Lexical Summary
nagar: To flow, pour out, gush forth
Original Word:נָגַר
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:nagar
Pronunciation:naw-GAR
Phonetic Spelling:(naw-gar')
KJV: fall, flow away, pour down (out), run, shed, spilt, trickle down
NASB:pour down, deliver, delivered, delivered over, flow, poured down, pours
Word Origin:[a primitive root]
1. to flow
2. (figuratively) to stretch out
3. causatively, to pour out or down
4. (figuratively) to deliver over
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
fall, flow away, pour down out, run, shed, spilt, trickle down
A primitive root; to flow; figuratively, to stretch out; causatively, to pour out or down; figuratively, to deliver over -- fall, flow away, pour down (out), run, shed, spilt, trickle down.
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. root
Definitionto pour, flow, run
NASB Translationdeliver (1), delivered (1), delivered over (1), flow (1), pour down (2), poured down (1), pours (1), spilled (1), stretched (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
[ (Aramaic
be long (of time), Aph`el
prolong, potract;
endure, flow, stream); —
Perfect3feminine singularPsalm 77:3;Lamentations 3:49;
plural2 Samuel 14:14;Job 20:28; —
be poured, spilt,2 Samuel 14:14 ( in simile of mortality).
pour oneself, flow, trickle, of eye (in tears)Lamentations 3:49.
vanish,Job 20:28 ("" ).
be stretched out (?)Psalm 77:3 (or read ?).
PerfectMicah 1:6;ImperfectPsalm 75:9;Ezekiel 35:5;Psalm 63:11;Imperative suffixJeremiah 18:21; —pour down, hurl down the stones of Samaria, subjectMicah 1:6;pour out, figurative of s wine-cup,Psalm 75:9; followed by =deliver over toJeremiah 18:21;Psalm 63:11;Ezekiel 35:5.
ParticipleMicah 1:4 (in simile, of mountains melting at theophany.
Topical Lexicon
Primary Imagery And Senseנָגַר consistently communicates an uncontrolled, downward movement—liquid or solid matter emptied, spilled, or flowing away. The emphasis is not on the act of pouring so much as on the inevitable result once the contents are loosed: the flow does not return. Whether it is water, tears, blood, possessions, or even mountains, what is “poured” is now beyond human recall. The verb therefore becomes a vivid vehicle for themes of irreversibility, vulnerability, and decisive divine action.
Occurrences Across Old Testament Genres
1. Narrative:2 Samuel 14:14 places the figure in the mouth of the wise woman of Tekoa: “we will surely die and are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered again.” The simile captures the fragility of life and foreshadows the gospel hope hidden in the same verse: “But God does not take away life; instead, He devises means so that the banished one may not be cast out from Him.” The unrecoverable water contrasts with the sovereign grace that finds a way to restore.
2. Wisdom:Job 20:28 portrays wealth “flowing away on the day of God’s wrath.” No barricade can stop the draining of possessions once judgment begins. The image rebukes false confidence in material security.
3. Psalms:
•Psalm 63:10 (verse 11 in many English versions) depicts enemies “falling to the power of the sword,” literally “poured out to the sword.”
•Psalm 75:8 uses sacramental language: “He pours from it, and all the wicked of the earth drink it down to the dregs.” Divine wrath is dispensed like wine; the wicked cannot refuse the draught.
•Psalm 77:2 frames personal distress: “In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; my hands were stretched out in the night…” The Hebrew reads “my hand flowed out,” picturing weakness so extreme the psalmist’s strength drains away.
4. Prophets of Judgment:Jeremiah 18:21,Ezekiel 35:5,Micah 1:4, andMicah 1:6 deploy נָגַר to dramatize the outpouring of blood, the melting of mountains, and the cascading of rubble when covenant curses fall. The shared imagery underlines that judgment is as unstoppable as gravity.
5. Poetry of Lament:Lamentations 3:49 weeps, “My eyes overflow unceasingly, without relief.” Tears pour the grief of exile onto the ground where once temple sacrifices had been offered.
Theological Themes
1. Irreversible Outcome vs. Redemptive Initiative
• Human acts (murder, rebellion, idolatry) trigger consequences “spilled” beyond retrieval.
• Yet2 Samuel 14:14 reveals a Gospel seed: God Himself devises means to reverse exile. The cross will eventually show how He gathers what seemed irretrievably lost.
2. Divine Wrath Properly Distributed
•Psalm 75:8 establishes that God’s judgment is neither haphazard nor capricious; He “pours” wrath with measured deliberation.
