נַעֲרָה
girl
also: damsel, female servant 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
- Feminine
- Grammatically feminine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Grammatical forms
- Noun, Common, Feminine, Singular, Absolute 58 times (76%)
- Noun, Common, Feminine, Plural, Construct 14 times (18%)
- Noun, Common, Feminine, Plural, Absolute 4 times (5%)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (morphhb / Westminster Leningrad Codex — WLC text public domain, morphhb tagging CC BY 4.0), counted across 76 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Every verse where H5291 appears — 57 distinct verses across 12 books. 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.
Genesis 8 verses
- Genesis 24:14 הַֽ/נַּעֲרָ֗ ptcl def.art + n c fs Let it happen, that the young lady to whom I will say, 'Please let down your pitcher, that I may drink.' She will say, 'Drink, and I will also give your camels a drink.' Let the same be she who you have appointed for your servant Isaac. Thereby will I know that you have shown kindness to my master."
- Genesis 24:16 וְ/הַֽ/נַּעֲרָ֗ conj + ptcl def.art + n c fs The young lady was very beautiful to look at, a virgin, neither had any man known her. She went down to the spring, filled her pitcher, and came up.
- Genesis 24:28 הַֽ/נַּעֲרָ֔ ptcl def.art + n c fs The young lady ran, and told her mother's house about these words.
- Genesis 24:55 הַ/נַּעֲרָ֥ ptcl def.art + n c fs Her brother and her mother said, "Let the young lady stay with us a few days, at least ten. After that she will go."
- Genesis 24:57 לַֽ/נַּעֲרָ֑ prep det + n c fs They said, "We will call the young lady, and ask her."
- Genesis 24:61 וְ/נַעֲרֹתֶ֗י/הָ conj + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3fs Rebekah arose with her ladies. They rode on the camels, and followed the man. The servant took Rebekah, and went his way.
- Genesis 34:3 הַֽ/נַּעֲרָ֔ הַֽ/נַּעֲרָֽ ptcl def.art + n c fs ptcl def.art + n c fs His soul joined to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young lady, and spoke kindly to the young lady.
- Genesis 34:12 הַֽ/נַּעֲרָ֖ ptcl def.art + n c fs Ask me a great amount for a dowry, and I will give whatever you ask of me, but give me the young lady as a wife."
Exodus 1 verse
Deuteronomy 12 verses
- Deuteronomy 22:15 ה/נער הַֽ/נַּעֲרָ֖ה ה/נער הַֽ/נַּעֲרָ֛ה ptcl def.art + n c fs ptcl def.art + n c fs ptcl def.art + n c fs ptcl def.art + n c fs then shall the father of the young lady, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the young lady's virginity to the elders of the city in the gate;
- Deuteronomy 22:16 ה/נער הַֽ/נַּעַרָ֖ה ptcl def.art + n c fs ptcl def.art + n c fs and the young lady's father shall tell the elders, I gave my daughter to this man to wife, and he hates her;
- Deuteronomy 22:19 הַֽ/נַּעֲרָ֔ה ptcl def.art + n c fs and they shall fine him one hundred [shekels] of silver, and give them to the father of the young lady, because he has brought up an evil name on a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.
- Deuteronomy 22:20 ל/נער לַֽ/נַּעֲרָֽה prep det + n c fs prep det + n c fs But if this thing be true, that the tokens of virginity were not found in the young lady;
- Deuteronomy 22:21 ה/נער הַֽ/נַּעֲרָ֜ה ptcl def.art + n c fs ptcl def.art + n c fs then they shall bring out the young lady to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done folly in Israel, to play the prostitute in her father's house: so shall you put away the evil from the midst of you.
- Deuteronomy 22:23 נער נַעֲרָ֣ה n c fs n c fs If there be a young lady who is a virgin pledged to be married to a husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her;
- Deuteronomy 22:24 ה/נער הַֽ/נַּעֲרָ֗ה ptcl def.art + n c fs ptcl def.art + n c fs then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones; the lady, because she didn't cry, being in the city; and the man, because he has humbled his neighbor's wife: so you shall put away the evil from the midst of you.
