Bible Word Study
נְבָא
nᵉbâʼ · null
נְבָא
Definition
The Aramaic noun נְבָא (nᵉbâʼ) means 'prophecy' or 'prophetic message.' It refers specifically to a divinely inspired utterance or declaration, often concerning future events or God's will for his people. In its sole biblical occurrence, it describes the prophetic activity of Haggai and Zechariah, who encouraged the rebuilding of the temple (Ezra 5:1). As an Aramaic term, it corresponds directly in meaning and function to its Hebrew counterpart, נָבָא (nāḇāʼ), which denotes the act of prophesying.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only once in the Old Testament, in the Aramaic portions of Ezra. In Ezra 5:1, it states that 'Haggai the prophet and Zechariah... prophesied (נְבָא) to the Jews.' The context is the post-exilic period, where the prophets delivered God's message to motivate the people to resume construction on the Jerusalem temple. Its usage is identical to the Hebrew prophetic activity, but recorded within an official Aramaic document.
Etymology
נְבָא is the Aramaic cognate of the Hebrew verb נָבָא (H5012, nāḇāʼ), meaning 'to prophesy.' Both words share a common Semitic root (nbʾ) associated with speaking forth a message, often under divine inspiration. The Aramaic form appears in biblical texts written in or translated into Aramaic, showing the linguistic interchange in the post-exilic Jewish community.
Semantic Range
This word underscores the continuity of God's prophetic voice across languages and historical contexts. In Ezra 5:1, prophecy is not a private mystical experience but a public, authoritative word that directs communal obedience and temple restoration. Understanding this Aramaic term highlights that God communicates his purposes even during times of cultural transition and foreign influence, ensuring his message is delivered to his people. In the Persian period, Aramaic was the lingua franca of administration and diplomacy. The use of נְבָא in an Aramaic context (Ezra 5:1) shows that the concept of prophecy was recognized and respected within the imperial bureaucratic framework. The prophets' messages were seen as authoritative divine communications that could influence official Persian policy regarding Jerusalem's reconstruction. נָבָא (nāḇāʼ, H5012) — The Hebrew verb meaning 'to prophesy,' from which the Aramaic noun is derived. נביא (nāḇîʾ, H5030) — The Hebrew noun for 'prophet,' the person who delivers the נְבָא.
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (BDB, 1906, public domain). Concordance and morphology data are from the OSHB (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible).
Full methodology & sources →References
- Abbott-Smith, G. (1921) A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Brown, F., Driver, S.R. and Briggs, C.A. (1906) A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Tyndale Brief lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (TBESG). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Formatted full LSJ (TFLSJ). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Thayer, J.H. (1889) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [Public Domain]
- Gesenius, W. (1846) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. [Public Domain]
- Dodson, J. (2010) Greek Lexicon. Biblical Humanities. [CC0]