nava · prophesy

What it means

nava (נָבָא) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “prophesy”.

Speak moved by the spirit of God. It is not always foretelling the future; it is saying what God gives to say.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. To speak what God's spirit gives to say.
2. To speak as God's message what God has not said.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

To prophesy: to speak or act as a prophet, moved by the spirit of God. BDB: to prophesy, by speech or song. It is the verb of נָבִיא, “prophet” (H5030), and from it comes נְבוּאָה, “prophecy”. It does not mean only foretelling the future: it is saying what God gives to say.

• Prophesying when the spirit comes upon someone Numbers 11:251 Samuel 10:101 Samuel 19:24
• The prophet's word, good or bad for the hearer 1 Kings 22:8Ezekiel 37:4
• Prophets who prophesy without being sent Jeremiah 14:14Jeremiah 23:21
• “Your sons and your daughters will prophesy” Joel 2:28
• The temple singers “who prophesied” with instruments 1 Chronicles 25:1

Historical and cultural background

In the books of Samuel there are bands of prophets who prophesy together with music (1 Samuel 10:5), and from Saul came the saying “Is Saul also among the prophets?” (1 Samuel 19:24).

How we translate it

Always “prophesy”: “prophesy” 56 times, “prophesied” 30, “prophesying” 12, “are prophesying” 10, “prophesies” 5. This edition sets נִבָּא and הִתְנַבֵּא = “prophesy” in both forms; where the verb describes someone beside himself (1 Samuel 18:10), “prophesied” is kept with a simple note.

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• prophesy ×56
• prophesied ×30
• prophesying ×12
• are prophesying ×10
• prophesies ×5
• makes himself a prophet ×2

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Numbers×3
• 1 Samuel×12
• 1 Kings×5
• 1 Chronicles×3
• 2 Chronicles×5
• Jeremiah×40
• Ezekiel×37
• Joel×1
• Amos×6
• Zechariah×3

• Numbers 11:25

  And YHWH came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy men, the elders; and when the spirit rested on them, they prophesied, but they did not continue.

• Numbers 11:26

  But two men had remained in the camp; the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the second Medad; and the spirit rested on them —and they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent— and they prophesied in the camp.

• Numbers 11:27

  And the young man ran and told Moses, and said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”

• 1 Samuel 10:5

  After that you will come to Gibeah of Elohim, where are the garrisons of the Philistines; and it will happen, as you come there to the city, that you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place, and before them harp and tambourine and flute and lyre, and they will be prophesying.

• 1 Samuel 10:6

  And the spirit of YHWH will come mightily on you, and you will prophesy with them and be changed into another man.

• 1 Samuel 10:10

  When they came there, to Gibeah, look, a band of prophets came to meet him; and the spirit of Elohim came mightily on him, and he prophesied among them.

• 1 Samuel 10:11

  And it happened, when all who knew him before saw that he was prophesying with the prophets, that the people said to one another, “What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”

• 1 Samuel 10:13

  And he finished prophesying and came to the high place.

• 1 Samuel 18:10

  And it came about on the next day that an evil spirit of Elohim came mightily upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house, while David was playing with his hand, as day by day; and the spear was in the hand of Saul.

• 1 Samuel 19:20

  Saul sent messengers to take David; and they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing, stationed over them; and the spirit of Elohim was upon the messengers of Saul, and they too prophesied.

• 1 Samuel 19:21

  They told Saul, and he sent other messengers, and they too prophesied. And Saul again sent messengers, a third group, and they too prophesied.

• 1 Samuel 19:23

  He went there, to Naioth in Ramah; and the spirit of Elohim was upon him too, and he kept on going and prophesying until he came to Naioth in Ramah.

• 1 Samuel 19:24

  He too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel, and fell down naked all that day and all the night. Therefore they say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

• 1 Kings 18:29

  And it happened, when noon had passed, that they prophesied until the time of offering the grain offering; but there was no voice, and no one answering, and no attention.

• 1 Kings 22:8

  The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man through whom to inquire of YHWH, but I hate him, for he does not prophesy good about me, but evil: Micaiah son of Imlah.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.”

• 1 Kings 22:10

  Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting each on his throne, dressed in their robes, at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them.

• 1 Kings 22:12

  And all the prophets were prophesying so, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and prosper, for YHWH will give it into the hand of the king.”

• 1 Kings 22:18

  The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you, ‘He will not prophesy good about me, but evil’?”

• 1 Chronicles 25:1

  David and the commanders of the army set apart for the service the sons of Asaph and of Heman and of Jeduthun, who prophesied with lyres, with harps, and with cymbals. The number of the workmen for their service was:

• 1 Chronicles 25:2

  Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah, the sons of Asaph, under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied under the direction of the king.

• 1 Chronicles 25:3

  Of Jeduthun: the sons of Jeduthun, Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with the lyre in giving thanks and praising YHWH.

• 2 Chronicles 18:7

  The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is still one man through whom to inquire of YHWH, but I hate him, for he does not prophesy about me for good, but all his days for evil: that is Micaiah son of Imlah.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.”

• 2 Chronicles 18:9

  Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting each on his throne, dressed in their robes; they were sitting at the threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets were prophesying before them.

• 2 Chronicles 18:11

  And all the prophets were prophesying so, saying, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and prosper, for YHWH will give it into the hand of the king.”

• 2 Chronicles 18:17

  The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Did I not tell you, ‘He will not prophesy good about me, but for evil’?”

• 2 Chronicles 20:37

  Eliezer son of Dodavahu from Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you allied yourself with Ahaziah, YHWH has made a breach in your works.” And the ships were broken, and they were not able to go to Tarshish.

• Jeremiah 2:8

  The priests did not say, ‘Where is YHWH?’ And those who handle the instruction did not know me, and the shepherds transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal and walked after what does not profit.

• Jeremiah 5:31

  the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own hand, and my people love it so. But what will you do at its end?’”

• Jeremiah 11:21

  Therefore thus says YHWH concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, saying: “Do not prophesy in the name of YHWH, and you will not die by our hand.”

• Jeremiah 14:14

  And YHWH said to me: “Falsehood the prophets are prophesying in my name; I did not send them, nor command them, nor speak to them; a vision of falsehood, and divination, and a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart they are prophesying to you.

• Jeremiah 14:15

  Therefore thus says YHWH concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name, although I did not send them, and they say: ‘Sword and famine there will not be in this land.’ By sword and by famine those prophets will be finished off.

• Jeremiah 14:16

  And the people to whom they are prophesying will be thrown out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword, with no one to bury them, them, their wives, their sons, and their daughters; and I will pour out on them their evil.

• Jeremiah 19:14

  And Jeremiah came from Topheth, where YHWH had sent him to prophesy, and he stood in the court of the house of YHWH and said to all the people,

• Jeremiah 20:1

  And Pashhur son of Immer, the priest, heard —and he was chief overseer in the house of YHWH— Jeremiah prophesying these things.

• Jeremiah 20:6

  And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into captivity; and to Babylon you will come, and there you will die, and there you will be buried, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied falsely.”

• Jeremiah 23:13

  And in the prophets of Samaria I saw folly: they prophesied by Baal and led astray my people Israel.

• Jeremiah 23:16

  Thus says YHWH Tsevaot: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you; they are filling you with vapor; a vision of their own heart they speak, not from the mouth of YHWH.

• Jeremiah 23:21

  I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied.

• Jeremiah 23:25

  I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsehood in my name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’

• Jeremiah 23:26

  How long? Is it in the heart of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, and prophets of the deceit of their own heart,

And 75 more times.