- Deuteronomy 22:25 ה/נער הַֽ/נַּעֲרָה֙ ptcl def.art + n c fs ptcl def.art + n c fs But if the man find the lady who is pledged to be married in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her; then the man only who lay with her shall die:
- Deuteronomy 22:26 ו/ל/נער וְ/לַֽ/נַּעֲרָה֙ ל/נער לַֽ/נַּעֲרָ֖ה conj + prep det + n c fs conj + prep det + n c fs prep det + n c fs prep det + n c fs but to the lady you shall do nothing; there is in the lady no sin worthy of death: for as when a man rises against his neighbor, and kills him, even so is this matter;
- Deuteronomy 22:27 ה/נער הַֽ/נַּעֲרָה֙ ptcl def.art + n c fs ptcl def.art + n c fs for he found her in the field, the pledged to be married lady cried, and there was none to save her.
- Deuteronomy 22:28 נער נַעֲרָ֤ה n c fs n c fs If a man find a lady who is a virgin, who is not pledged to be married, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found;
- Deuteronomy 22:29 ה/נער הַֽ/נַּעֲרָ֖ה ptcl def.art + n c fs ptcl def.art + n c fs then the man who lay with her shall give to the lady's father fifty [shekels] of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has humbled her; he may not put her away all his days.
Judges 7 verses
- Judges 19:3 הַֽ/נַּעֲרָ֔ה ptcl def.art + n c fs Her husband arose, and went after her, to speak kindly to her, to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of donkeys: and she brought him into her father's house; and when the father of the young lady saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.
- Judges 19:4 הַֽ/נַּעֲרָ֔ה ptcl def.art + n c fs His father-in-law, the young lady's father, retained him; and he abode with him three days: so they ate and drink, and lodged there.
- Judges 19:5 הַֽ/נַּעֲרָ֜ה ptcl def.art + n c fs It happened on the fourth day, that they arose early in the morning, and he rose up to depart: and the young lady's father said to his son-in-law, Strengthen your heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward you shall go your way.
- Judges 19:6 הַֽ/נַּעֲרָה֙ ptcl def.art + n c fs So they sat down, and ate and drink, both of them together: and the young lady's father said to the man, Please be pleased to stay all night, and let your heart be merry.
- Judges 19:8 הַֽ/נַּעֲרָ֗ה ptcl def.art + n c fs He arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the young lady's father said, Please strengthen your heart and stay until the day declines; and they ate, both of them.
- Judges 19:9 הַֽ/נַּעֲרָ֡ה ptcl def.art + n c fs When the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father-in-law, the young lady's father, said to him, Behold, now the day draws toward evening, please stay all night: behold, the day grows to an end, lodge here, that your heart may be merry; and tomorrow get you early on your way, that you may go home.
- Judges 21:12 נַעֲרָ֣ה n c fs They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young virgins, who had not known man by lying with him; and they brought them to the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
Ruth 7 verses
- Ruth 2:5 הַ/נַּעֲרָ֥ה ptcl def.art + n c fs Then said Boaz to his servant who was set over the reapers, Whose young lady is this?
- Ruth 2:6 נַעֲרָ֤ה n c fs The servant who was set over the reapers answered, It is the Moabite lady who came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab:
- Ruth 2:8 נַעֲרֹתָֽ/י n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cs Then said Boaz to Ruth, Don't you hear, my daughter? Don't go to glean in another field, neither pass from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens.
- Ruth 2:22 נַ֣עֲרוֹתָ֔י/ו n c fp cs + sfx pers 3ms Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maidens, and that they not meet you in any other field.
- Ruth 2:23 בְּ/נַעֲר֥וֹת prep + n c fp cs So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz, to glean to the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and she lived with her mother-in-law.
- Ruth 3:2 נַעֲרוֹתָ֑י/ו n c fp cs + sfx pers 3ms Now isn't Boaz our kinsman, with whose maidens you were? Behold, he winnows barley tonight in the threshing floor.
- Ruth 4:12 הַֽ/נַּעֲרָ֖ה ptcl def.art + n c fs and let your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, of the seed which Yahweh shall give you of this young woman.
1 Samuel 2 verses
- 1 Samuel 9:11 נְעָר֔וֹת n c fp As they went up the ascent to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said to them, Is the seer here?
- 1 Samuel 25:42 נַעֲרֹתֶ֔י/הָ n c fp cs + sfx pers 3fs Abigail hurried, and arose, and rode on a donkey, with five ladies of hers who followed her; and she went after the messengers of David, and became his wife.
