H5162 — נָחַם (nâcham)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H5162
Original: נָחַם
Transliteration: nâcham
Pronunciation: naw-kham'
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Root Sense: to sigh, breathe strongly — from which derive the twin ideas of "being moved with sorrow" and "consoling another by sighing with them"
Occurrences: 108 verb forms in OT (122 tokens in 100 unique verses; ETCBC parse count 108 excludes the homograph proper name Menahem and the noun H5164 nocham)
First Occurrence: Gen 5:29 — "And he called his name Noah, saying, This [same] shall comfort us (Piel) concerning our work and toil of our hands"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; properly, to sigh, i.e. breathe strongly; by implication, to be sorry, i.e. (in a favorable sense) to pity, console or (reflexively) rue; or (unfavorably) to avenge (oneself). KJV: comfort (self), ease (one's self), repent(-er, -ing, self).

The single lexical root spans two semantic poles that the Biblical Hebrew verb system keeps separate by stem: the active/causative stems (Piel, Pual) consistently render "comfort, console," while the middle/reflexive stems (Niphal, Hithpael) consistently render "be sorry, relent, regret, repent." This stem-based cleavage is the single most important grammatical feature of H5162.

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Voice	Dominant Meaning
Niphal	48	passive/reflexive-middle	"be sorry," "relent," "repent of," "regret," "be comforted" (passive)
Piel	51	active/causative-intensive	"comfort (someone)," "console"
Hithpael	7	reflexive/iterative	"comfort oneself," "rue oneself," "take vengeance on oneself" (contextual)
Pual	2	passive of Piel	"be comforted" (Isa 54:11; 66:13)

(Tallied from ETCBC morphology via hebrew_parser.py --lemma נחם; 108 verb tokens total.)

Key grammatical rule: The Niphal and Piel are not different inflections of the same meaning — they are lexically distinct verbs built on one root. When God is the subject and the translation is "repent/relent/be grieved," the form is virtually always Niphal (e.g., Gen 6:6; Ex 32:14; 1 Sam 15:11, 35; Jer 18:8, 10; Amos 7:3, 6; Jon 3:10). When the subject comforts another person or Zion, the form is Piel (e.g., Isa 40:1; 49:13; 51:3; 66:13).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Grouped by semantic family across 100 unique verses:

Family	Count	%	Stem Source
repent / repented / repenteth / repent me (divine or human self-turning)	~39	39%	Niphal (and 2 Hithpael)
comfort / comforted / comforter / comforteth / comforters	~48	48%	Piel / Pual
be comforted (passive reception of comfort)	~8	8%	Niphal / Pual
ease me / avenge (Isa 1:24)	1	1%	Niphal
other (participial nominals, infinitives)	~4	4%	mixed

(Raw long-form table from search_strongs.py --lookup H5162 lists 70+ distinct surface-form KJV renderings; this table compresses them to meaning families.)

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Jonah	3	6.2
Lamentations	6	3.9
Joel	2	2.7
Nahum	1	2.1
Zechariah	3	1.4
Amos	2	1.4
Jeremiah	14	1.0
Isaiah	13	1.0
2 Samuel	5	0.7
Job	7	0.7
Genesis	8	0.5
Ezekiel	7	0.5
Psalms	12	0.5
Judges	3	0.5
Ecclesiastes	1	0.5
1 Chronicles	4	0.4
1 Samuel	3	0.4
Ruth	1	—
Exodus	3	0.2
Numbers	1	0.1
Deuteronomy	1	0.1

Patterns: Highest density clusters in the Twelve (Jonah, Joel, Nahum, Amos, Zech.) and Lamentations — the literature of judgment, relenting, and consolation. Isaiah 40–66 alone supplies 12 Piel occurrences (the "Comfort" oracle begins at Isa 40:1). Jeremiah's 14 occurrences cluster around the conditional-relenting oracles (Jer 18; 26). Absent from Joshua, Kings, Proverbs, Song, Hosea (except the noun H5164), Obadiah, Micah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Malachi.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Divine Relenting from Announced Judgment (Niphal, subject = YHWH)¶

The most theologically charged usage. YHWH, upon repentance or intercession, "relents" from threatened evil. - Ex 32:14 — "And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people." (after Moses' intercession) - Jer 18:8 — "If that nation… turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them." - Amos 7:3, 6 — "The LORD repented for this: It shall not be." - Jon 3:10 — "God saw their works… and God repented of the evil."

