נִידָה (ni.dah)
ni.dah
filth
H:N-FQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-F
Word Overview
The noun nidah refers to a state of ceremonial uncleanness or moral defilement. In the Hebrew Bible, it typically describes something that is ritually unclean and therefore unfit for holy spaces or contact with God. The word carries a heavy sense of separation, marking what is excluded from the community’s worship due to its impure nature.
This term appears only once in the Old Testament, in Lamentations 1:8. Here it describes Jerusalem itself, portrayed as having become "filth" or "impurity" because of her sins. The prophet uses this stark imagery to explain why God has allowed the city to fall; its moral corruption has made it ritually unclean, leading to its desolation and exile.
The usage highlights a key theological concept: sin is not just a personal failing but a condition that defiles the whole community and land. By calling Jerusalem nidah, the text emphasizes that her destruction was a direct consequence of her ritual and moral uncleanness, which separated her from God’s presence.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word nidah speaks of a painful separation. When Jerusalem became nidah, she was not simply out of step with a rule; her moral state had made her unfit to remain in God’s presence. That single verse in Lamentations captures the weight of exile: the city that once hosted the temple now finds herself treated as something unclean. It is a hard truth, but one the prophets never softened. Sin does not just fail a test. It stains and pushes away.
Yet the same Scriptures that name the filth also describe the God who makes clean. The law gave careful instructions for washing and restoration, and the prophets foresaw a day when God would sprinkle clean water and give a new heart. Lamentations 1:8 sits in a book of sorrow, but the sorrow is not the end. The very fact that the prophet can name Jerusalem’s state as nidah implies that God still sees her, still speaks, still leaves a door open. Describing the problem is the first step toward healing it.
For anyone who feels distant or stained, the word nidah serves as an honest diagnosis, not a final verdict. It invites a look at what really separates us from God, and then a turning toward the one who promises, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” Cleansing is possible, and that hope is woven through the whole story.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- <into>/ impurity1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- לְ/נִידָ֣ה1×
Key Verses
-
Lamentations 1:8
Jerusalem has grievously sinned. Therefore she has become unclean. All who honored her despise her, because they have seen her nakedness. Yes, she sighs and turns backward.
This singular use of nidah portrays Jerusalem’s sin as a state of ceremonial uncleanness that led to her being publicly shamed and cast off, showing how defilement drove the city from God’s presence.