StrongerBible

neged

נֶגֶד

HebrewH5048“before, opposite, ...”

Appears 151 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Gen 2:18Gen 2:20Gen 21:16 (2×)Gen 31:32Gen 31:37Gen 33:12Gen 47:15Exo 10:10Exo 19:2Exo 34:10Num 2:2Num 22:32Num 25:4Deu 28:66Deu 31:11Deu 32:52Jos 3:16Jos 5:13Jos 6:5Jos 6:20Jos 8:11Jos 8:33Jos 8:35Jdg 9:17Jdg 20:34Rut 4:4 (2×)1Sa 12:31Sa 15:301Sa 26:202Sa 12:122Sa 18:132Sa 22:132Sa 22:232Sa 22:251Ki 20:271Ki 21:101Ki 21:132Ki 1:132Ki 2:72Ki 2:152Ki 3:221Ch 5:112Ch 7:6Neh 3:10Neh 3:16Neh 3:28Neh 4:5(3:37)Neh 11:22Neh 12:9Neh 12:24
Root family
Word studyResearch-gradeNEH-gedpreposition

What neged means

in front of: in someone's open view, whether facing them, in their plain sight, or standing over against them

TranslatabilityPartialCertaintySettled

At its core this word places one thing in front of another, out in the open and within view. It is not a neutral location word like "near" or "with"; it pictures a face turned toward something, a thing set squarely before the eyes. From that one picture the Bible draws several shades of meaning, and the shade is decided by what is doing the facing and why.

When it describes plain physical position, it means "opposite" or "facing": an army drawn up against another, people camped in front of a mountain, builders working on the stretch of wall directly across from a landmark. When the thing in front is a watching crowd, it shifts to "in full sight of," the language of public exposure: a deed done openly before witnesses, with nothing hidden. When what is set in front is held there by a person's own attention, it becomes mental rather than physical: a sin or a sorrow that stays "ever before me," or God deliberately kept in view as the fixed point of one's life. With words of motion it can mean simply "straight ahead." And when two parties face off, it can carry the edge of opposition, "over against, against."

A common stretched form (joined to small words meaning "from" or "to") adds the idea of distance: standing "off in front," watching from a way off, or keeping aloof. The picture is the same open line of sight, only now stretched out across a gap. English has no single preposition that covers all of this, which is why translators reach for "before," "opposite," "in the sight of," "against," and "in front of" depending on the verse.

Nuances

1ain front of, opposite, facing: plain physical position, one thing set over against another
Gen 2:18Gen 2:20Gen 33:12Exo 19:2Num 2:2Jos 3:16Jos 5:131Ki 20:27Ezk 40:13Ezk 40:23Ezk 41:16Ezk 42:1
1bin full sight of, openly before (witnesses): a thing done in the open where all can see, with nothing concealed
Exo 34:10Num 25:4Deu 31:11Rut 4:4 (2×)1Sa 12:31Sa 15:301Sa 16:61Sa 26:202Sa 12:12Psa 23:5Psa 119:46Psa 138:1
1cvividly before the mind: held constantly in view by one's own attention, kept (or refused) as the fixed point of one's thought and life
2Sa 22:23Job 4:16Psa 5:5(6)Psa 16:8Psa 18:22(23)Psa 26:3Psa 36:1Psa 38:17(18)Psa 51:3(5)Psa 90:8Psa 101:3Isa 59:12
1dstraight ahead: with words of motion, in the direction one is facing
Jos 6:5Jos 6:20Neh 12:37Pro 4:25Jer 31:39Amo 4:3
1eover against, against: two parties facing off, with the edge of opposition
Num 22:32Job 10:17Pro 21:30Ecc 4:12Dan 10:13
1foff in front, at a distance, aloof: in view but across a gap, watching from a way off (the stretched "from before" usage)
Gen 21:16 (2×)Deu 28:66Deu 32:52Jdg 9:172Sa 18:132Ki 2:72Ki 2:152Ki 4:25Psa 10:5Psa 31:22Psa 38:11Oba 1:11