2. Divine Relenting Withheld / Divine Constancy (Niphal, negated)¶

In covenant-lawsuit contexts the same verb is negated to assert God's fixed purpose. - Num 23:19 — "God is not a man… that he should repent." (Balaam) - 1 Sam 15:29 — "The Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent." (paired with a Niphal statement three verses earlier, v. 11 — "It repenteth me that I have set up Saul") - Ps 110:4 — "The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever." - Jer 4:28; 20:16 — "I have purposed it, and will not repent." - Ezek 24:14 — "I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent."

3. Divine Grief / Regret Over Creation or Choice (Niphal, subject = YHWH)¶

Gen 6:6–7 — "It repented the LORD that he had made man… it grieved him at his heart… I repent that I have made them."
1 Sam 15:11, 35 — "It repenteth me that I have set up Saul." / "The LORD repented that he had made Saul king."

4. Human Self-Turning / Regret (Niphal, Hithpael)¶

Rarer than the divine sense, but present. - Jer 8:6 — "No man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done?" - Jer 31:19 — "After that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh." - Job 42:6 — "Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes." (Niphal)

5. Consoling the Bereaved (Piel)¶

The paradigmatic human-to-human use: the comforter sits with mourners. - Gen 37:35 — "All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted." - Job 2:11 — Job's three friends came "to mourn with him and to comfort him." - Job 16:2 — "Miserable comforters are ye all." - 1 Chr 7:22; 19:2–3; 2 Sam 10:2 — comforting after a father's death. - Lam 1:2, 9, 16, 17, 21; 2:13 — the refrain "she hath none to comfort her" (all Piel participles).

6. Divine Comfort of Zion / the Afflicted (Piel, subject = YHWH)¶

The Isaianic signature, especially in chs. 40–66. - Isa 40:1 — "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God." (double Piel imperative) - Isa 49:13 — "The LORD hath comforted his people." - Isa 51:3 — "The LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places." - Isa 51:12 — "I, even I, am he that comforteth you." - Isa 66:13 — "As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you." - Ps 23:4 — "Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." - Ps 119:76, 82 — "Let… thy merciful kindness… be for my comfort."

7. Vengeance / Self-Ease as Relief (Niphal, rare, context-dependent)¶

The root's "sigh" nuance can shade into releasing pent-up wrath by executing it. - Isa 1:24 — "I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies." (Niphal Impf 1cs) - Ezek 5:13 — "I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the LORD have spoken it in my zeal." (Hithpael — "I will take satisfaction") - Ezek 31:16; 32:31 — Pharaoh and the nations "are comforted" in Sheol by seeing others share their fate (grim satisfaction).

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occ	Typical Pattern
יְהוָה (YHWH)	H3068	40x (40%)	YHWH as subject of Niphal "repent/relent" or Piel "comfort"
עַל (ʻal)	H5921	39x (39%)	"relent concerning / regret over" — governs the object of regret (niḥam ʻal-hāraʻah, "relent of the evil")
אָמַר (amar)	H559	29x (29%)	"the LORD said" — divine speech-act frames most relenting oracles
לֹא (lo')	H3808	28x (28%)	"will not relent" — negated divine constancy (Num 23:19; 1 Sam 15:29; Ps 110:4)
רַע / רָעָה (ra'/ra'ah)	H7451	19x (19%)	"the evil (calamity) he thought to do" — the object YHWH relents from
עָשָׂה (asah)	H6213	20x (20%)	"the evil he said he would do" — announced action being reconsidered
שׁוּב (shub)	H7725	17x (17%)	"turn and relent" — human repentance-turning paired with divine nacham (Jer 18:8; Jon 3:9–10; Joel 2:13–14)
דָּבַר (dabar)	H1696	13x (13%)	"I have spoken it" — prophetic word as the thing YHWH may or may not retract
בֵּן (ben)	H1121	13x (13%)	comforting after loss of a son (Gen 37:35; 1 Chr 7:22)
רָאָה (ra'ah)	H7200	12x (12%)	"God saw their works" — YHWH's seeing triggers relenting (Jon 3:10)

Signature formulae: - nicham ʻal-hā-rāʻāh ʾasher dibber laʻaśot — "relent from the evil which he spoke to do" (Ex 32:12, 14; Jer 26:13, 19; Jon 3:10; 4:2) - shub wĕ-nicham — "turn and relent" (Joel 2:14; Jon 3:9) — the conditional hope of intercession - nahămu nahămu ʻammi — "comfort, comfort my people" (Isa 40:1)

