What does נָחָה (nāḥāh) mean in the Bible?
This Hebrew verb speaks of leading or guiding, with the agent and destination supplied by the passage. Psalm 23:3 describes the LORD guiding the speaker in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Hebrew · H5148
נָחָה
To guide ; by implication, to transport (into exile, or as colonists)
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נָחָהH5148
Pronunciationnāḥāh
What does נָחָה (nāḥāh) mean in the Bible?
This Hebrew verb speaks of leading or guiding, with the agent and destination supplied by the passage. Psalm 23:3 describes the LORD guiding the speaker in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Reader summary
Full entry for נָחָה (H5148) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H5148?
The BSB source-word alignment has 39 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Lead me (6), He led them (2), will lead me (2), and brings him (1), and guided them (1).
Where does נָחָה (nāḥāh) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 24:27. Its strongest book concentrations include Psalms (18), Exodus (4), Job (3), Proverbs (3).
What This Word Actually Means
This Hebrew verb speaks of leading or guiding, with the agent and destination supplied by the passage. Psalm 23:3 describes the Lord guiding the speaker in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Psalm 139:10 confesses that even at the farthest sea, God's hand will guide and hold the speaker. Guidance here is personal care within God's presence, not merely information about which option to choose.
Exodus 13:17 shows that God's chosen route for Israel is not the shorter road. Isaiah 58:11 promises His continuing guidance within an address that calls for removing oppression and caring for the hungry. The verb also appears in the account of Assyria settling exiled Israelites in Second Kings 18:11, so leading or bringing people somewhere is not automatically a benevolent action. Read who leads, whom they lead, and where the passage places them. The word alone does not guarantee comfort, explain every detour in a person's life, or validate a leader who claims divine direction.
source_lexiconPassage contextPastoral application
How the Bible Uses It
Shepherding care, God's inescapable presence, Israel's indirect route, promised guidance amid justice, and forced relocation distinguish the act of leading from its agent, purpose, and moral setting.
- Ps.23.3
He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name.
The Lord's guidance is directed toward paths of righteousness and grounded in His name. The following valley and presence of enemies show that this care is not described as exemption from every frightening circumstance.
- Ps.139.10
Even there Your hand will guide me; Your right hand will hold me fast.
Even in the imagined distance of the farthest sea, God's hand guides and holds the speaker. The claim belongs to the psalm's confession of God's encompassing presence rather than a procedure for decoding private signs.
- Exod.13.17
When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road through the land of the Philistines, though it was shorter. For God said, “If the people face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”
God does not lead Israel by the shorter road through Philistine territory, and the narrator states the reason concerning war and return to Egypt. The stated explanation belongs to this event, not to every later delay a reader experiences.
- Isa.58.11
The Lord will always guide you; He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land and strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
The promise of guidance follows calls to remove oppressive conduct and satisfy the hungry and afflicted. Its image of a watered garden should be heard within that appeal to a renewed communal life.
- 2Kgs.18.11
The king of Assyria exiled the Israelites to Assyria and settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes.
The king of Assyria relocates the Israelites after Samaria's fall. This occurrence places the verb in forced resettlement, preventing a blanket assumption that every act of leading expresses protective care.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItLead me6×Psalms 5:8, Psalms 31:3, Psalms 43:3, Psalms 61:2
He led them2×Psalms 78:14, Psalms 78:53
will lead me2×Psalms 60:9, Psalms 108:10
and brings him1×Proverbs 18:16
and guided them1×Psalms 78:72
and He guided them1×Psalms 107:30
and lead1×Psalms 67:4
and lead me1×Psalms 27:11
and settled them1×2 Kings 18:11
brought me1×Numbers 23:7
from guiding them1×Nehemiah 9:19
guide you1×Isaiah 58:11
guides them1×Proverbs 11:3
has led me1×Genesis 24:27
He guides me1×Psalms 23:3
I guided [the widow]1×Job 31:18
I will guide him1×Isaiah 57:18
lead1×Exodus 32:34
lead them1×Exodus 13:17
led him1×Deuteronomy 32:12
led me1×Genesis 24:48
or lead out1×Job 38:32
So he left them1×1 Samuel 22:4
then disperses them1×Job 12:23
they will guide you1×Proverbs 6:22
to guide1×Exodus 13:21
which he stationed1×1 Kings 10:26
will guide me1×Psalms 139:10
You guide me1×Psalms 73:24
You led1×Psalms 77:20
You led them1×Nehemiah 9:12
You will lead1×Exodus 15:13
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 24:27נָחַ֣נִיtohas led meVerb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular | first person common singularGenesis 24:48הִנְחַ֙נִי֙toled meVerb - Hifil - Perfect - third person masculine singular | first person common singularExodus 13:17נָחָ֣םtolead themVerb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine pluralExodus 13:21לַנְחֹתָ֣םtoto guidePreposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct | third person masculine pluralExodus 15:13נָחִ֥יתָtoYou will leadVerb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine singularExodus 32:34נְחֵ֣הtoleadVerb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singularNumbers 23:7יַנְחֵ֨נִיtobrought meVerb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine singular | first person common singularDeuteronomy 32:12יַנְחֶ֑נּוּtoled himVerb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine singular1 Samuel 22:4וַיַּנְחֵ֕םtoSo he left themConjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine plural1 Kings 10:26וַיַּנְחֵם֙towhich he stationedConjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 24:27
