H5358 — נָקַם (naqam)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H5358
Original: נָקַם
Transliteration: naqam
Pronunciation: naw-kam'
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Root: נ-ק-מ (n-q-m) — to avenge, punish
Occurrences: 31 unique verses, 44 tokens in OT (across 15 books)
First Occurrence: Gen 4:15 — "Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; to grudge, i.e. avenge or punish: — avenge(-r, self), punish, revenge (self), surely, take vengeance.

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Qal	13	avenge, take vengeance (active/participial)
Niphal	12	be avenged, avenge oneself (reflexive/passive)
Hithpael	5	avenge oneself, take revenge (intensive reflexive)
Hophal	3	be avenged, be punished (causative passive)
Piel	2	avenge, take vengeance for (intensive active)

Tallied from hebrew_parser.py --lemma "נקם" output (35 verb tokens; 17 additional tokens are noun H5359).

Stem notes: Qal includes 5 participles (noqem) — 3 in Nah 1:2, 1 in Psa 99:8, 1 in Lev 26:25. Niphal is the most common finite form for human agents avenging themselves. Hithpael occurs only in Jeremiah (5:9, 5:29, 9:8) and Psalms (8:2, 44:16). The Hophal appears only in early texts (Gen 4:15, 4:24; Exo 21:21).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
avenge / avenged / avenger	~18	58%
take vengeance / vengeance	~7	23%
revenge / revenged	~3	10%
punish / punished	~2	6%
surely	1	3%

Consolidated from fragmented KJV translation data (31 unique verses). The core semantic field is narrow: avenge/vengeance/revenge account for ~91% of all uses.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Jeremiah	7	0.5
1 Samuel	3	0.4
Ezekiel	3	0.2
Psalms	3	0.1
Exodus	2	0.2
Leviticus	2	0.2
Genesis	2	0.1
Judges	2	0.3
Nahum	1	2.1
Esther	1	0.6
Joshua	1	0.2
Numbers	1	0.1
Deuteronomy	1	0.1
2 Kings	1	0.1
Isaiah	1	0.1

Patterns: Jeremiah has the highest count (7v, 23% of all uses), featuring the distinctive Hithpael formula "shall not my soul be avenged?" (5:9, 5:29, 9:8). Nahum has the highest density (2.1/100v) with the triple-participial declaration of God as avenger (1:2). Prophetic books (Jer, Eze, Isa, Nah) account for 39% of all occurrences. Isaiah shows only 1 verb occurrence (1:24) — the remaining Isaiah naqam references are the cognate noun H5359.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Divine Retributive Justice — God as the Avenger¶

Nah 1:2 — "God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth (noqem); the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries"
Deut 32:43 — "he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries"
Jer 46:10 — "this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries"
Isa 1:24 — "I will ease me of mine adversaries, and avenge me of mine enemies"

2. God's Judicial Self-Questioning — "Shall Not My Soul Be Avenged?"¶

Jer 5:9 — "Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?"
Jer 5:29 — "Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?"
Jer 9:9 — "Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?"

All three use the Hithpael stem. The repeated formula functions as a rhetorical declaration that divine patience has a limit.

3. Human Blood-Vengeance and Warfare¶

Num 31:2 — "Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites"
Jos 10:13 — "the sun stood still... until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies"
Est 8:13 — "to avenge themselves on their enemies"
2Ki 9:7 — "that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets"

4. Personal Vengeance (Prohibited or Cautioned)¶

Lev 19:18 — "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself"
1Sa 24:12 — "The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee: but mine hand shall not be upon thee"

Lev 19:18 is the sole explicit prohibition — personal naqam among covenant members is forbidden, while divine naqam and authorized national vengeance continue.