1 Kings 3 verses
- 1 Kings 1:2 נַעֲרָ֣ה n c fs Therefore his servants said to him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and cherish him; and let her lie in your bosom, that my lord the king may keep warm.
- 1 Kings 1:3 נַעֲרָ֣ה n c fs So they sought for a beautiful young lady throughout all the borders of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
- 1 Kings 1:4 וְ/הַֽ/נַּעֲרָ֖ה conj + ptcl def.art + n c fs The young lady was very beautiful; and she cherished the king, and ministered to him; but the king didn't know her intimately.
2 Kings 2 verses
- 2 Kings 5:2 נַעֲרָ֣ה n c fs The Syrians had gone out in bands, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maiden; and she waited on Naaman's wife.
- 2 Kings 5:4 הַֽ/נַּעֲרָ֔ה ptcl def.art + n c fs One went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maiden who is of the land of Israel.
Esther 10 verses
- Esther 2:2 נְעָר֥וֹת n c fp Then said the king's servants who ministered to him, Let there be beautiful young virgins sought for the king:
- Esther 2:3 נַעֲרָֽה n c fs and let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, that they may gather together all the beautiful young virgins to Shushan the palace, to the house of the women, to the custody of Hegai the king's chamberlain, keeper of the women; and let their things for purification be given them;
- Esther 2:4 וְ/הַֽ/נַּעֲרָ֗ה conj + ptcl def.art + n c fs and let the maiden who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti. The thing pleased the king; and he did so.
- Esther 2:7 וְ/הַ/נַּעֲרָ֤ה conj + ptcl def.art + n c fs He brought up Hadassah, who is, Esther, his uncle's daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maiden was fair and beautiful; and when her father and mother were dead, Mordecai took her for his own daughter.
- Esther 2:8 נְעָר֥וֹת n c fp So it happened, when the king's commandment and his decree was heard, and when many maidens were gathered together to Shushan the palace, to the custody of Hegai, that Esther was taken into the king's house, to the custody of Hegai, keeper of the women.
- Esther 2:9 הַ/נַּעֲרָ֣ה הַ/נְּעָר֔וֹת נַעֲרוֹתֶ֛י/הָ ptcl def.art + n c fs ptcl def.art + n c fp n c fp cs + sfx pers 3fs The maiden pleased him, and she obtained kindness of him; and he speedily gave her things for her purification, with her portions, and the seven maidens who were meet to be given her out of the king's house: and he removed her and her maidens to the best place of the house of the women.
- Esther 2:12 נַעֲרָ֨ה וְ/נַעֲרָ֜ה n c fs conj + n c fs Now when the turn of every maiden was come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after it had been done to her as prescribed for the women twelve months (for so were the days of their purification accomplished, [to wit], six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odors and with the things for the purifying of the women),
- Esther 2:13 הַֽ/נַּעֲרָ֖ה ptcl def.art + n c fs then in this wise came the maiden to the king: whatever she desired was given her to go with her out of the house of the women to the king's house.
- Esther 4:4 נַעֲר֨וֹת n c fp cs Esther's maidens and her chamberlains came and told it her; and the queen was exceedingly grieved: and she sent clothing to clothe Mordecai, and to take his sackcloth from off him; but he didn't receive it.
- Esther 4:16 וְ/נַעֲרֹתַ֖/י conj + n c fp cs + sfx pers 1cs Go, gather together all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast you for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast in like manner; and so will I go in to the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.
Job 1 verse
Proverbs 3 verses
- Proverbs 9:3 נַעֲרֹתֶ֣י/הָ n c fp cs + sfx pers 3fs She has sent out her maidens. She cries from the highest places of the city:
- Proverbs 27:27 לְ/נַעֲרוֹתֶֽי/ךָ prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 2ms There will be plenty of goats' milk for your food, For your family's food, And for the nourishment of your servant girls.
- Proverbs 31:15 לְ/נַעֲרֹתֶֽי/הָ prep + n c fp cs + sfx pers 3fs She rises also while it is yet night, Gives food to her household, And portions for her servant girls.
Amos 1 verse
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.
