Bible Geek Word Nerd - Say #5 - NAVA

Say #5

July 14, 2022

Biblical Hebrew has homonyms, just as English does. And not only does the Text of the Hebrew Bible love playing word games with homonyms, but the ancient sages could also tease out deep meaning for similar words that had potentially opposite implications. Today’s post in our mini-series on Bible words which mean “to say” will offer you two Hebrew verbs, which are homonymns but not synonyms. Let us explain.

 

The Hebrew Bible is not called the Old Testament by most Jews, many of whom find that an offensive term. We try to avoid its usage here at Bible Geek Word Nerd, preferring instead the Hebrew Bible, Jewish Scriptures, or Jesus’ Bible (when we want to be cheeky). The Jewish way to refer to the Hebrew Bible is “TaNaK”. As some readers doubtless know, TaNaK is an acronym derived from the first consonants of the names for the three sections of the Hebrew Bible. T is for TORAH (some translate that word as “law”, but this is an unfortunate choice…a topic for a future post), the first five books of the Bible. N is for NEVI’IM, which are the prophetic books (which includes not just the prophets that Christians know as the Prophets, but also Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings). The final section is K for KETHUVIM, which means “writings; this section contains all the rest of the books (e.g., Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Daniel, et al). 

 

But this series is about Hebrew words which mean “to say” or some form of that verb. Why talk about the Jewish way of naming the Bible? First, we aim to edify and enlighten. Hopefully, some of you are now more knowledgeable about the Jewish way of talking about their Scriptures. But secondly, the word NEVI’IM (נְבִיאִים֙) is relevant for our discussion today.

 

NEVI’IM is the plural form of NAVI (נָבִיא), which means “prophet”. It is used 316 times in the Text, from its first appearance in Genesis 20:7 (“Now return the man’s (Abraham’s) wife, for he is a PROPHET, and he will pray for you and you will live.”) to its last one in Haggai 1:3 (“Then the word of the LORD came through the PROPHET Haggai…”). There is a feminine version of the word, as well, meaning “prophetess”: NEVIAH (נְבִיאָה) (Hebrew often adds “ah” to the end of nouns to make them feminine, so ISH/man becomes ISHAH/woman or wife).

 

The Hebrew way of thinking of NAVI includes what we traditionally think of with a prophet, but the word can also mean “spokesman” or “speaker”. It is used for someone who speaks for someone else (in the Bible, that is, for G-d Himself). So in contemporary use, you could say that a politician’s spokesperson is a NAVI.

 

NAVI, the noun, has a denominative verb form: NAVA (נָבָא). Occurring 114 times in the Hebrew Bible, it means, as you might expect, “to prophesy”. For instance, Numbers 11:25 reads: “When the Spirit rested on them, they PROPHESIED – but did not do so again.” And in Zechariah 13:4, we have “And it shall be in that day that every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he PROPHESIES…”

 

This verb NAVA has a homonym, obviously also NAVA (henceforth NAVA 2). In English, NAVA is both a homograph and a homophone. But in Hebrew, the two words are spelled differently, so they are not homographs in Hebrew. NAVA 1 (נָבָא) ends with an ALEPH (א), the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. NAVA 2 (נָבַע) ends with an AYIN (ע).

 

The difference of one letter between these homophones is hugely significant to the Jewish sages, who tease out meaning from the tiniest of details. (Do you remember Jesus’ claim that He did not come to abolish the TORAH? He says in Matthew 5:18: “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” Jesus is actually quoting a familiar Jewish proverb: “LO YOD V’LO KOTSO SHEL YOD” which means, “not a yod or a thorn of a yod,” meaning “not the most insignificant or unimportant thing.” The tiniest details matter, so whether a word ends with ALEPH or AYIN is significant not only because the word’s meaning changes.)

 

Of NAVA 2’s 11 uses in the Text, six are in the Psalms, five are in Proverbs, and one is in Ecclesiastes.

 

NAVA 2 means to flow, spring, bubble up, or pour forth. In Psalm 19:2, we have “Day after day they POUR FORTH speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.” Psalm 59:7 reads, “See what they SPEW from their mouths…” And in Ecclesiastes, the Preacher says, “Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment, and cause it to GIVE OFF a foul odor”. NAVA 2 can also mean “to utter”, as in Psalm 78:2 “…I WILL UTTER hidden things, things from of old…”

 

Let’s return to the AYIN. The word AYIN (עַיִן) means “eye”. One of the most important nouns in the Hebrew text, both for its denotative meaning (literally the eye) and its connotative or poetic meaning (sight, look, what you want, etc.), it appears 887 times in the Text. But apart from the concrete and poetic uses, there is also a symbolic use. The word AYIN came to mean “a spring” (as a spring of water). The prevailing etymological theory is that the sky reflected in a pool or spring resembles an eye. So to a Hebraic way of thinking, AYIN represents not just the eye and all of its symbolism but also a sping representing life.

 

What does a spring do? It bubbles up. That is, it NAVAs (as in NAVA 2). Let’s look at Proverbs 18:2’s rich poetic imagery: “The words of the mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is A RUSHING (NAVA) stream.” 

 

NAVA 2 is tricky for some commentators. Because it is a homonym, in English it reads like NAVA 1. That is, some interpreters do not understand the difference between the words. For example. The Forerunner commentary asserts that NAVA “literally means ‘to bubble up.’ It describes one who is stirred up in spirit.” Clearly this is a commentator tripped up by a small letter. 

 

But you will not be tripped up because you know that the two words sound alike, but are separated by the “eye”. Sometimes, your English “utter” is more like a bubbling up.