to be delightful: to be lovely, sweet, or agreeable, giving real pleasure to the person who experiences it
This verb rarely describes a thing on its own. It describes how a thing lands on somebody, and the sentence usually names that somebody: Jonathan was very pleasant "to me," knowledge becomes pleasant "to your soul," and matters turn out pleasant "for those who confront a wrongdoer." The pleasure and the person feeling it are both built into the word.
That is why a single Hebrew verb stretches across things English keeps apart:
- a person who is a delight to be near, whether a friend being mourned or a lover being praised
- something taken in, whether wise words, fresh knowledge, or stolen food, that goes down sweet
- a place or a turn of events that treats a person well
The rest of the word family fills out the same idea. The adjective for "lovely" (נָעִים) calls a person or thing delightful as a standing quality, and the noun for "loveliness" (נֹעַם) names that quality on its own. This verb says it has become true, and become true for someone in particular. Hebrew personal names carry the root as well: Naomi and Naaman both mean roughly "pleasant one."
It helps to hear the verb beside the words it stands next to. Beauty (יָפָה) is about what the eye takes in, and the Song of Songs uses both in one breath. Sweetness (מָתַק) is about taste, and Proverbs pairs the two when it says stolen water is sweet. Goodness (טוֹב) is a verdict about worth, and Genesis pairs them when Issachar sizes up his land. In each pairing the other word rates the thing; this verb reports the pleasure it gives.