The Hebrew noun נערה centers on the idea of “girl.” Where the King James Version says “damsel,” newer translations reach for “girl” (Berean Standard Bible) and “young woman” (unfoldingWord Literal Text); the renderings breakdown has the detail. It appears 57 verses across 12 books of the Hebrew Bible, among its moderately common vocabulary. Debuting at Genesis 24:14, it then recurs through the corpus. Alongside “girl” the lexicon also lists “damsel” and “female servant” — part of its full sense range. For the data behind this summary, explore the sense tree and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H5291 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 →
- 57
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 57 distinct verses.
- 12 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 12 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #523
- by frequency
- Top 1000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 523 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 57 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Deuteronomy 12 verses 21%
- Esther 10 verses 18%
- Genesis 8 verses 14%
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 57 distinct verses.
- Torah (Pentateuch) 21 verses · 37%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 21 verses · 37%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 15 verses · 26%
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).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 2 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: Damsel 21×, Maidens 10×, Damsel's 7×
- American Standard Version†: Damsel 23×, Maidens 11×, Maiden 5×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Girl 8×, Young woman 7×, Girl’s 5×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Young woman 24×, Girl 16×, Young women 11×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H5291 across 62† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 13 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 H5291 across 62† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 16 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 H5291 across 56† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 13 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 5 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H5291 across 73† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 11 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.
נערה I girl, damsel
- 1. girl, damsel; נ׳ קְטַנָּה little girl only 2 K 5:2, cf. v 4, perhaps = young daughters Jb 40:29; elsewhere = young woman 1 S 9:11; especially as marriageable, Gn 24:14, 16, 28, 55, 57; 34:3, 12 (all J), Dt 22:15(×2), 16, 19, 20, 21, 24, 26(×2), 29; 1 K 1:3, 4; Est 2:4, 7, 8, 9, 12(×2), 13; specif. virgin נ׳ בְּתוּלָה Ju 21:12; Dt 22:23, 28; 1 K 1:2; Est 2:2, 3 (cf. Dt 22:15b, 20); נ׳ מְאֹרָשָׂה betrothed girl Dt 22:25, 27; young widow Ru 2:6; 4:12; of a concubine Ju 19:3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, a prostitute Am 2:7. e.g. 2 Kings 5:2
- 2. of female attendants, maids (always pl.), Gn 24:61 (J), Ex 2:5 (E), 1 S 25:42; Pr 9:3; 27:27; 31:15; Est 2:9(×2); 4:4, 16; gleaner(s) Ru 2:5, 8, 22, 23; 3:2.— e.g. Genesis 24:61
- נער Kt in Pent. as fem. (Qr נַעֲ֯רָ is prob. not original; it is not found in Sam. Pent., and fpl. נַעֲרֹתֶיהָ occurs Gn Ex; cf. Ges§§ 2 n., 17 c.
נערה II loc. on border of Ephr.
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
I. n.f. girl, damsel;—abs. נ׳ Ju 19:3 + 22 times, also Qr Gn 24:14 + 20 times Gn Dt (נַעֲרָה Kt in Pent. only Dt 22:19, v. infr.); pl. abs. נְעָרוֹת 1 S 9:11 +, cstr. נַעֲרוֹת Est 4:4; sf. נַעֲרוֹתָיו Ru 2:22; 3:2, נַעֲרֹתֶיהָ Gn 24:61; Ex 2:5, etc.;—
II. n.pr.loc. on border of Ephr.:—only c. ה loc., נַעֲרָ֫תָה Jos 16:7 (𝔊 αἱ κῶμαι αὐτῶν; 𝔊L id. + Αναραθα); appar. = נַעֲרָן, q.v. infr.; Νοοραθ lay 5 Rom. miles from Jericho LagOnom. 283, 11 cf. BuhlGeogr. 181.
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from נער (naʻar) (H5288) — boy.
Forms in the corpus
The 48 distinct written forms H5291 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.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H5291, 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
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
- נערי Naʻăray H5293 Naarai
- נעריה Nᵉʻaryâh H5294 Neariah
- נערן Naʻărân H5295 Naaran
- ענר ʻÂnêr H6063 Aner
- נערה Naʻărâh H5292 Naarah
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 8 — not the complete family. 5 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 57 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 57 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 24:14
- Exodus 2:5
- Deuteronomy 22:15
- Judges 19:3
- Ruth 2:5
- 1 Samuel 9:11
- 1 Kings 1:2
- 2 Kings 5:2
- Esther 2:2
- Job 41:5
- Proverbs 9:3
- Amos 2:7
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.