5. Primitive Blood-Law and Talion¶

Gen 4:15 — "whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold" (Hophal)
Gen 4:24 — "If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold" (Hophal)
Exo 21:20-21 — "he shall be surely punished" / "he shall not be punished" (slave-law regulation of naqam)

6. The Avenger as Divine Attribute (Participial)¶

Psa 99:8 — "thou wast a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions"
Psa 8:2 — "that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger"
Psa 44:16 — "by reason of the enemy and avenger"

The Qal participle noqem and Hithpael participle mitnaqem function as quasi-nominal characterizations — "the one who avenges" as a standing attribute.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יְהֹוָה (YHWH)	H3068	14x (45%)	YHWH as subject or authorizer of vengeance
אֹיֵב (oyeb)	H341	9x (29%)	"avenge... of enemies/adversaries"
יָד (yad)	H3027	6x (19%)	"hand" — divine or human agency
נָקָם (naqam noun)	H5359	6x (19%)	Cognate noun "vengeance" alongside verb
נְקָמָה (neqamah)	H5360	5x (16%)	Cognate noun "revenge/vengeance"
גּוֹי (gowy)	H1471	5x (16%)	"nation" — object of divine vengeance
יוֹם (yowm)	H3117	5x (16%)	"day of vengeance" formula
עַם (am)	H5971	5x (16%)	"people" — covenant community context
דָּם (dam)	H1818	4x (13%)	"avenge the blood" — bloodguilt pattern
נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh)	H5315	4x (13%)	"shall my soul be avenged" — Jeremiah formula

Word Family / Cognates¶

H5359 נָקָם (naqam) — masculine noun: vengeance, revenge (27v). The nominal form appearing in prophetic judgment oracles: "day of vengeance" (Isa 34:8, 61:2, 63:4), "garments of vengeance" (Isa 59:17).
H5360 נְקָמָה (neqamah) — feminine noun: revenge, vengeance, avengement (17v). Often paired with H5358 verb or H5359 noun. Ezekiel uses it for hostile human vengeance (25:12, 15).

Synonyms¶

H5162 נָחַם (nacham) — comfort, repent, avenge. In Isa 1:24, nacham Niphal ("ease myself") pairs with naqam — nacham describes the emotional release, naqam the retaliatory act.
H5201 נָטַר (natar) — keep, reserve, bear a grudge. Paired with naqam in Lev 19:18 and Nah 1:2; natar is the holding of resentment, naqam the acting on it.
H6485 פָּקַד (paqad) — visit, punish, appoint. In Jer 5:9/29, 9:9, paqad ("visit/punish") stands in parallel with naqam Hithpael — paqad frames the divine inspection, naqam the resulting judgment.
H7378 רִיב (riyb) — contend, strive, plead. Legal dispute verb; naqam is the execution, riyb the litigation.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
נָקָם (naqam)	H5359	"vengeance"	H5359 is the noun form; H5358 is the verb. Both derive from the same root.
נְקָמָה (neqamah)	H5360	"revenge, vengeance"	H5360 is the feminine noun — functionally synonymous with H5359 but sometimes used for hostile/human vengeance.
שָׁפַט (shaphat)	H8199	"avenge" (rare overlap)	Shaphat = judge, govern; naqam = specifically avenge/punish. Shaphat is judicial process; naqam is retributive action.
גָּאַל (gaal)	H1350	"avenger" (goel hadam)	Gaal = redeem, act as kinsman; the "avenger of blood" (goel hadam) uses gaal, not naqam. Gaal is relational obligation; naqam is retributive.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
ἐκδικέω (ekdikeo) G1556	22×	8.04	Primary — "to vindicate, avenge, punish"
ἐκδίκησις (ekdikesis) G1557	9×	7.10	Noun — "vindication, retribution"
δίκη (dike) G1349	4×	7.43	"Justice, penalty, punishment"
ἐχθρός (echthros) G2190	10×	4.52	"Enemy" — contextual co-occurrence, not translation

The dominant LXX rendering is G1556 ekdikeo (22 co-occurrences, PMI 8.04). The LXX translators consistently chose the ek-dike compound ("execute justice out of") to render Hebrew naqam, framing visceral vengeance as judicial vindication. The ek-dik- word family (G1556 + G1557) accounts for 31 of the co-occurrences combined.