נחמוּ NAXAMU, Isaiah 40:1

[Galena]

Isaac,

Isaac said:<<<<<<<What do you think of נִחַם כָּל חָרְבֹתֶיהָ. Is it "comforted" her ruins!?>>>>>>>>>
I would need the context, but my first feeling is that it would be 'grieved'.

As far as Gen 6 is concerned this is my opinion:
1. Both 'repented' and 'regretted' are 100% misleading translations in any bible; In todays language Repentance implies that you did something wrong, it also signifies that you do not want or desire to do the same thing again. Regret can sometimes involve a selfish motivation, leaving that aside regret implies that you did not have the wisdom or foresight or prior knowledge to be in a position where you should have made a better more informed decision. God is neither of the above nor can He ever be.
2. The hebrew word for comfort as written above without vowels can be piel or niphal or hiphil, therefore only context can decide. However with or without vowels I would take it to mean 'He grieves'. This is not the same as sorry, which has no power at all, God was not sorry, He was 'deeply saddened' if you like, by the actions of mankind, and more importantly by the effects of their actions upon the innocent. He put wicked men to silence and ended the suffering of those who were victims of their injustice that must have been on a scale not yet reached even yet by todays standards.

Kind regards
chris

[Isaac Fried]

Chris,

What you say is right and helpful. It appears to me that the problem with describing the elusive נחם NXM, is that being an emotion it is an irreal reality, conveyed only imprecisely metaphorically.

Is נחם NXM, 'calm down'? In Isaiah 54:11 we read
עֲנִיָּה סֹעֲרָה לֹא נֻחָמָה
in which I think סֹעֲרָה is 'upset, distressed, perturbed', by heartrending emotional storms and tribulations, as in 2Ki. 6:11
וַיִּסָּעֵר לֵב מֶלֶךְ אֲרָם עַל הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה
KJV: "Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing." Namely, בא-היא-סער = וַיִּסָּעֵר, he became overwhelmed by an overcoming emotional storm.

Then נֻחָמָה = נ-הוּא-חמ-היא is surly 'calmed down, abated the storm'.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

[Jemoh66]

Isaac and Chris,

When you "take comfort" or "calm down" it involves the self. As in French pronominal verbs "se calmer," lit. calm oneself down, or "se comforter," lit. comfort oneself. So what if the nun in נחם is simply reflexive, recalling ni. The etymological root then would be חם. So "hot" could go either way, positive or negative: comfort as in warm, cozy; grief, anger, hot under the collar.

Jonathan Mohler

[Galena]

Hallo Isaac, I have no learning in the field of ancient language development, I have a book by Saenz Badillos history of hebrew, I found that extremely hard to follow - so that explains my knowledge there. Your breaking down of a word makes no sense to me - sorry. Having said that, I think I can at least say that, and even you know this undoubtedly, that much of the bible is poetic, I see no singular definition, rather a feeling. He will see that it was all worth it, all the agony of His soul described in one poetic word to thrust us into the raging torrent of diverse pains that He lived out, and yet it will all have been worth it.

Hallo Jonathan, Thankyou for that insight, a new way to see this word that I had not seen.

Kindest regards to both of you
chris

[Isaac Fried]

Jonathan,

I agree, except that I can not betray my deep conviction in the underlying primeval materialistic nature of the Hebrew language. As I see it, the fraction חם of נחם is more likely 'large, massive, imposing', as related to קם, 'rise', rather than to the abstract 'hot', (yet we have heart warming!).
How do we otherwise relate the חם XAM, 'father-in-law', of Gen. 38:13, the חֶמְאָה XEMAH, 'butter', of Gen. 18:8, the חוֹמָה XOMAH, 'wall', of Ex. 14:22, and the חֵמֶת XEMET, 'jar, water-skin', of Gen. 21:14?
I think that חוֹם XOM, 'heat', is like קוֹם QOM, the inconspicuous caloric substance that rises and permeates the affected body.
I suspect that even the יחם YAXAM, 'be in rut, be in heat', of Gen. 30:41, and the חֵמָה, 'anger, wrath', of Deut. 9:19, are not 'heat' as measured by the thermometer, but rather an emotional swell, as is also the כָּמַה KMAH, 'long', of Ps. 63:2(1).

Also relevant to XAM are the תהוֹם THOM, 'abyss, depth', of Gen. 1:2, and the post-biblical תחוּם TXUM, 'bound, limit'.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

[Isaac Fried]

Also related to נחם NXM, methinks, is נעם, 'ease, calm, leisure, pleasure, relaxation', as in Job 36:11
אִם יִשְׁמְעוּ וְיַעֲבֹדוּ יְכַלּוּ יְמֵיהֶם בַּטּוֹב וּשְׁנֵיהֶם בַּנְּעִימִים
NIV: "If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment."
KJV: "If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures."

It is the uniliteral root מ M, 'massive', that seems to bring to both נחם and נעם the sense of inertia.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

[Galena]

Also related to נחם NXM, methinks, is נעם, 'ease, calm, leisure, pleasure, relaxation', as in Job 36:11
אִם יִשְׁמְעוּ וְיַעֲבֹדוּ יְכַלּוּ יְמֵיהֶם בַּטּוֹב וּשְׁנֵיהֶם בַּנְּעִימִים
NIV: "If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment."
KJV: "If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures."
Isaac Fried, Boston University

Hallo Isaac, Mmm, very difficult to agree with you here.This word has so much more to do with pleasant, beauty, admirable, lovely, sweet. Your choice of words "ease, calm, leisure, pleasure, relaxation" appear to far removed from the way it is used in scripture. Besides, leaving aside that fact that Elihu's theological chit-chat is wrong - (yet recorded to teach us a valuable lesson) I would never have used the word 'pleasures' in Job 36:11. rather that 'one would complete and finish their days in only the good and their years in delightful and pleasurable things" (being that the word is used in plurality), pleasures has a negative connotation for me within this context. I only looked at 5 out of the 16 or so places and no way can one replace the word with rest or calm or leisure.
Kind regards
Chris

[Isaac Fried]

Ah, and not to forget נם NAM, 'sleep, slumber', as in Isaiah 56:10
צֹפָו עִוְרִים כֻּלָּם לֹא יָדָעוּ כֻּלָּם כְּלָבִים אִלְּמִים לֹא יוּכְלוּ לִנְבֹּחַ הֹזִים שֹׁכְבִים אֹהֲבֵי לָנוּם
KJV: "His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber."

Isaac Fried, Boston University

[Isaac Fried]

Chris,

In English as well, the word pleasure is a derivative, say the etymological dictionaries, of the Latin word placare 'soothe, quiet, calm, even out, placate', curiously, vertically related to plaque, plague, and flog.

So לחיות בנעימים as I see it, is to live a flat, uneventful, life of peace and quiet, free from war, worry and viruses.

Isaac Fried, Boston University

[Isaac Fried]

With נחם NXM I also recall the נחת = נח-את NAXAT = NAX-AT, 'peace, quiet, rest, tranquility, placidity, satisfaction, contentment, serenity', of Prov. 29:9
אִישׁ חָכָם נִשְׁפָּט אֶת אִישׁ אֱוִיל וְרָגַז וְשָׂחַק וְאֵין נָחַת
NIV: "If a wise person goes to court with a fool,
 the fool rages and scoffs, and there is no peace."
KJV: " If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest."

Isaac Fried, Boston University