:1; 39:1; 2 K 20:11; 2 Ch 26:22; 32:20, 32; Habakkuk Hb 1:1; 3:1 (titles); Haggai, Hg 1:1, 3, 12; 2:1, 10; Zech., Zc 1:1, 7 (titles); elsewhere several others in S., K. and Chr. 15 times; נביא is used elsewhere of genuine proph. only 1 S 9:9 + 34 times S. and K.; 1 Ch 16:22 = ψ 105:15, + 13 times Chr.; ψ 74:9 complains of absence of נ׳; לַחְתֹּם חָזוֹן וְנָבִיא Dn 9:24 v. חתם. e.g. 1 Samuel 9:9
- 2. false prophets: †prophets as official class, beside priests, charact. as false prophets: Is 28:7 Je 2:26; 4:9; 6:13; 8:1, 10; 13:13; 14:18; 18:18; 23:11, 33, 34; 26:7, 8, 11, 16; 32:32 Zc 7:3, app. also 2 K 23:2 Ne 9:32 La 2:20 Je 29:1 Ez 7:26 (in these not characterized); always false (except of ancient and special prophets given above) in Am 7:14 Ho 4:5; 9:7, 8 Mi 3:5, 6, 11 Is 3:2; 9:14; 29:10 Je 2:8, 30; 5:13, 31; 14:13, 14, 15(×2); 23:9 + 16 times; 27:9, 14, 15, 16, 18; 29:8, 15; 37:19 Ez 13:2(×2), 3, 4, 9, 16; 14:4, 7, 9(×2), 10; 22:25, 28 Zp 3:4 La 2:9, 14; 4:13; especially discredited Dt 13:2, 4, 6; 18:20(×2), 22(×2) Zc 13:2, 4, 5; such a prophet Hananiah called הַנָּבִיא Je 28:1, 5, 10, 12, 15, 17 (𝔊 omits in all but v 1, where Ψευδοπροφήτης). Usage of prophets themselves gives such a bad flavour to נביא, that we are not surprised that it is absent from exilic Isaiah, the Wisd. lit., and ψψ (except for special reasons in 3 ψψ given under 1). e.g. Isaiah 28:7
- 3. heathen prophets 1 K 18:20; 19:1; 2 K 3:13(×2); נביאי האשׁרה 1 K 18:19; נביאי הבעל 1 K 18:19, 22, 25, 40 2 K 10:19; 1 K 22:6, 10, 12, 13, 22, 23 = 2 Ch 18:5, 9, 11, 12, 21, 22. e.g. 1 Kings 18:20
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
n.m. spokesman, speaker, prophet—נ׳ Gn 20:7 + 155 times; sf. נְבִיאֶ֑ךָ Ex 7:1; pl. נְבִיאִים Nu 11:29 + 82 times; נְבִאִים Je 27:18 + 16 times; sf. נְבִיאַי ψ 105:15; נְבִאָיו 1 K 22:22; נְבִיאָו֯ 2 K 17:13, etc.;—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from נבא (nâbâʼ) (H5012) — to prophesy.
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
נָבִיא
- preced. wds.) prophet. B. Bath. 12ᵃ אטו חכם לאו נ׳ וכ׳ was a scholar never a prophet? Ib. חכם עדיף מנ׳ a scholar is superior to a prophet. Meg. 15ᵃ; a. v. fr.—Pl. נְבִיאִים, נְבִיאִין. Sot. IX, 12 נ׳ הראשונים the early prophets (of the first Temple). Lev. R. s. 1, beg., v. בַּיִת. Pes. 66ᵃ אם אין נ׳ הן בני נ׳ הן if they (the Israelites) are no prophets, yet they are sons of prophets (they will find what is right intuitively); Y. Sabb. XIX, 17ᵃ top. Lev. R. l. c.; Gen. R. s. 74 נְבִיאֵי ישראל Israelitish prophets; נ׳ אומות העולם heathen prophets; a. v. fr.—נָבִיא (sub. ספר) נְבִיאִים (sub. ספרי) N’biim, Prophets, the second division of the Scriptures. Tosef. Meg. IV (III), 18 אין מפטירין בנביא וכ׳ we read in the Prophets for the Haftarah no more than three verses at a time (to be interpreted). Meg. 21ᵇ ובנביא אחד וכ׳ and when reading from the Prophets (for the Haftarah), one reads and two may interpret. Ib. 27ᵃ מניחין … על גבי נביאים וכתובים you may put … parts of the Pentateuch on the Prophets or the Hagiographa, but not the Prophets &c. B. Bath. 14ᵇ סדרן של נ׳ the order of the books of Prophets; a. fr.—Fem. נְבִיאָה. Pes. 9ᵇ וכי חולדה נ׳ וכ׳ is the weasel (ḥuldah) a prophetess to know &c.? Deut. R. s. 6; a. fr.—Pl. נְבִיאוֹת. Meg. 14ᵃ; a. e.
נְבִיָּא
- ; constr. נְבִי, נְבֵי. Targ. Jud. VI, 8. Targ. Gen. XX, 7 (O. Ms. II נַבְיָא). Targ. Deut. XVIII, 20; a. v. fr.—Gitt. 57ᵇ נ׳ הוה בן וכ׳ there was a prophet among us who rebuked us &c.; Lam. R. to II, 2 נ׳ כהנא וכ׳ a prophet priest was ours &c.; a. e.—Pl. נְבִיאִין, נְבִיאַיָּא; נְבִיאָן, נְבִיָּין (נִבְיָין); נְבִיאֵי. Targ. I Kings XVIII, 4. Targ. Num. XI, 29; a. fr.—Kidd. 49ᵃ נְבִיאֵי the Books of the Prophets, v. preced.—Fem. נְבִיאֲתָא, נְבִיאָתָא. Targ. Ex. XV, 20. Targ. Jud. IV, 4; a. fr.
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 131 distinct written forms H5030 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 71 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H5030, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Shares the same root
Derived from this word
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 6 — not the complete family. They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 270 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 288 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 20:7
- Exodus 7:1
- Numbers 11:29
- Deuteronomy 13:1
- Judges 6:8
- 1 Samuel 3:20
- 2 Samuel 7:2
- 1 Kings 1:8
- 2 Kings 2:3
- 1 Chronicles 16:22
- 2 Chronicles 9:29
- Ezra 9:11
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