• Prophetic uses (Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Micah) affirm the same principle on a national scale. What pours out is exactly what covenant infidelity deserves.
3. Human Frailty And Mortality
• Spilled water (2 Samuel 14:14), flowing wealth (Job 20:28), poured blood (Jeremiah 18:21) all testify that humans cannot halt the cascading effects of sin or death.
• The psalmist’s dissolving strength (Psalm 77) and Jeremiah’s unstaunched tears (Lamentations 3) echo this truth at the personal level.
4. Creation Responding To Creator
•Micah 1:4 personifies mountains melting “like waters cascading down a slope.” The cosmos itself “pours” under the weight of divine presence, affirming that judgment and renewal embrace environmental as well as human realms.
Historical Backdrop
•2 Samuel 14 arises during Absalom’s estrangement, illustrating royal family dynamics in David’s court.
• Job’s setting, though timeless, speaks to patriarchal-era wisdom literature.
• Psalms 63, 75, and 77 span Davidic, Asaphite, and Korahite collections, showing the verb’s versatility in worship contexts.
•Jeremiah 18 andLamentations 3 sit on either side of Jerusalem’s fall (586 BC),Ezekiel 35 addresses Edom’s hostility under the Babylonian shadow, andMicah 1 anticipates Samaria’s destruction (722 BC) and Judah’s impending peril. Together they trace roughly three centuries in which נָגַר becomes a canonical shorthand for the irrevocable momentum of covenant consequences.
Ministry And Preaching Significance
1. Preaching Mortality With Hope
• Use2 Samuel 14:14 to address the certainty of death while pointing to the greater “means” God devised at Calvary.
2. Warning Against False Security
•Job 20:28 andPsalm 75:8 refute prosperity gospels by stressing that riches and the impenitent alike can be poured out in a moment.
3. Encouraging Honest Lament
•Psalm 77 andLamentations 3 validate tears that seem unending. Ministry to the grieving may quote, “My eyes overflow unceasingly,” assuring sufferers that Scripture gives words to their experience.
4. Calling To National Repentance
• Micah’s imagery of melting mountains and tumbling stones provides powerful pictures when addressing cultural sin. The irreversible toppling of Samaria warns modern societies that once moral foundations crumble, the slide may be swift.
Christological And Eschatological Connections
• The cup of wrath poured inPsalm 75:8 anticipates the cup Christ drank in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:39). What the wicked deserved was emptied upon the spotless Lamb, so that living water could flow to believers (John 7:38).
• Revelation reprises the motif: the bowls of wrath are “poured out on the earth” (Revelation 16:1). The final judgements mirror נָגַר’s certainty but also vindicate those covered by the poured-out blood of Christ.
Related Hebrew Imagery
נָגַר stands alongside שָׁפַךְ (shaphak, to pour out) and זָלַל (zalal, to flow). All can serve judgment or blessing, but נָגַר’s nuance of downward, unstoppable motion marks it distinctly. Recognizing these shades enriches sermon exegesis, preventing a flattening of Hebrew color.
Pastoral Applications
• Urge personal repentance before patterns become a “spilled” life.
• Comfort the bereaved: tears poured out are seen by the Lord who collects them (Psalm 56:8).
• Anchor hope: though our lives seem to drain away, God promises the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from His throne (Revelation 22:1).
Conclusion
נָגַר paints Scripture with the hues of gravity—physical, moral, and spiritual. Whatever is loosed from God’s restraining hand will run its full course unless redeemed by the One who can gather the spilled and restore the banished. In preaching, teaching, and counseling, the term invites sober realism and vibrant hope, urging every reader to flee to the One whose blood was willingly “poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
Forms and Transliterations
הַנִּגָּרִ֣ים הנגרים וְהִגַּרְתִּ֤י וְהַגִּרֵם֮ וַיַּגֵּ֪ר וַתַּגֵּ֥ר והגרם והגרתי ויגר ותגר יַגִּירֻ֥הוּ יגירהו מֻגָּרִ֥ים מגרים נִ֝גָּר֗וֹת נִ֭גְּרָה נִגְּרָ֛ה נגרה נגרות han·nig·gā·rîm hanniggaRim hanniggārîm mug·gā·rîm muggaRim muggārîm nig·gā·rō·wṯ nig·gə·rāh niggaRot niggārōwṯ Niggerah niggərāh vaiyagGer vattagGer vehaggiRem vehiggarTi wat·tag·gêr wattaggêr way·yag·gêr wayyaggêr wə·hag·gi·rêm wə·hig·gar·tî wəhaggirêm wəhiggartî yag·gî·ru·hū yaggiRuhu yaggîruhū
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