Word Study for H5377 (נָשָׁא)

nâshâʼ /naw-shaw'/ Ask about this word

Roota primitive root

Meaningto lead astray, i.e. (mentally) to delude, or (morally) to seduce

KJV usagebeguile, deceive

Idioms & phrasesidiom greatly · idiom utterly.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of nâshâʼ — 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 nâshâʼ, represented by H5377, is a primitive root that means to lead astray, i.e. (mentally) to delude, or (morally) to seduce. It appears 16 times across 15 unique verses. The term's core meaning revolves around beguilement and deception, whether instigated by an external force, a misguided leader, or one's own pride.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In its most foundational use, H5377 describes the serpent's action in the Garden of Eden, where Eve explains, "The serpent beguiled me" Genesis 3:13. The term is frequently used in prophetic warnings. The Lord cautions Israel not to be deceived by false prophets and diviners Jeremiah 29:8. This deception is often rooted in arrogance, as seen in the prophecy against Edom: "The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee" (Obadiah 1:3; Jeremiah 49:16). The word is also used in the context of political and military intimidation, where foreign kings warn the people of Judah, "Let not Hezekiah deceive you" into thinking they can be delivered (2 Kings 18:29; Isaiah 36:14). In some cases, it functions as an idiom for emphasis, such as when Jeremiah laments that God has "greatly deceived" the people Jeremiah 4:10 or promises to "utterly forget" them Jeremiah 23:39.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words help to clarify the context and consequences of deception:

H2087 zâdôwn (arrogance; presumptuously, pride, proud (man)): This word is often the source of the self-delusion described by H5377. Pride is explicitly named as the cause of deception in the pronouncements against Edom Obadiah 1:3.
H8582 tâʻâh (to go astray, deceive, seduce): This term is used in parallel with H5377 to show the outcome of deception. In Isaiah, the princes of Egypt are deceived H5377 and in turn have seduced H8582 the nation Isaiah 19:13.
H5496 çûwth (to entice, move, persuade, provoke): This word highlights a method of deception. In the warning against trusting Hezekiah, the people are told not to let him deceive H5377 them or persuade H5496 them 2 Chronicles 32:15.
H982 bâṭach (to trust, be confident or sure): Deception often targets trust. Hezekiah is warned not to let his trust in God become a vector for deception by his enemies Isaiah 37:10.

Theological Significance

The theological weight of H5377 is centered on the constant battle between truth and falsehood.

The Foundation of Sin: The use of H5377 in Genesis establishes that beguilement is a primary instrument of evil, leading humanity away from God's commands from the very beginning Genesis 3:13.
Pride as a Gateway to Deception: Scripture repeatedly connects pride with being deceived. A proud heart leads to a false sense of security and an inability to perceive reality, making one vulnerable to ruin Obadiah 1:3.
The Danger of False Spiritual Guidance: A major theme is the warning against false prophets who deceive God's people with lies and false dreams, causing them to err Jeremiah 29:8. God holds these deceivers accountable for leading His people astray.
Self-Deception: The Bible warns against deceiving oneself. The Lord commands His people, "Deceive not yourselves," regarding the departure of their enemies, urging them to face reality rather than a comforting lie Jeremiah 37:9.

Summary

In summary, H5377 is a potent term that defines the act of being mentally or morally led astray. It appears in contexts ranging from the original sin in Eden to the political machinations of kings and the spiritual failures of false prophets. It illustrates that deception can come from an external enemy, a trusted leader, or from within one's own prideful heart. The concept serves as a recurring biblical warning about the critical importance of discerning truth from falsehood.

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 16 occurrences, inflected in 9 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.

יַשִּׁא
הִשִּׁיאַ
תַּשִּׁאוּ
יַשִּׁיאוּ
הַשֵּׁא
הִשֵּׁאתָ
הִשִּׁיאוּ
נִשְּׁאוּ
נָשֹׁא

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 15 verses across 7 of the 39 books. Most frequent in Jeremiah (5 verses); never once in the other 32.

Genesis

2 Kings

2 Chronicles

Psalms

Isaiah

Jeremiah

Obadiah

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.