Word Family / Cognates (same root נחם)¶

H5163 נַחַם (Nacham) — proper name (1 Chr 4:19, "Naham")
H5164 נֹחַם (nocham) — masculine noun, "compassion, repentance" (Hos 13:14 only — "repentance shall be hid from mine eyes")
H5165 נֶחָמָה (nechamah) — feminine noun, "comfort, consolation" (Ps 119:50; Job 6:10)
H5166 נְחֶמְיָה (Nechemyah) — Nehemiah, "YHWH has comforted"
H5167 נַחֲמָנִי (Nachamani) — proper name, "comforter" (Neh 7:7)
H4490 מְנֻחָה / מְנוּחָה (menuchah) — not from this root (from H5117 nuach, "rest"), but often confused because the sound is similar

Synonyms¶

דבר עַל לֵב — consolatory phrase returned by search_relationships.py in the same comfort field
נוד (H5110) — near-neighbor returned by search_relationships.py
נשׂא בְּשִׂיח — phrase-level neighbor returned by search_relationships.py
רחם (H7355) — near-neighbor returned by search_relationships.py
דין (H1777) — near-neighbor returned by search_relationships.py
נוח (H3240) — near-neighbor returned by search_relationships.py
נקם (H5358) — near-neighbor returned by search_relationships.py
כזב (H3576) — near-neighbor returned by search_relationships.py
עצב (H6087) — near-neighbor returned by search_relationships.py
שׁוב (H7725) — near-neighbor returned by search_relationships.py
שׁקר (H8266) — near-neighbor returned by search_relationships.py

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for H5162.

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
שׁוּב (shub)	H7725	"repent" (Ezek 14:6; 18:30 etc. use shub, not nacham)	shub = physical/moral turning back (action); nacham = interior sighing/change-of-disposition (affect). English "repent" covers both; Hebrew keeps them distinct. They pair (Jer 18:8; Jon 3:9).
נָקַם (naqam)	H5358	"avenge" (Isa 1:24 pairs them)	naqam = strict retaliation; nacham Niphal in Isa 1:24 = "ease/relieve oneself" via executing wrath — emotional release, not legal requital.
רָחַם (racham)	H7355	"have compassion / pity"	racham = womb-tender mercy; nacham = comfort-through-sighing-alongside. LXX often renders both with οἰκτίρω/ἐλεέω.
חָמַל (chamal)	H2550	"spare, pity"	chamal = restrain from harming; nacham = respond to grief.
נוּחַ (nuach)	H5117	"rest" (menuchah)	Different root despite phonetic overlap. nuach = settle/rest; nacham = sigh/comfort. Never confuse in parsing.
אָבַל (abal)	H56	"mourn" (opposite motion of Piel)	abal is what the mourner does; nacham Piel is what the comforter does for the mourner.

Semantic Domains¶

UBS / Relationship Domains¶

[002001002023] Relief — search_relationships.py places nacham in a relief/comfort field, with neighbors such as בוא (H935), דין (A1778/H1777), לקח (H3947), and מלא (A4391/H4390).
[002004002013] Think — the tool also links nacham to a cognition/consideration field, with neighbors such as אבד (A7/H6), אַזְדָּא (A230), אזן (H238/H239), and אֲחֹרַנִּית (H322).

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
παρακαλέω (parakaleō)	G3870	52	7.19	Primary bridge. "Comfort, exhort, call alongside" — renders Piel nacham. Becomes NT "Comforter" vocabulary (Paraclete indirectly).
μετανοέω (metanoeō)	G3340	14	7.46	Renders Niphal nacham when the sense is "change one's mind / relent." The core NT "repent" verb — but in NT contexts it usually translates shub-type repentance, not divine relenting.
κακία (kakia)	G2549	8	4.10	Co-occurrence artifact: appears in the same verses because "the evil he would do" is what YHWH nicham ʻal.
παύω (pauō)	G3973	6	4.58	"Cease, stop" — renders Niphal "relent/hold back" in some contexts.
πενθέω (pentheō)	G3996	5	4.72	"Mourn" — collocation with comforter contexts.
ἐλεέω (eleeō)	G1653	5	3.75	"Show mercy" — overlap with the pity sense.
ἀνίημι (aniēmi)	G447	3	4.41	"Let go, relax" — renders Niphal "relent" with the nuance of relaxing wrath.
ἀποστρέφω (apostrephō)	G654	9	2.45	"Turn away" — collocation with shub (often paired in the same verse).

Bridge asymmetry: Piel nacham → παρακαλέω is near-one-to-one. Niphal nacham splits between μετανοέω (when subject is God relenting) and παρακαλέω-passive (when subject is "be comforted"). NT μετανοέω drawing on Niphal nacham inherits the nuance of divinely-initiated change-of-disposition, not merely intellectual reconsideration.