Word Study for H5006 (נָאַץ) | Strong's Concordance

nâʼats /naw-ats'/ Ask about this word

Roota primitive root

Meaningin Ecclesiastes 12:5, by interchange for נוּץ, to bloom; to scorn

KJV usageabhor, (give occasion to) blaspheme, contemn, despise, flourish, provoke.

Idioms & phrasesidiom great

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of nâʼats — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Hebrew word nâʼats, represented by H5006, is a primitive root with a primary meaning of scorning, despising, or provoking. It appears 27 times across 24 unique verses. While it most often conveys a strong sense of contempt or abhorrence, particularly towards God, it has a distinct and unusual meaning of "to flourish" or "bloom" in one specific passage, as an interchange for another root Ecclesiastes 12:5.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In scripture, H5006 is frequently used to describe Israel's rebellion against God. In the wilderness, the LORD asks Moses, "How long will this people provoke me?" Numbers 14:11. This theme continues with the prophets, where Isaiah laments that Israel has provoked the Holy One of Israel to anger Isaiah 1:4 and despised His word Isaiah 5:24. The term also denotes blasphemy, as when David's sin gave great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme 2 Samuel 12:14. On a personal level, it signifies the rejection of wisdom, where a fool despiseth his father's instruction Proverbs 15:5 and the unrepentant heart despised reproof Proverbs 5:12.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words help clarify the concept of spurning and rebellion:

H4784 mârâh (to rebel): This term is often a direct precursor to the action of H5006. The psalmist notes that the people rebelled against God's words and then contemned His counsel Psalms 107:11.
H3988 mâʼaç (to spurn; cast away): This word is used in parallel with H5006 to show a complete rejection of divine authority, such as when Israel cast away the law and despised the word of the Holy One Isaiah 5:24.
H2778 châraph (to reproach, defy): This word describes the verbal assault that often accompanies the attitude of H5006. The enemy is described as one who has reproached the LORD and blasphemed His name Psalms 74:18.
H8433 tôwkêchâh (reproof, correction): This is frequently the object of contempt. Proverbs warns against those who despised all reproof Proverbs 1:30, highlighting a rejection of divine guidance and correction.

Theological Significance

The theological weight of H5006 is significant, highlighting the gravity of scorning God.

Rejection of Divine Authority: To provoke or despise God is to directly challenge His word, His law, and His counsel. This is seen as a foundational sin of Israel in the wilderness Numbers 14:23 and a reason for coming judgment Isaiah 5:24.
Blasphemy and God's Name: The term is explicitly linked to blaspheming God's name, whether by the actions of His own people giving enemies occasion to do so 2 Samuel 12:14 or by the direct taunts of an enemy Psalms 74:10.
Divine Response to Contempt: The act of despising God is met with a divine response. In His anger, the LORD despised the king and the priest Lamentations 2:6. Jeremiah pleads with God not to abhor them for His name's sake Jeremiah 14:21, showing that this contempt is a covenant-threatening offense.

Summary

In summary, H5006 is a powerful verb that captures the active and defiant nature of scorning, provoking, and blaspheming God. It represents a willful rejection of divine authority, instruction, and covenant relationship. From the provocations of Israel in the desert to the fool who despises his father's reproof, nâʼats consistently points to a posture of contempt that invites severe consequences. Its rare usage for "flourish" stands in stark contrast, underscoring the primary, weighty significance of its main definition.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Hebrew Old Testament, this word appears as a verb across 25 occurrences, inflected in 16 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form. Select any form to read what each part of its name means, and to filter the occurrence list to it. These are this word’s own inflections, not words built from it — for those, see Related Words.

נִאֲצוּ
מְנַאֲצַ
נִאֵץ
יִּנְאָץ
נָאָצוּ
יָנֵאץ
מִנֹּאָץ
נִאֲצוּ
יְנַאֲצֻ
יְנָאֵץ
נִאֵץ
נִאַצְתָּ
תִּנְאַץ
יִנְאָצוּ
יִנְאַץ
נָאַץ

Related Words

1 entry in Strong’s name this word as its origin. These are its derivatives — a different relationship from the inflected forms above, which are this same word bent by grammar.

Other entries the study above points to — each one is drawn from a reference it makes. Follow the trail to see how the words connect.

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

Appears in 24 verses across 10 of the 39 books. Most frequent in Psalms (5 verses); never once in the other 29.

Numbers

Deuteronomy

1 Samuel

2 Samuel

Psalms

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Lamentations

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, by grammatical form, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.