Word Study for H5129 (נוֹעַדְיָה)

Nôwʻadyâh /no-ad-yaw'/ Ask about this word

Meaningconvened of Jah; Noadjah, the name of an Israelite, and a false prophetess

KJV usageNoadiah.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of Nôwʻadyâh — 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 name Nôwʻadyâh, represented by H5129, means convened of Jah. It appears 2 times across 2 unique verses in the Bible. The name is attributed to two different individuals in scripture: a Levite man and a false prophetess.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

The name H5129 appears in two distinct contexts. In one instance, Noadiah is a Levite, the son of Binnui, who assisted in weighing the sacred items like silver, gold, and vessels in the house of our God Ezra 8:33. In a contrasting role, Noadiah is identified as a prophetess who, along with other prophets, attempted to put Nehemiah in fear Nehemiah 6:14.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words provide context for the roles associated with Nôwʻadyâh:

H5031 nᵉbîyʼâh (prophetess): The feminine term for an inspired woman. Noadiah is explicitly called a prophetess in the account of her efforts to intimidate Nehemiah Nehemiah 6:14.
H5030 nâbîyʼ (prophet): The masculine counterpart, a prophet or inspired man. The prophetess Noadiah is mentioned alongside "the rest of the prophets" who opposed Nehemiah's work Nehemiah 6:14.
H3372 yârêʼ (to fear): A primitive root meaning to fear or revere. The stated goal of the prophetess Noadiah and her associates was to make Nehemiah fear Nehemiah 6:14.
H430 ʼĕlôhîym (God): The term for the supreme God. In both occurrences, the name Noadiah appears in a context involving the house of our God Ezra 8:33 or a direct plea to God Nehemiah 6:14.

Theological Significance

The theological weight of H5129 comes from the sharp contrast between its two bearers.

Duality of Character: The name Nôwʻadyâh is carried by both a faithful Levite serving in God's house and a false prophetess who opposed God's work, illustrating that a person's name or title does not determine their actions.
Opposition to Divine Work: The prophetess Noadiah represents a direct challenge to a leader appointed by God. Her story serves as a biblical example of false prophets attempting to instill fear to undermine God's plans Nehemiah 6:14.
Plea for Divine Justice: Nehemiah's prayer, "My God, think thou upon... Noadiah," is a reliance on God to deal with his enemies, framing the conflict as an offense against God's work that requires divine attention.

Summary

In summary, H5129 provides a powerful study in contrasts. While its definition is "convened of Jah," the name is applied to both a dutiful Levite and a false prophetess. The primary narrative impact of Nôwʻadyâh is as a figure of opposition, whose efforts to create fear highlight the challenges faced by those carrying out God's will and the reality of false prophecy within the biblical record.

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 noun across 2 occurrences, inflected in 2 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.

נוֹעַדְיָה
נוֹעַדְיָה

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 2 verses across 2 of the 39 books. Most frequent in Ezra and Nehemiah (1 verse each); never once in the other 37.

Ezra

Nehemiah

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.