What scholars say about neged

The major lexicons and theological dictionaries (BDB, HALOT, Gesenius 18, DCH, TDOT, TLOT, NIDOTTE) agree that נֶגֶד is a substantive used almost wholly as a preposition/adverb, denoting what is in front, in view, conspicuous; BDB notes it is stronger and more distinct than לִפְנֵי. The dominant etymological view (Gesenius-Tregelles, BDB, HALOT, TDOT/García López, NIDOTTE, Klein) reads the root נג"ד as "be in front, prominent, conspicuous," uniting the preposition with the Hiphil הִגִּיד "declare" (a causative "place a matter before the face") and the noun נָגִיד "leader, the one out in front"; the strongest external support is Arabic najd "highland" and Sabaic ngd "high ground." Sense divisions vary: BDB lexicalizes a separate hostile "against" (Job 10:17), while HALOT and DCH treat it as contextual coloring of the spatial sense. DCH and TLOT/Westermann, following Barr's caution against the root fallacy, organize synchronically by usage and decline to let etymology drive interpretation. The compound forms (לְנֶגֶד, מִנֶּגֶד, כְּנֶגֶד, עַד־נֶגֶד) carry specialized values, including the Late Biblical Hebrew architectural register of Nehemiah 3 and the rare כְּנֶגֶד "corresponding to" of Genesis 2:18.

In-depth research

This is a research paper, so it may be hard to read without scholarly background. It is useful if you want to dig even deeper into this word.

Sources

  • BDB (Brown-Driver-Briggs), 1906, 616–618, s.v. נֶגֶד / נג"דlexicon
  • HALOT (Koehler-Baumgartner-Stamm, English ed. Richardson, Brill 1994–2000), s.v. נֶגֶדlexicon
  • DCH (Clines, Dictionary of Classical Hebrew), vol. 5, 2001, s.v. נֶגֶדlexicon
  • Wilhelm Gesenius, Hebräisches und Aramäisches Handwörterbuch, 18th ed. (Donner/Rüterswörden/Renz, De Gruyter, 1987–2010)lexicon
  • Félix García López, "נָגַד / nagad," TDOT IX (Eerdmans, 1998); ThWAT V (1986), cols. 188–201lexicon
  • Claus Westermann, "ngd hi. to inform," TLOT II (Hendrickson 1997; THAT II, 1976), 714–717lexicon
  • Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., TWOT entry #1362 (Harris-Archer-Waltke, Moody 1980)lexicon
  • Tryggve N. D. Mettinger, King and Messiah (Lund: Gleerup, 1976), 151–184monograph
  • Frank-Lothar Hossfeld and Erich Zenger, Psalms 1 (Hermeneia, Fortress, 2005), on Psalm 16commentary
  • Claus Westermann, Genesis 1–11 (Continental Commentary, Fortress, 1994), on Genesis 2:18commentary

AI-generated word study · claude-opus-4-8

All attested forms of נֶגֶד

conj

נֶּגֶד, נֶגֶד, נֶגְדִּ, נֶגְדָּ, נֶגְדּ, נֶגְדֶּ, נֶגְדְּ, נֶּגְדִּ, נֶּגְדּ

Gen 21:16, Gen 21:16, Num 2:2, Deu 28:66, Deu 32:52, Jdg 9:17, Jdg 20:34, 1Sa 26:20

m s construct

נֶגֶד

Gen 31:32, Gen 31:37, Exo 10:10, Exo 19:2, Exo 34:10, Num 25:4, Deu 31:11, Jos 3:16

m s construct

נֶגְדּוֹ

Jos 6:5, Jos 6:20, 2Sa 22:13, 1Ki 21:10, 1Ki 21:13, Job 26:6, Psa 18:12, Ecc 4:12

m s construct

נֶגְדֶּךָ, נֶגְדְּךָ

Gen 47:15, Psa 39:5, Psa 88:1, Psa 119:168, Pro 4:25, Isa 59:12, Psa 38:9, Psa 69:19

m s construct

נֶגְדִּי

Job 10:17, Psa 38:17, Psa 44:15, Psa 51:3, Psa 89:36, Isa 49:16

m s absolute

נֶגְדָ, נֶגֶד

Psa 116:14, Psa 116:18, Neh 3:16

m s construct

נֶגְדָּם

1Ki 20:27, 2Ch 7:6

m s construct

נֶגְדָּהּ

Amo 4:3