נֶ֫גַע
plague
also: stroke, disease, mark, plague spot 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).
1 verse where H5061 appears in the Construct state in the Book of Deuteronomy. 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.
Deuteronomy
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.
נגע — transliterated negaʻ — is a Hebrew noun carrying the sense “plague.” Its uses cluster heavily in Leviticus (74% of all occurrences). Spanning 62 verses in 10 books, it ranks among the moderately common words of the Hebrew Bible. Alongside “plague” the lexicon also lists “stroke”, “disease”, and “mark” — part of its full sense range. Its English rendering has broadened — “plague” classically, “mildew” (Berean Standard Bible) and “infection” (unfoldingWord Literal Text) in modern versions; see the renderings breakdown. Each statement above links to its evidence; the full detail follows below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H5061 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 →
- 62
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 62 distinct verses.
- 10 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 10 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #514
- by frequency
- Top 1000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 514 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 62 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Leviticus 46 verses 74%
- Psalms 4 verses 6%
- Deuteronomy 3 verses 5%
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 62 distinct verses.
- Torah (Pentateuch) 51 verses · 82%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 7 verses · 11%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 4 verses · 6%
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: Plague 30×, Behold if the plague 8×, Is a plague 4×
- American Standard Version: Plague 30×, And 9×, Is the plague 6×
- Berean Standard Bible: Mildew 13×, Infection 10×, Contaminated 6×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Infection 45×, Infection of 10×, Plague 6×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H5061 across 78 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 15 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H5061 across 77 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 19 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 H5061 across 64 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 22 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 14 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H5061 across 81 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. stroke, wound, inflicted by man on man Dt 17:8; 21:5 (‖ רִיב), Pr 6:33. e.g. Deuteronomy 17:8
- 2. stroke, metaph., especially of a disease, regarded as sent by a divine chastisement, Gn 12:17 (J), Ex 11:1 (E), 2 S 7:14 (נ׳ בְנֵי אָדָם, ‖ שֵׁבֶט אֲנָשִׁים, i.e. customary, ordinary), 1 K 8:37 = 2 Ch 6:28 (both ‖ מַחֲלָה); 1 K 8:38 (נ׳ לְבָבוֹ) = 2 Ch 6:29 (נִגְעוֹ); ψ 91:10 (‖ רָעָה); of Israel 38:12; 39:11 (‖ תִּגְרַת יָֽדְךָ), 89:33 (‖ שֵׁבֶט); v. also Is 53:8 (of suffering servant of י׳, נֶגַע לָ֑מוֹ). e.g. Genesis 12:17
- 3. mark (60 times Lv 13, 14), indeterm. Lv 13:5, 6 (מִסְפַּחַת), v 17, 29, 30, 32, 43, 44; of leprosy, regarded as the heavy touch or stroke of a disease, נ׳ צָרַ֫עַת Lv 13:2 +; v 51 (צָרַעַת מַמְאֶרֶת הַנּ׳), v 59 14:3, 32, 54, Dt 24:8; also נ׳ הַנֶּתֶק Lv 13:31; נ׳ לָבָן אֲדַמְדָּם v 42; identif. with person having it 13:4, 12, 13, 17, 31; in garment, etc. v 47 + 15 times Lv 13; in house 14:34, 35, 36, 43, 44, 48(×2); i.e. house-wall v 37(×2), 39; in stones of wall v 40; = garment, etc., with plague-spot 13:50. e.g. Leviticus 13:5
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. Gn 12:17 stroke, plague, mark, plague-spot;—נ׳ abs. Ex 11:1 +, נָ֑נַע Lv 13:13 +; cstr. Dt 24:8 +; sf. נִגְעִי ψ 38:12; נִגְעֶ֑ךָ 39:11; נִגְעוֹ Lv 13:44; 2 Ch 6:29; pl. נְגָעִים Gn 12:17 ψ 89:33; cstr. נִגְעֵי 2 S 7:14;—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from נגע (nâgaʻ) (H5060) — to touch.
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.
נָגַע
- (b. h.)
- 1. to touch; to strike; to injure (with ב of object). Sabb. 13ᵇ. Num. R. s. 14 אילו נ׳ באשת וכ׳ if he touched Potifar’s wife. Ib. (ref. to Koh. VIII, 5) שלא נ׳ בו הדבר the thing (the speech of the chief butler) did not harm him, v. נִגְעָה. Y. Peah VIII, 21ᵃ bot., a. e. נָגְעוּ בה, v. מַכָּה. Y. Yeb. I, end, 13ᵇ לא היו ב"ש נוֹגְעִין בו the Shammaites would not take up the case; a. v. fr.—נוֹגֵעַ בעדות an interested witness. Snh. 34ᵃ דמיחזי כנ׳ בעדותו he has the appearance of an interested witness. B. Bath. 43ᵃ top אמאי נוֹגְעִין בעדותן הן why are they admitted to testify? Are they not interested witnesses? Kidd. 43ᵇ; a. fr. e.g. Ecclesiastes 8:5
- 2. (v. Hif.) to arrive, to come to pass. Gen. R. s. 84 שעתידין הדברים לִיגַּע for these things (which Joseph dreamt) shall come to pass; Yalk. ib. 141.
