נָעִים
na.im
pleasant
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# The Hebrew Word נָעִים (na'im): Pleasant The Hebrew word נָעִים (na'im) carries the basic meaning of "pleasant" and appears eleven times throughout the biblical text. This relatively modest frequency suggests it was a specialized vocabulary choice rather than an everyday term, likely reserved for contexts where the quality of pleasantness held particular importance or needed emphasis. With only eleven occurrences across the entire biblical corpus, נָעִים represents a focused semantic field. The word's limited distribution indicates that biblical writers selected it deliberately when describing things characterized by pleasantness—whether sensory experiences, emotional states, or abstract qualities. This restraint in usage suggests the term conveyed a specific shade of meaning that other available terms did not quite capture in the way the writers intended. Without access to the specific biblical passages where this word appears, the full range of its contextual applications cannot be detailed here. However, the definition "pleasant" combined with its selective use across eleven separate instances indicates that נָעִים functioned as a valued descriptor in Hebrew when authors wished to characterize something as agreeable, appealing, or enjoyable in a way that merited the particular lexical choice.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
11 total occurrences across the text
If they listen and serve him, they will spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.
Psalms 16:6The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places. Yes, I have a good inheritance.
Psalms 16:11You will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy. In your right hand there are pleasures forever more.
Psalms 133:1See how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to live together in unity!
Psalms 135:3Praise Yah, for Yahweh is good. Sing praises to his name, for that is pleasant.
Psalms 147:1Praise Yah, for it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant and fitting to praise him.
Proverbs 22:18For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you, if all of them are ready on your lips.
Proverbs 24:4by knowledge the rooms are filled with all rare and beautiful treasure.
Song of Solomon 1:16Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, yes, pleasant; and our couch is verdant.
Proverbs 23:8The morsel which you have eaten you shall vomit up, and lose your good words.
2 Samuel 1:23Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives. In their death, they were not divided. They were swifter than eagles. They were stronger than lions.