Aligned rows39
Books represented12
Genesis2Exodus4Numbers1Deuteronomy11 Samuel11 Kings12 Kings1Nehemiah2Job3Psalms18Proverbs3Isaiah2
Source forms
נָחַ֣נִי3xnā·ḥa·nîGenesis 24:27, Psalms 60:9, Psalms 108:10
וַיַּנְחֵ֣ם2xway·yan·ḥêmPsalms 78:14, Psalms 78:53
תַנְחֵ֑נִי2xṯan·ḥê·nîPsalms 73:24, Psalms 139:10
אַנְחֶֽנָּה׃1x’an·ḥen·nāhJob 31:18
הִנְחִיתָ֖ם1xhin·ḥî·ṯāmNehemiah 9:12
הִנְחַ֙נִי֙1xhin·ḥa·nîGenesis 24:48
וְאַנְחֵ֕הוּ1xwə·’an·ḥê·hūIsaiah 57:18
וַיַּנְחֵ֕ם1xway·yan·ḥêm1 Samuel 22:4
Parsing patterns
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine plural7x1 Samuel 22:4, 1 Kings 10:26, 2 Kings 18:11, Job 12:23
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - second person masculine singular | first person common singular3xPsalms 31:3, Psalms 61:2, Psalms 73:24
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular | first person common singular3xGenesis 24:27, Psalms 60:9, Psalms 108:10
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular | first person common singular2xPsalms 27:11, Psalms 139:24
Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct | third person masculine plural2xExodus 13:21, Nehemiah 9:19
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - second person masculine singular | third person masculine plural2xJob 38:32, Psalms 67:4
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person feminine singular | first person common singular2xPsalms 139:10, Psalms 143:10
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine singular | first person common singular2xNumbers 23:7, Psalms 23:3
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Distinguish confidence in God's presence from certainty about every private interpretation of circumstances.
- Evaluate human direction by its conduct and consequences rather than treating a claim of guidance as exemption from accountability.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that God's guidance guarantees a journey without danger, grief, or difficult choices.
- Do not claim that the verb authorizes a teacher to reveal God's hidden reason for someone else's hardship.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. To lead or guide with authority; transport implies displacement, often involuntary exile or relocation.
Strong'sH5148
Lexical occurrences39 versesWord forms2 forms4 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkIsaiah 58:8-14Source Gloss
to guide ; by implication, to transport (into exile, or as colonists)
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
To lead or guide with authority; transport implies displacement, often involuntary exile or relocation.
to guide; by implication, to transport (into exile, or as colonists) BDB: lead Usage: bestow, bring, govern, guide, lead (forth), put, straiten.
Grammatical Forms
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.
Form groups2Aligned forms4
Qalbasic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense3×
PerfectExod 15:13 · Ps 77:212×
Sequential imperfectExod 32:341×
Hiphilcausative active — the subject causes someone else to perform the action1×
ImperfectProv 6:221×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
God leads or guides the righteous forward in their way and conduct
A gift brings or conducts a person into the presence of great people
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 39 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
נָחָה is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Psalm 23:3 does not leave the destination of guidance undefined. The Lord leads in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. The very next verse places the speaker in a dark valley, where the reason for courage is the Shepherd's presence. A lesson about guidance should retain both features: the direction is morally meaningful, and the journey can still include fear and danger.
Exodus 13:17 adds a particular instance in which the shorter route is not the chosen one. The narrator tells us why, but that knowledge does not authorize teachers to invent God's hidden reason for every hardship or delay. Isaiah 58 likewise refuses to separate guidance from the call to stop oppression and care for the hungry. Invite hearers to trust God's care and attend to what He has made clear, without pretending that every practical decision arrives with an infallible private explanation.
Anchor passage
Ps.23.3
Doctrinal connections
- Psalm 23:3-4 connects righteous paths with the Shepherd's presence even within the valley of death's shadow.
- Psalm 139:8-12 confesses that distance and darkness do not place the speaker beyond God's guiding and sustaining hand.
- Exodus 13:17-19 gives a stated reason for Israel's route and preserves the narrative's particular circumstances.
- Isaiah 58:9-12 joins promised guidance and renewal with removing oppression and caring for hungry neighbors.
- Second Kings 18:11-12 places forced relocation within Assyria's conquest and the narrator's account of covenant disobedience.
- John 10:27-29 describes Jesus' sheep hearing His voice, following Him, and receiving His protection and eternal life.
Leading and guiding describe movement or direction, while context identifies whether that action is protective, coercive, or otherwise situated. God's shepherding in a psalm and an Assyrian king's relocation of captives do not give the verb one uniform moral coloring.
From Old to New Testament
John 10:27-29 provides a thematic shepherding connection: Jesus knows His sheep, they hear and follow Him, and He gives them eternal life. Read alongside Psalm 23, this directs trust toward the Shepherd's care. It does not make a present teacher's preferences identical with Jesus' voice or supply a prediction about every route a believer will take.
Passage contextCanonical parallelPastoral application