The meaning of “נַעַר”
Understanding naʻar reveals the original theological depth often simplified in translation.
babe, boy, child, damsel (from the margin), lad, servant, young (man). - (concretely) a boy (as active), from the age of...
נַעַר
babe, boy, child, damsel (from the margin), lad, servant, young (man). - (concretely) a boy (as active), from the age of infancy to adolescence - by implication, a servant - also (by interch. of sex), a girl (of similar latitude in age) 1) a boy, lad, servant, youth, retainer 1a) boy, lad, youth 1b) servant, retainer
Occurrences in the Bible
| Reference | Text | |
|---|---|---|
| Genesis 25:27 | “And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.” Word: נַעַר (naʻar) | |
| Joshua 6:23 | “And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel.” Word: נַעַר (naʻar) | |
| 2 Samuel 13:32 | “And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother, answered and said, Let not my lord suppose that they have slain all the young men the king’s sons; for Amnon only is dead: for by the appointment of Absalom this hath been determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar.” Word: נַעַר (naʻar) | |
| 2 Chronicles 34:3 | “For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.” Word: נַעַר (naʻar) | |
| Psalms 119:9 | “ Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.” Word: נַעַר (naʻar) |