נוּעַ
to shake
‘to shake’ is one of 2 main senses fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Qal verb in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Verb
- An action or state-of-being word.
Stem
- Qal
- The basic, simple active stem — the plain form of the verb (“he wrote”). Here: ‘wave’
- Hiphil
- The causative active stem (“he caused / brought about”). Here: ‘toss about Am 9’
- Niphal
- Usually the simple passive or reflexive of the Qal (“he was written”).
Form
- Infinitive Construct
- A bound verbal noun, frequently with prepositions (“to write / in writing”).
- Perfect
- A completed action or state — Hebrew marks aspect (completeness) more than strict tense (“he wrote”).
- Sequential Perfect
- A perfect with prefixed waw continuing a preceding imperfect or command (waw-consecutive perfect).
- Sequential Imperfect
- An imperfect with prefixed waw — the standard past-narrative form (waw-consecutive imperfect).
- Imperfect
- An incomplete, ongoing, or future action (“he will / would write”).
- Participle Active
- A verbal adjective expressing ongoing or characteristic action (“writing / one who writes”).
- Cohortative
- A first-person volitional form expressing wish or resolve (“let me / let us write”).
- Infinitive Absolute
- An unbound verbal noun, often intensifying or standing in for a finite verb.
- Jussive
- A third- or second-person volitional form expressing wish or command (“let him write”).
- Imperative
- A direct command (“write!”).
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
Person
- 3rd Person
- The one spoken about (“he / she / it / they”).
- 1st Person
- The speaker (“I / we”).
- 2nd Person
- The one addressed (“you”).
Gender
- Common
- Either gender — not distinguished for this form.
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
- Singular
- One.
1 verse where H5128 appears in the Hiphil stem in the Book of Isaiah. 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.
Isaiah
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.
At its core, נוע (nûwaʻ) means “to shake.” It first appears in Genesis 4:12. It turns up in 36 verses across 17 books, a moderately common footprint. Different stems carry different senses — BDB groups them under 3 stems, among them Qal and Niphal. It clusters with מנענע, נעה and נעה under a shared root. Dig into 36-verse concordance and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H5128 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 →
- 36
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 36 distinct verses.
- 17 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 17 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #864
- by frequency
- Top 1000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 864 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 36 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 36 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 19 verses · 53%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 13 verses · 36%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 4 verses · 11%
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: Be promoted 3×, Hath shaken 2×, Moved 2×
- American Standard Version: Wave 3×, Hath shaken 2×, Wag 2×
- Berean Standard Bible: Shake 3×, Shakes 3×, Sway 3×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: And 3×, Fugitive 2×, Shakes 2×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H5128 across 40 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 29 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 H5128 across 40 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 33 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 H5128 across 38 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 23 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.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H5128 across 46 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 29 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
9 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
Hebrew verbs can shift meaning by stem (binyan): Qal is the basic action, Niphal is often passive or reflexive, Piel often intensifies or makes it factitive, and Hiphil is typically causative. The senses below are grouped under the stem BDB assigns to each.
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 9 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.
Qal
- Pf. נָ֫עוּ Jb 28:4 +; וְנָע֫וּ Am 4:8 + 2 times; Impf. וַיָּ֫נַע Is 7:2; 3 fs. תָּנוּעַ Is 24:20; אֲנוּעֲךָ 2 S 15:20 Kt (but read Qr Hiph. q.v.); יָנ֫וּעוּ ψ 109:10; יְנוּע֑וּן ψ 59:16 Kt (so read; not Qr Hiph.), etc.; Inf. abs. נוֹעַ Is 24:20 ψ 109:10; cstr. נוּעַ Ju 9:9 + 3 times; נוֹעַ Is 7:2; Pt. נָע Gn 4:12, 14; נָעִים Pr 22:19; נָעוֹת 1 S 1:13:— e.g. Job 28:4
