naga · touch

What it means

naga (נָגַע) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “touch”.

Also reach, or strike.

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 lay a hand or finger on something, sometimes to take it or harm it.
2. To hit, afflict with a plague.
3. To reach a place or a moment.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

To touch, to lay a hand on something; hence to reach, to arrive; and with violence, to strike. From the same root comes נֶגַע, “stroke, plague” (H5061).

• “You shall not touch it” Genesis 3:3
• Touching something unclean Leviticus 5:2
• The burning coal touches the lips Isaiah 6:7
• Touching in order to strike Job 1:11Genesis 32:25
• Reaching, arriving: “its top reaching to the heavens” Genesis 28:12Esther 9:1

How we translate it

“Touches” 46 times, “touch” 24, “touched” 23, “reach” 8, “reached” 6, “has reached” 6, “struck” 7, “came” 5… It is translated “touch”, and “reach” or “came” when the sense is arriving at a point or a moment (Esther 9:1).

How it is translated

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

• touches ×46
• touch ×24
• touched ×23
• reach ×8
• struck ×7
• has reached ×6
• reached ×6
• came ×5
• reaching ×3
• was touching ×3
• others ×19

Related words

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

Where it appears

• Genesis×8
• Exodus×7
• Leviticus×28
• Numbers×10
• Deuteronomy×1
• Joshua×2
• Judges×3
• Ruth×1
• 1 Samuel×3
• 2 Samuel×3
• 1 Kings×5
• 2 Kings×2
• 1 Chronicles×1
• 2 Chronicles×5
• Ezra×1
• Nehemiah×1
• Esther×9
• Job×8
• Psalms×8
• Proverbs×1
• Ecclesiastes×3
• Song of Songs×1
• Isaiah×10
• Jeremiah×6
• Lamentations×3
• Ezekiel×3
• Daniel×8
• Hosea×1
• Amos×1
• Jonah×1
• Micah×1
• Haggai×2
• Zechariah×3

• Genesis 3:3

  but from the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden Elohim has said, ‘You shall not eat from it, and you shall not touch it, or you will die.’”

• Genesis 12:17

  But YHWH struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.

• Genesis 20:6

  Then Elohim said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this; and I also kept back you from sinning against me; that is why I did not let you touch her.

• Genesis 26:11

  So Abimelech commanded all the people, saying, “Whoever touches this man or his wife will surely be put to death.”

• Genesis 26:29

  that you will not do us harm, just as we have not touched you and just as we have done to you only good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of YHWH.’”

• Genesis 28:12

  He dreamed, and look, a ladder set on the earth, and its top reaching to the heavens; and look, the angels of Elohim were going up and coming down on it.

• Genesis 32:25

  When he saw that he could not prevail against him, he touched the socket of his hip, and the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated as he wrestled with him.

• Genesis 32:32

  That is why, to this day, the sons of Israel do not eat the tendon that is on the socket of the hip, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip, on the tendon.

• Exodus 4:25

  Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off the foreskin of her son and touched it to his feet and said, “Surely a bridegroom of blood you are to me!”

• Exodus 12:22

  Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the bowl, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with some of the blood that is in the bowl. As for you, none shall go out of the door of his house until morning.

• Exodus 19:12

  You shall set limits for the people all around, saying, ‘Take care not to go up on the mountain or touch its edge. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.

• Exodus 19:13

  No hand shall touch him, for he shall surely be stoned or surely shot with arrows; whether animal or man, he shall not live.’ When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they shall go up on the mountain.”

• Exodus 29:37

  Seven days you shall make expiation for the altar and consecrate it, and the altar shall be most holy; whatever touches the altar shall become holy.

• Exodus 30:29

  You shall consecrate them, and they shall be most holy; whatever touches them shall become holy.

• Leviticus 5:2

  Or if a person touches any unclean thing, whether the carcass of an unclean animal, or the carcass of an unclean beast, or the carcass of an unclean swarming thing, and it is hidden from him, he has become unclean and guilty.

• Leviticus 5:3

  Or if he touches human uncleanness, any uncleanness of his by which one becomes unclean, and it is hidden from him, when he comes to know it he will be guilty.

• Leviticus 5:7

  And if his means do not reach enough for a lamb, he shall bring as his guilt offering for what he has sinned two turtledoves or two young pigeons to YHWH, one as a sin offering and one as a burnt offering.

• Leviticus 6:18

  Every male among the sons of Aaron may eat it, as a statute forever throughout your generations, from the fire offerings of YHWH. Whatever touches them will become holy.”

• Leviticus 6:27

  Whatever touches its flesh will become holy; and when some of its blood spatters on a garment, the part on which it spattered you shall wash in a holy place.

• Leviticus 7:19

  The flesh that touches anything unclean shall not be eaten; it shall be burned with fire. As for the other flesh, everyone who is clean may eat flesh.

• Leviticus 7:21

  And when a person touches anything unclean, whether human uncleanness or an unclean beast or any unclean detestable thing, and eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of peace that belongs to YHWH, that person shall be cut off from his people.”

• Leviticus 11:8

  Of their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch; they shall be unclean for you.

• Leviticus 11:24

  And by these you will become unclean; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until the evening.

• Leviticus 11:26

  Every beast that divides the hoof but is not split with a cleft, and does not chew the cud, they shall be unclean for you; whoever touches them will be unclean.

• Leviticus 11:27

  And all that walk on their paws, among all the animals that walk on all fours, they shall be unclean for you; whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean until the evening.

• Leviticus 11:31

  These are unclean for you among all the swarming things; whoever touches them when they are dead will be unclean until the evening.

• Leviticus 11:36

  But a spring or a cistern holding a collection of water shall be clean, but whoever touches their carcasses will be unclean.

• Leviticus 11:39

  And if one of the beasts that you may have for food dies, whoever touches its carcass will be unclean until the evening.

• Leviticus 12:4

  She shall remain thirty days and three days in the blood of purification; she shall not touch any holy thing and she shall not come into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are completed.

• Leviticus 15:5

  And anyone who touches his bed shall wash his garments and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.

• Leviticus 15:7

  And whoever touches the body of the man with the discharge shall wash his garments and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.

• Leviticus 15:10

  And whoever touches anything that was under him shall be unclean until the evening; and whoever carries those things shall wash his garments and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.

• Leviticus 15:11

  And anyone whom the man with the discharge touches without having rinsed his hands in water shall wash his garments and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.

• Leviticus 15:12

  And a vessel of clay that the man with the discharge touches shall be broken, and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.

• Leviticus 15:19

  And when a woman has a discharge, and her discharge in her body is blood, she shall be in her menstruation seven days, and anyone who touches her shall be unclean until the evening.

• Leviticus 15:21

  And anyone who touches her bed shall wash his garments and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.

• Leviticus 15:22

  And anyone who touches any object on which she sits shall wash his garments and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.

• Leviticus 15:23

  And whether it is on the bed or on the object on which she is sitting, when he touches it, he shall be unclean until the evening.

• Leviticus 15:27

  And anyone who touches them shall be unclean, and he shall wash his garments and bathe in water and be unclean until the evening.

• Leviticus 22:4

  No man of the offspring of Aaron who is leprous or has a discharge may eat of the holy things until he is clean. Whoever touches anything unclean by a dead person, or a man from whom an emission of semen goes out,

And 110 more times.