נָגַר (na.gar)
na.gar
to pour
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 6 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb nagar describes the physical act of pouring, flowing, or running. It appears in six verses, primarily within Lamentations, Job, and Micah, capturing water moving from a vessel or source. In its basic sense, it denotes liquid being spilled or streaming freely, establishing a clear image of outpouring.
The word gains emotional depth in the Niphal stem, where it describes pouring oneself out. This usage often refers to tears flowing from the eyes, as seen when Lamentations depicts deep sorrow. It can also describe something vanishing or fading away, suggesting that what is poured out leaves no trace behind.
In poetic passages, nagar takes on a theological dimension through its Hophal form. Here it describes mountains melting before God’s presence, portraying creation’s response to divine power. This usage highlights how the physical act of flowing becomes a metaphor for overwhelming awe or dissolution in the face of the sacred.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word nagar paints a picture of liquid moving freely from a vessel. In Lamentations, it describes tears that pour down without stopping. This image validates our deepest grief. God sees the water that escapes your eyes when you are overwhelmed. He does not ask you to hold it back or pretend you are fine. Your sorrow is visible to Him.
Similarly, Micah uses this verb for waters rushing down a steep place. It shows how natural forces respond to divine presence. Mountains melt like wax before fire. This reminds us that no obstacle is too great for God’s power. When life feels unstable, you can trust that He holds the source of all things.
Even in Samuel, we see water spilled on the ground that cannot be gathered up. Yet the text says God devises means so the banished are not cast out. Your losses do not remove you from His care. He gathers what seems scattered. You are held by a love that does not spill away.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 6 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- which/ are spilled1×
- torrents1×
- poured out1×
- it has poured itself1×
- and/ pour/ them1×
- and/ I will pour down1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- נִגְּרָ֛ה1×
- נִ֝גָּר֗וֹת1×
- מֻגָּרִ֥ים1×
- וְ/הַגִּרֵ/ם֮1×
- וְ/הִגַּרְתִּ֤י1×
- הַ/נִּגָּרִ֣ים1×
Key Verses
-
Lamentations 3:49
My eye pours down and doesn’t cease, without any intermission,
This verse uses the Niphal stem to describe tears pouring down without intermission, validating deep sorrow as seen by God.
-
Micah 1:4
The mountains melt under him, and the valleys split apart like wax before the fire, like waters that are poured down a steep place.
The Hophal form describes waters poured down a steep place, illustrating creation's response to divine power with unstoppable force.
-
II Samuel 14:14
For we must die, and are like water spilled on the ground, which can’t be gathered up again; neither does God take away life, but devises means, that he who is banished not be an outcast from him.
Here the word compares human life to spilled water that cannot be gathered, yet God provides means so the banished are not outcasts.