H5087 — נָדַר (nâdar)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H5087
Original: נָדַר
Transliteration: nâdar
Pronunciation: naw-dar'
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Root: Primitive root; cognate noun H5088 נֶדֶר (neder) — "a vow"
Occurrences: 28 unique verses (35 tokens) across 13 books
First Occurrence: Gen 28:20 — "And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me..."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; to promise (positively, to do or give something to God):—(make a) vow.

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Qal	35 (100%)	to vow, to make a vow (to God)

Every biblical occurrence of H5087 is in the Qal stem. No Niphal, Piel, or causative forms are attested. The verb is consistently intransitive-with-cognate-accusative, almost always paired with its cognate noun נֶדֶר (neder) in the figura etymologica construction "vowed a vow" (נָדַר נֶדֶר).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
vowed / vowedst / voweth / have vowed / hath vowed / she vowed	14	50%
vow (verb) / to vow / shalt vow / shouldest vow / ye vow	11	39%
Vow (imperative)	1	4%
and made (vows)	1	4%
(other KJV phrases)	1	4%

KJV renders H5087 almost exclusively with the English verb "vow" in various tense/person forms. There is no semantic drift across translations — every instance preserves the vowing sense.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Jonah	2	4.2
Malachi	1	1.8
Ecclesiastes	2	0.9
Numbers	6	0.5
Deuteronomy	5	0.5
Judges	2	0.3
2 Samuel	2	0.3
Genesis	2	0.1
Psalms	2	0.1
Leviticus	1	0.1
1 Samuel	1	0.1
Isaiah	1	0.1
Jeremiah	1	0.1

Pattern notes: Highest density in Jonah (2 of 48 verses) where pagan sailors vow to YHWH. Numbers + Deuteronomy + Leviticus together account for 12 of 28 verses (43%) — the legal corpus regulating vow-making. The verb is absent from the historical books after 2 Samuel, from wisdom literature except Ecclesiastes, and entirely from the New Testament (no Greek cognate usage carries forward under this lemma).

Semantic Categories¶

1. Conditional Vow in Distress ("If God will... then I will...")¶

The paradigmatic biblical vow pattern: a petitioner binds himself to a future act contingent on divine deliverance.

Gen 28:20 — "And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way..."
Num 21:2 — "And Israel vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand..."
Judg 11:30 — "And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon..."
1 Sam 1:11 — "And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid..."

2. Legal Regulation of Vow-Making¶

Priestly and Deuteronomic laws governing who may vow, where vows are paid, and their binding force.

Num 6:2 — "When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite..."
Num 30:2–3 — "If a man vow a vow unto the LORD... he shall not break his word... If a woman also vow a vow unto the LORD, and bind herself by a bond..."
Deut 12:11 — "thither shall ye bring... all your choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD"
Lev 27:8 — "But if he be poorer than thy estimation... according to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him."

3. Imperative to Pay What Is Vowed¶

Prophetic and wisdom texts emphasizing that vows, once made, must be fulfilled without delay.

Deut 23:21 — "When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it"
Deut 23:22 — "But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee"
Eccl 5:4 — "When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it"
Eccl 5:5 — "Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay"
Psa 76:11 — "Vow, and pay unto the LORD your God"

4. Vow Retrospectively Invoked or Fulfilled¶

References back to a vow previously made, often tied to sacrifice or pilgrimage.

Gen 31:13 — "where thou vowedst a vow unto me: now arise, get thee out from this land"
2 Sam 15:7–8 — "let me go and pay my vow... thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur"
Psa 132:2 — "How he sware unto the LORD, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob"
Jon 2:9 — "I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed"

5. Gentile and Nominal Vowing¶

Non-Israelites vowing to YHWH, or vows made insincerely/condemned.

Jon 1:16 — "the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows"
Isa 19:21 — "the Egyptians shall know the LORD... and shall vow a vow unto the LORD, and perform it"
Jer 44:25 — "Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths... saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed" (to the queen of heaven — condemned)
Mal 1:14 — "cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
אֲשֶׁר ʼăsher	H834	13x (46%)	"the vow which he vowed" (relative clause binding the act)
אָמַר ʼâmar	H559	9x (32%)	"vowed a vow, saying..." (introducing the vow formula)
אֱלֹהִים / יְהוָה	H430	7x (25%)	recipient of the vow — always God, never another human
שָׁלַם shâlam	H7999	7x (25%)	"to pay/fulfill" — the obligated response to vowing
יָד yâd	H3027	7x (25%)	"into my hand" (deliverance) or freewill offering of the hand
פֶּה peh	H6310	5x (18%)	"that which is gone out of thy lips/mouth" — vow as speech-act
עָשָׂה ʻâsâh	H6213	5x (18%)	"do/perform" the vow
נָתַן nâthan	H5414	4x (14%)	"give" — the material content of the vow
אָסַר ʼâçar	H631	3x (11%)	"to bind" — vow binds the soul with a bond
אֱסָר ʼĕçâr	H632	3x (11%)	"bond/binding obligation" (parallel term to neder)
זָבַח zâbach	H2076	3x (11%)	"sacrifice" — vow fulfilled by sacrifice
זֶבַח zebach	H2077	3x (11%)	"sacrifice" (noun) — material of vow-payment

Word Family / Cognates¶

H5088 נֶדֶר (neder) — the cognate noun: "a vow, votive offering." Co-occurs with H5087 in virtually every verse (the figura etymologica "vow a vow"). Appears independently ~60x in OT.

Synonyms¶

No direct synonyms returned by search_relationships.py for H5087.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms returned by search_relationships.py for H5087.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
נֶדֶר (neder)	H5088	"vow"	neder = the noun (the vow itself / votive offering); nadar = the verb (act of vowing)
שָׁבַע (shaba')	H7650	"swear/oath"	shaba' = sworn oath (invokes witnesses/God); nadar = unilateral promise to God conditional on His act
אָסַר (ʼâsar)	H631	"bind"	ʼâsar = bind oneself with an issar (restrictive abstention); nadar = positive commitment to do/give
אֱסָר (ʼĕsâr)	H632	"bond, binding vow"	issar = negative self-restriction; neder = positive offering or gift to God
פָּלָא (palaʼ)	H6381	"perform a vow"	palaʼ = to make a special/extraordinary vow (intensifier with neder); nadar = ordinary vowing

UBS Semantic Domains¶

Code	Domain Label	Notes
002004001009013	Vow	`search_relationships.py` places nâdar in the vow/oath field, matching its consistent use for spoken commitments made to God.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
εὔχομαι (euchomai)	G2172	25	8.61	Primary — "to vow, pray, wish"; dominant LXX rendering
εὐχή (euchē)	G2171	19	7.76	Cognate noun "vow/prayer"; often translates the cognate noun neder in same verse
ἀποδίδωμι (apodidōmi)	G591	6	5.10	"give back, pay" — renders the paying/fulfilling motion
θύω (thyō)	G2380	3	4.48	"sacrifice" — in vow-offering contexts
δῶρον (dōron)	G1435	3	4.03	"gift, offering" — material content of the vow
κύριος (kyrios)	G2962	20	1.42	recipient noun in context, not a translation of the verb itself

The primary Greek bridge is G2172 εὔχομαι, which in the LXX carries the Hebrew vowing sense (a meaning expanded in NT Greek toward general prayer/wishing).