נֶפֶץ
a storm (as dispersing)
Definition
The Hebrew noun נֶפֶץ (nephets) refers to a violent, scattering storm. It describes a tempest or downpour of such force that it disperses and shatters whatever it encounters. This meaning is directly derived from its root verb, which means 'to dash to pieces' or 'to scatter.' Its sole biblical occurrence is in Isaiah 30:30, where it depicts the Lord's voice coming with devastating, storm-like power against His enemies.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only once in the Old Testament, in Isaiah 30:30. It appears in a prophetic context describing God's judgment. The prophet Isaiah uses it to portray the terrifying and destructive force of God's voice as He intervenes against Assyria, linking the storm's scattering effect to divine wrath and military defeat.
Etymology
נֶפֶץ (nephets) is a noun derived from the root verb נָפַץ (nāphats, H5310), which means 'to shatter,' 'to dash to pieces,' or 'to scatter.' The noun form carries the concrete sense of that which causes shattering or dispersal—specifically, a violent storm. It is related to words for breaking and fragmentation.
Semantic Range
This word is theologically significant as it connects a natural phenomenon—a storm—directly to God's active judgment. In Isaiah 30:30, the 'storm' is not a random event but the audible expression of God's wrath and sovereign power, scattering the enemies of His people. Understanding this Hebrew term enriches the reading of this passage by emphasizing that God's judgment is both overwhelming and purposeful, utterly dismantling opposition.
In the ancient Near East, storms were often associated with the power and voice of deities (e.g., Baal). For Israel, this imagery was reclaimed to describe Yahweh's supreme authority over nature and nations. A storm that scatters would have been understood as a metaphor for military rout and complete divine victory, a concept more vivid in an agrarian society vulnerable to weather's destructive force.
סְעָרָה (se‛ārâ, H5591) — a more general term for 'storm' or 'tempest,' often used for whirlwinds or great winds, not exclusively with the connotation of shattering. שׁוֹאָה (shô’â, H7722) — denotes a devastating storm or ruin, often with a sense of desolation or crash, but less focused on the act of scattering.
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
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