To rest , i.e. settle down; used in a great variety of applications, literal and figurative, intransitive, transitive and causative (to dwell , stay , let fall , place , let alone , withdraw , give comfort , etc.)
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נוּחַ (nuach) is a verb whose range includes resting, settling, remaining, being placed, placing something, leaving something, or giving rest. The ark rests on the mountains in Genesis 8:4, God places the man in the garden in Genesis 2:15, objects can be set down, and a causative form can describe God giving his people rest.
Reader summary
Full entry for נוּחַ (H5117) · Open the biblical lexicon
נוּחַ (nuach) is a verb whose range includes resting, settling, remaining, being placed, placing something, leaving something, or giving rest. The ark rests on the mountains in Genesis 8:4, God places the man in the garden in Genesis 2:15, objects can be set down, and a causative form can describe God giving his people rest.
The BSB source-word alignment has 141 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include rest (8), gave them rest (3), had given him rest (3), Leave (3), may rest (3).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 2:15. Its strongest book concentrations include Ezekiel (17), Isaiah (15), Exodus (10), Joshua (9).
This entry includes 3 verse guides that explain exact original-language forms in context.
נוּחַ (nuach) is a verb whose range includes resting, settling, remaining, being placed, placing something, leaving something, or giving rest. The ark rests on the mountains in Genesis 8:4, God places the man in the garden in Genesis 2:15, objects can be set down, and a causative form can describe God giving his people rest. The verb therefore cannot be reduced to inward peace or cessation from work.
Exodus 20:11 uses nuach for the Lord resting on the seventh day, while Exodus 33:14 promises Moses the Lord's presence and rest. Deuteronomy 12:10 connects rest from surrounding enemies with secure life in the land and worship at the chosen place. These passages contribute to biblical rest theology but retain their creation, wilderness, land, and covenant settings.
Numbers 11:25-26 and Isaiah 11:2 use the verb for the Spirit resting upon the elders and the Davidic shoot. Ezekiel 37:1 uses a causative form when the prophet is set down in the valley, showing again that not every occurrence describes relaxation. Psalm 23:2 and Isaiah 11:10 use related rest nouns and may enter canonical synthesis, but they are not direct H5117 witnesses.
Nuach covers physical settling, placement, cessation, Spirit resting, Sabbath rest, relief from enemies, and divinely given security. Stem and syntax distinguish resting from causing to rest, setting down, leaving, or allowing.
The ark comes to rest on the mountains of Ararat as the floodwaters recede.
The Sabbath command is grounded in the Lord's making heaven and earth and resting on the seventh day.
The Spirit rests on the seventy elders and they prophesy in the leadership-crisis narrative.
The Lord gives Israel rest from surrounding enemies so the people may live securely in the land.
The Spirit of the Lord rests upon the promised shoot from Jesse with wisdom, counsel, might, knowledge, and fear of the Lord.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Hebrew word. Rest as foundational cessation: physical settling evolves into peaceful dwelling, divine comfort, and covenantal stability.
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 67 lexical occurrence verses.
נוּחַ is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Nuach helps a congregation see that biblical rest includes settling, secure placement, cessation, relief from enemies, God's presence, and the Spirit abiding for a named purpose. It is not merely leisure, emotional calm, or escape from responsibility. The ark rests after judgment, Israel receives rest within land and worship promises, the Spirit rests on elders amid a leadership burden, and the Spirit rests on the shoot from Jesse for righteous rule.
A sermon should identify who or what rests, who causes the rest, and what threat or task frames it. This also guards against importing Psalm 23's rest noun or Hebrews' argument as though each were a direct H5117 occurrence. Canonical rest hope is rich precisely because Scripture develops several related words and covenants, not because one Hebrew verb secretly contains the whole doctrine.
Deut.12.10
H5117 changes nuance by stem. Qal commonly rests or settles; causative forms can set down, leave, allow, or give rest. Related nouns must not be counted as verb occurrences.
Hebrews 3-4 and Jesus' rest invitation participate in the larger canonical theology of rest. Their direct lexical and contextual arguments come from Greek texts and multiple Old Testament backgrounds.
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Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain