H4496 — מְנוּחָה (mᵉnûwchâh)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H4496
Original: מְנוּחָה (also spelled מְנֻחָה)
Transliteration: mᵉnûwchâh
Pronunciation: men-oo-khaw
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: From נוּחַ (nuwach, H5117) — to rest, settle down
Occurrences: 24 tokens in 22 verses across 13 books
First Occurrence: Gen 49:15 — "And he saw that rest (mᵉnûwchâh) was good, and the land that it was pleasant"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Feminine of מָנוֹחַ (H4494); repose or (adverbially) peacefully; figuratively, consolation (specifically, matrimony); hence (concretely) an abode: — comfortable, ease, quiet, rest(-ing place), still.

The word carries two interlocking senses: the state of rest/repose, and the place where rest is found (a settled abode or resting place). Both senses run through its biblical usage.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
rest (rest / the rest / my rest / his rest / of rest / etc.)	18	82%
resting place / a resting place / resting places	2	9%
comfortable	1	5%
quiet	1	5%
still	1	5%
with ease	1	5%

[Counts tallied across the script's translation breakdown; "rest" with its various prepositional/possessive prefixes dominates. Percentages exceed 100% slightly due to multi-token verses.]

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Psalms	5	0.2
Isaiah	4	0.3
1 Chronicles	2	0.2
Jeremiah	2	0.1
Micah	1	1.0
Zechariah	1	0.5
Judges	1	0.2
Genesis	1	0.1
1 Kings	1	0.1
Numbers	1	0.1
Deuteronomy	1	0.1
2 Samuel	1	0.1
Ruth	1	—

The word is spread thinly across the Hebrew canon — never concentrated in any one book. The heaviest single clusters are Psalms (5) and Isaiah (4). Notably it sits in poetic and prophetic literature as much as in narrative, and in narrative it tends to mark the giving of "rest" as the goal of the land/inheritance (Deut, 1 Kings, 1 Chronicles).

Semantic Categories¶

[Categories derived from the 22 verse texts in the script output.]

1. Rest in the Promised Land / Inheritance¶

The settled rest God gives Israel after wandering and conquest — the land itself as the resting place. - Deut 12:9 — "ye are not as yet come to the rest (mᵉnûwchâh) and to the inheritance" - 1 Kings 8:56 — "the LORD, that hath given rest (mᵉnûwchâh) unto his people Israel" - Psalm 95:11 — "they should not enter into my rest (mᵉnûwchâh)" - Micah 2:10 — "this is not your rest (mᵉnûwchâh): because it is polluted"

2. The Resting Place of the Ark / God's Dwelling¶

A fixed dwelling-place — for the ark, and for the LORD himself. - Num 10:33 — "the ark of the covenant... went before them... to search out a resting place (mᵉnûwchâh) for them" - Psalm 132:8 — "Arise, O LORD, into thy rest (mᵉnûwchâh); thou, and the ark of thy strength" - Psalm 132:14 — "This is my rest (mᵉnûwchâh) for ever: here will I dwell" - Isaiah 66:1 — "where is... the place of my rest (mᵉnûwchâh)?"

3. Inner Repose / Comfort of the Soul¶

Rest as a personal, restorative condition — quietness, consolation, refreshment. - Psalm 23:2 — "he leadeth me beside the still (mᵉnûwchâh) waters" - Psalm 116:7 — "Return unto thy rest (mᵉnûwchâh), O my soul" - Isaiah 28:12 — "This is the rest (mᵉnûwchâh) wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest" - Jeremiah 45:3 — "I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest (mᵉnûwchâh)"

4. A State of Peace, Security, and Ease¶

Settled tranquility, freedom from war or threat — often promised or contrasted with turmoil. - Gen 49:15 — "he saw that rest (mᵉnûwchâh) was good" - 1 Chron 22:9 — "he shall be a man of rest (mᵉnûwchâh)... I will give him rest from all his enemies" - Isaiah 32:18 — "my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation... in quiet resting places (mᵉnûwchâh)" - Ruth 1:9 — "The LORD grant you that ye may find rest (mᵉnûwchâh)" (a settled home in marriage)

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יְהֹוָה (YHWH)	H3068	11x (50%)	the LORD as the giver of rest, or rest belonging to him ("my rest")
אֲשֶׁר (ʼăsher)	H834	7x (32%)	relative clause defining the rest ("the rest which...")
אָמַר (ʼâmar)	H559	5x (23%)	rest announced or sworn in divine speech
נָתַן (nâthan)	H5414	4x (18%)	rest given — God grants the mᵉnûwchâh
עַם (ʻam)	H5971	4x (18%)	rest given to "his people" Israel
אָרוֹן (ʼârôwn)	H727	3x (14%)	resting place of the ark
אֶרֶץ (ʼerets)	H776	3x (14%)	rest tied to the land / promised territory
בַּיִת (bayith)	H1004	3x (14%)	rest as a house / dwelling / abode

Word Family / Cognates¶

H5117 נוּחַ (nuwach) — root verb: to rest, settle down, come to rest. mᵉnûwchâh is its noun of state/place.
H4494 מָנוֹחַ (mânôwach) — masculine cognate: a settled spot, quiet resting place; mᵉnûwchâh is its feminine counterpart.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
נוּחַ (nuwach)	H5117	"rest"	nuwach is the verbal action of resting/settling; mᵉnûwchâh is the resulting condition or the place itself
מָנוֹחַ (mânôwach)	H4494	"rest" / "resting place"	near-synonym; mânôwach leans more concretely toward a physical spot, mᵉnûwchâh covers both the state and the abode
שַׁבָּתוֹן (shabbâthôwn)	H7677	"rest" (sabbatical)	shabbâthôwn = a sabbath observance / special holiday rest; mᵉnûwchâh = settled repose, not a calendar institution
יֶתֶר / יָתַר (yether / yathar)	H3499 / H3498	"the rest"	these mean "remainder, what is left over" — a homograph of English "rest," unrelated in meaning
שְׁאָר / שְׁאֵרִית (shᵉʼâr / shᵉʼêrîyth)	H7605 / H7611	"the rest"	"remnant, residue" — again the "remainder" sense, not repose

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
ἀνάπαυσις (anápausis) G372	11	8.08	Primary equivalent — "intermission, rest, recreation"
κατάπαυσις (katápausis) G2663	6	9.27	Strong secondary equivalent — "a reposing down, abode"; the term Hebrews 3–4 uses for the "rest" of Psalm 95
κιβωτός (kibōtós) G2787	3	4.05	Co-occurs via the ark contexts (resting place of the ark)
κύριος (kýrios) G2962	12	1.03	Co-occurrence with "the LORD," not a translation equivalent

Both ἀνάπαυσις and κατάπαυσις render mᵉnûwchâh in the LXX. The Psalm 95:11 "rest" enters the Greek NT as κατάπαυσις, which becomes the keyword of the Hebrews 3–4 argument.