- 1. wave, of trees, sq. עַל Ju 9:9, 11, 13; sq. מִפְּנֵי of cause Is 7:2; quiver, vibrate, of lips 1 S 1:13; swing (to and fro) of miners Jb 28:4 (‖ דלל); stagger like drunkard, of mariners in storm ψ 107:27 (‖ חגג), cf. Is 29:9 (‖ שׁכר); hence be unstable, fig. of ways of harlot Pr 5:6; tremble, of doorposts, Is 6:4 (sq. מִן caus.), idols 19:1 (sq. מִפְּנֵי), earth Is 24:20 (‖ התנודד), people Ex 20:18 (E); fig. of heart Is 7:2. e.g. Judges 9:9
- 2. totter, go tottering (faint and uncertain) La 4:14 v 15 (‖ נוּץ), Am 8:12 (‖ שׁוטט); as beggars ψ 109:10 (‖ שִׁאֵל), cf. 59:16; Am 4:8 sq. אֶל־; pt. vagabond Gn 4:12, 14 (both ‖ נָד); fig. = err, sin, Je 14:10. e.g. Lamentations 4:14
Niphal
- Impf. יִנּוֹעַ Am 9:9 be tossed about (of corn) in a sieve; יִנּוֹעוּ id., of bulwarks as fig-trees Na 3:12 (‖ נפל). e.g. Amos 9:9
Hiphil
- Pf. 3 fs. הֵנִ֫יעָה 2 K 19:21 = Is 37:22; וַהֲנִֽעוֹתִ֫י Am 9:9; Impf. יָנִיעַ Zp 2:15; juss. יָ֫נַע 2 K 23:18; אֲנִיעֲךָ 2 S 15:20 Qr (cf. Qal); יְנִיעוּן ψ 109:25 + 59:16 Qr (read Kt Qal q.v.), etc.; Imv. sf. הֲנִיעֵ֫מוֹ ψ 59:12;— e.g. 2 Kings 19:21
- 1. toss about Am 9:9 subj. י׳, obj. Isr. sq. בַּגּוֹיִם (cf. Niph.). e.g. Amos 9:9
- 2. shake, cause to totter: = set me tottering Dn 10:10 on my knees and hands; especially shake or wag the head, in mockery 2 K 19:21 = Is 37:22 (‖ בוז, לעג) cf. ψ 22:8; 109:25; sq. עַל־ Jb 16:4 (בְּמוֹ ר׳ [Ges§ 119 q]), also La 2:15 (‖ שׁרק), Zp 2:15 יָדוֹ (‖ id., [v. also Ecclus 12:18; 13:7 (בְּר׳)]. e.g. Daniel 10:10
- 3. (shake), disturb, bones of dead 2 K 23:18. e.g. 2 Kings 23:18
- 4. cause to wander Nu 32:13 (J); 2 S 15:20 (sq. ללכת); ψ 59:12 (‖ הוריד, for which Lag Proph. Chald. xlviii. proposes הניד). e.g. Numbers 32:13
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
vb. quiver, wave, waver, tremble, totter (NH Pilp. נִעְנַע shake, Aramaic נוּעַ waver, stagger (rare); Arabic نوع, نَاعَ bend (of boughs), v. commotus fuit (of id.), so Kam. Frey also change, نَوْعٌ kind, species, variety; Di cp. Ethiopic ነዐወ hunt);—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Origin: a primitive root
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.
נוּעַ
- (b. h.) to shake, move; to be tender.
- 1. to shake; to stir up, scare. Tosef. Bets. I, 8 עד שיְנַעֲנֵעַ unless he stirred the bird up (the day before, by which act he made it his property and designated it for slaughtering); Y. ib. I, 60ᶜ top. אלא אם כן ני׳ מבעוד יום. Succ. III, 1 כדי לנַעֲנֵעַ בו large enough to (hold it in his hand and) shake. Ib. 9 והיכן היו מְנַעְנְעִים and at what passages of the Hallel did they shake (the Lulab)? Sabb. XX, 5 (141ᵃ) הקש … לא יְנַעְנְעוֹ וכ׳ (Bab. a. Y. ed. יְנַעְנְעֶנּוּ) must not stir up with his hand the straw &c.; a. fr.—נ׳ (ב)ראש to (shake) bow the head. Ber. 28ᵇ כיון שנ׳ ראשו וכ׳ if he only bows his head (in prayer), it is sufficient. Yeb. 121ᵃ וכל גל … נִעְנַעְתִּי לו ראשי and as each wave came, I dipped my head under (to let it pass over me). Ib. אם … יְנַעֲנֵעַ לו ראשו if wicked people come over man, let him bow his head. Pesik. R. s. 37 ומנענעים בראשיהם and shook their heads (in derision, ref. to Ps. XXII, 8).—Yalk. Prov. 953 ומנענע בו בקולו and sings it with a tremulous voice; Snh. 101ᵃ מנענע בקולו Ms. K. (v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note 2); Tosef. ib. XII, 10 מנ׳ קולו.—Part. pass. מְנוּעֲנָע, pl. מְנוּעֲנָעִין. Bets. 25ᵃ המקושרים והמ׳ the birds designated a day before the Holy Day by being tied or by being stirred up; ib. והמקושרין והמ׳ בכ"מ אסורין birds found anywhere tied or stirred up are forbidden to be taken up (because somebody has taken possession of them); Tosef. ib. I, 10 והמְנוּעָנִין (Var. והמנענין, corr. acc.).—2) to move in different directions, to introduce a surgical instrument. Nidd. 25ᵇ, v. סִכְסֵךְ I. e.g. Psalms 22:8
נוּעַ ²
- , to totter. Targ. Ps. CVII, 27.
- to shake. Gen. R. s. 75, beg. דמְנַעְנָה (= דמנענעה), v. נְעַר.
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 39 distinct written forms H5128 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that stem’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H5128, 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.
Derived from this word
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 5 — not the complete family. 3 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 31 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 36 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 4:12
- Exodus 20:18
- Numbers 32:13
- Judges 9:9
- 1 Samuel 1:13
- 2 Samuel 15:20
- 2 Kings 19:21
- Job 16:4
- Psalms 59:11
- Proverbs 5:6
- Isaiah 6:4
- Jeremiah 14:10
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.