- 1. to reach; to become the property of; to obtain; to cause to reach. B. Mets. X, 5 הִגִּיעוּךָ they shall be thine. Arakh. VIII, 1; 3 (27ᵃ, sq.) הִגִּיעָתְךָ it is thine (Bab. ed. הִגַּעְתִּיךָ I let thee have it), i.e. thy offer is accepted; Tosef. ib. IV, 20 הִגַּעְתָּהוּ thou hast acquired it. Tosef. B. Bath. VI, 7, a. e. הִגִּיעוֹ it is his, i.e. he must pay for it. Y. Erub. III, 21ᵃ bot., a. e. הִגִּיעוּךָ סוף thou hast been made to reach the final conclusion, i.e. thou must admit, v. חָוַר. Ber. IX, 3 (54ᵃ) שהחינו וקיימנו והִגִּיעָנוּ לזמן הזה (Mish. ed. only שהחינו) who hast granted us life and sustenance and suffered us to reach this period. Pes. X, 6 כן … יַגִּיעֵנוּ וכ׳ so may He allow us to reach &c.; a. v. fr.—הַגַּע עצמך put thyself in the position, i.e. suppose. Y. Gitt. III, 44ᵈ, v. זָוַג; a. fr.
- 2. to arrive, to come to pass; to concern. Gen. R. l. c. שתחיית המתים מַגַּעַת בימיו that the resurrection of the dead will come to pass in his days. Ib. שהדברים מַגִּיעִים לבלהה וכ׳ that these things concern Bilhah. &c. Gitt. VIII, 3 כיון שה׳ לאויר וכ׳ as soon as the letter of divorce reaches the space over the roof. Ib. VII, 7 ה׳ לאנטיפטריס if he came as far as Antipatris. Num. R. s. 5 שלא יַגִּיעַ לכם כשם שה׳ וכ׳ that the same may not happen to you as happened to the sons of Aaron. Ned. VIII, 2 עד שיגיע until the time (Passover) comes, opp. עד שיצא until it is passed; a. fr.—[Tosef. Toh. VI, 14 ומשהגיע, v. יָגַע.]
- to be brought to a condition. Zeb. 88ᵃ, sq. הוּגְּעוּ למים Rashi (ed. במים, v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note 2) if they have come to such a condition as to need washing in water; הוגעו לנתר ואהל if they need cleansing with natron and aloes; (Yalk. Ex. 381 הוּגְעֲלוּ במים if they can be cleansed with &c., v. גָּעַל).
- (denom. of נֶגַע) to afflict with leprosy.—Part. pass. מְנוּגָּע; f. מְנוּגַּעַת; pl. מְנוּגָּעִים; מְנוּגָּעוֹת. Neg. XIII, 9 מי שנכנס לבית המ׳ he who enters a house which is unclean on account of leprosy in the walls. Erub. VIII, 2 חצייה לבית המנ׳ half the time (required for consuming it) is the measure for the stay in a leprous house. Tosef. Neg. VI, 1 בית המנ׳ לא היה וכ׳ a case of a leprous house has never occurred &c. Ib. אבנים מנ׳ stones from a leprous house; Snh. 71ᵃ; a. e.
- to be afflicted with leprosy. Ker. II, 3 מצורע שנ׳ נגעים הרבה a leper that had several attacks in succession (before being purified from the first); Tosef. Neg. IX, 7. Tosef. B. Mets. VIII, 30 המשכיר … וניתנ׳ if one rented a house to his neighbor, and it became leprous; Arakh. 20ᵇ; a. fr.
נְגַע
- , to touch. Snh. 19ᵃ לא אתי למִינְגַּע he will not chance to touch (the corpse). Y. Keth. VII, end, 31ᵈ טלמסן למִגּע dared to touch, v. טוֹלְמִיסִין; a. fr.
- to bring in contact. Bekh. 28ᵇ דא׳ בהו שרץ he (the judge) made the disputed objects touch a reptile; Snh. 33ᵇ דאגעי וכ׳ (corr. acc.). Zeb. 88ᵃ דמַגַּע להו he brings the blood in immediate contact with the altar; a. e.
- to afflict with leprosy.—Part. pass. מְנַגַּע. Ḥull. 60ᵃ they have a custom in Rome דכל דמנ׳ וכ׳ to give every one stricken with leprosy a reel &c., v. דַּוְלָלָא; Yalk. Ps. 862 דמִתְנַגַּע.
- to be stricken with leprosy. Targ. Is. VI, 1.—Ḥull. l. c. אִינַּגְּעָה she became a leper; Yalk. l. c. אִתְנַגְּעָה.
נֶגַע
- preced.) plague, esp. suspected leprosy. Neg. II, 4 כיצד ראיית הנ׳ what must be the patient’s position when the priest is examining the plague (Lev. XIII, 3)? Tosef. ib. VI, 7 כיצד ראיית הנ׳ what are the proceedings at examining a plague in the wall?; a. fr.—Pl. נְגָעִים, constr. נגְעֵי. Ib. 1, a. fr. מטמאה בנ׳ is subject to uncleanness from house plagues. Ib. 7 אין הנ׳ … לה"ר plagues are the punishment for an evil tongue. Neg. II, 5 כל הנ׳ … חוץ מנגעי עצמו. a priest may examine all suspicious plagues except his own; a. v. fr.—נְגָעִים the laws concerning plagues. Y. M. Kat. II, end, 81ᵇ; Ḥag. 14ᵃ, v. אָהִיל.—N’ga‘im, name of a treatise of the Mishnah and Tosefta of the Order of Tohăroth, and of a section of Sifra (Thazri‘a and Mʾtsor‘a). e.g. Leviticus 13:3
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 33 distinct written forms H5061 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.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 61 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 62 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 12:17
- Exodus 11:1
- Leviticus 13:2
- Deuteronomy 17:8
- 2 Samuel 7:14
- 1 Kings 8:37
- 2 Chronicles 6:28
- Psalms 38:11
- Proverbs 6:33
- Isaiah 53:8
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.
