4997. nod
Lexical Summary
nod: Wandering, exile

Original Word: נֹאד
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: no'd
Pronunciation: nōd
Phonetic Spelling: (node)
KJV: bottle
NASB: bottle, wineskins, jug, wineskin
Word Origin: [from an unused root of uncertain signification]

1. a (skin or leather) bag (for fluids)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
bottle

Or noywd {node}; also (feminine) no)dah {no-daw'}; from an unused root of uncertain signification; a (skin or leather) bag (for fluids) -- bottle.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
of uncertain derivation
Definition
a skin bottle, skin
NASB Translation
bottle (2), jug (1), wineskin (1), wineskins (2).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
נֹאד (Judges 4:19 Kt נאוד, i.e. probably נְאוֺד,

noun masculineJoshua 9:4 skin-bottle, skin (√ unknown; Late Hebrew נוֺד; Assyrian nâdu, DlHWB 438; Aramaic נוֺדָא); — ׳נ absolute Psalm 119:83; construct Judges 4:19; 1 Samuel 16:20; suffix נאֹדֶ֑ךָ Psalm 56:9; plural נאֹדוֺת Joshua 9:4,13; — skin, יַיִן ׳נ Joshua 9:4,13; 1 Samuel 16:20; הֶחָלָב ׳נ Judges 4:19; for tears Psalm 56:9 (figurative; see Che); בְּקִיטוֺר ׳נ i.e. shrivelled and useless Psalm 119:83 (in simile; compare [De] Che Schu De Witt We > as thrust aside, out of the way Now (in Hup), compare De, or as black and wrinkled outwardly, while retaining the choice wine within Bae, after Rosenm Hup). — See WinerRWB. Art. Schlauch KmpRi HWB id.

Topical Lexicon
Physical Form and Everyday Function

The נֹאד was a pliable, sewn skin-bag—usually goatskin—used in the Ancient Near East to carry liquids such as water, milk, curds, or wine. After the animal was flayed almost whole, the legs were tied off and the neck served as the mouth of the vessel. Pitch or resin sealed seams, and a cord allowed the container to be slung over the shoulder or hung inside a tent. Because it was organic, constant use, heat, and smoke could dry it, causing cracks or leaks; alternatively, fresh skins were supple and capable of stretching as wine fermented. These simple details underlie every biblical occurrence of נֹאד and supply rich metaphors for faith and life.

Canonical Occurrences and Narrative Contexts

Joshua 9:4, 13 – The Gibeonites “took worn-out sacks on their donkeys and old, cracked wineskins” to masquerade as distant travelers. Their battered נֹאד underscored how convincing signs can mislead when leaders fail to seek the Lord.

Judges 4:19 – When the fleeing Sisera begged Jael for water, “she opened a skin of milk” and refreshed him, lulling him into a fatal sense of safety. The נֹאד became an instrument in God’s deliverance of Israel, showing how commonplace items can serve providential purposes.

1 Samuel 16:20 – Jesse loaded “a skin of wine” onto a donkey along with bread and a young goat as David’s gift to Saul. The offering conveyed respect and goodwill, illustrating that hospitality in Scripture is both relational and sacrificial.

Psalm 56:8 – “Put my tears in Your bottle” (נֹאד). David pictures God storing every tear as a treasured record: grief is not wasted, and divine remembrance is personal and meticulous.

Psalm 119:83 – “Though I am like a wineskin dried up by smoke, I do not forget Your statutes.” The psalmist likens spiritual desolation to a shriveled נֹאד hanging in a smoky tent—parched, darkened, apparently useless—yet still committed to God’s word.

Symbolic and Theological Themes

1. Preservation and Provision. In desert culture a skin-bag meant survival. The image highlights God’s sustaining grace, from Jael’s milk to Jesse’s wine.
2. Discernment and Deception. Israel’s treaty with the Gibeonites warns against judging by appearances; cracked נֹאד became visual evidence of cunning.
3. Intimacy of Divine Care. Psalm 56:8 moves from physical container to metaphorical reliquary of tears, teaching that God inventories human sorrow.
4. Suffering and Sanctification. The smoke-shrunken wineskin of Psalm 119:83 embodies trials that test but do not erase devotion.
5. New versus Old. While נֹאד itself appears only in the Old Testament, the principle reemerges when Jesus teaches about new wine in new wineskins. Fresh life in the Spirit requires vessels made ready for expansion, not brittle through smoke and age.

Historical and Cultural Insights

• Nomadic existence demanded portable storage; skins could be patched yet remained vulnerable to heat and stretching.
• Smoked tents doubled as kitchens; hanging wineskins absorbed soot and lost elasticity, creating the striking image employed by the psalmist.
• Archaeology from the Levant confirms widespread manufacture of skin-bags, often left behind in tombs or desert caves, testifying to their common value.

Ministry Applications

• Pastoral Care: Psalm 56:8 authorizes the language of lament; congregations can assure sufferers that every tear matters to God.
• Spiritual Discernment: Joshua 9 challenges leaders to seek divine counsel beyond surface evidence.
• Hospitality and Generosity: Jesse’s gift encourages believers to honor authorities with tangible expressions of goodwill.
• Spiritual Resilience: Psalm 119:83 equips saints to remain faithful when life feels brittle and scorched.

Christological Echoes

The נֹאד motif of stored tears anticipates Revelation 21:4, where God wipes away every tear; the collection in a bottle hints at ultimate redemption. Furthermore, the need for new wineskins prefigures the new covenant in Christ’s blood, poured into hearts renewed by the Holy Spirit.

Summary

Strong’s Hebrew 4997 נֹאד, though a humble skin-bag, traverses Scripture as a witness to God’s provision, human vulnerability, divine remembrance, and the call to discernment. From the tents of nomads to the prayer-closets of psalmists, the נֹאד invites readers to trust the One who both fills and preserves, collects every tear, and makes all things new.

Forms and Transliterations
בְנֹאדֶ֑ךָ בנאדך וְנֹ֣אד וְנֹאד֥וֹת ונאד ונאדות כְּנֹ֣אד כנאד נֹ֧אוד נֹאד֤וֹת נאדות נאוד ḇə·nō·ḏe·ḵā ḇənōḏeḵā kə·nōḏ keNod kənōḏ nō·ḏō·wṯ nō·wḏ Nod noDot nōḏōwṯ nōwḏ veNod venoDecha venoDot wə·nō·ḏō·wṯ wə·nōḏ wənōḏ wənōḏōwṯ
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Joshua 9:4
HEB: בָּלִים֙ לַחֲמ֣וֹרֵיהֶ֔ם וְנֹאד֥וֹת יַ֙יִן֙ בָּלִ֔ים
NAS: on their donkeys, and wineskins worn-out
KJV: and wine bottles, old,
INT: worn-out their donkeys and wineskins and wine worn-out

Joshua 9:13
HEB: וְאֵ֨לֶּה נֹאד֤וֹת הַיַּ֙יִן֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר
NAS: These wineskins which we filled
KJV: And these bottles of wine,
INT: These wineskins of wine which

Judges 4:19
HEB: וַתִּפְתַּ֞ח אֶת־ נֹ֧אוד הֶחָלָ֛ב וַתַּשְׁקֵ֖הוּ
NAS: So she opened a bottle of milk
KJV: And she opened a bottle of milk,
INT: I am thirsty opened A bottle of milk to drink

1 Samuel 16:20
HEB: חֲמ֥וֹר לֶ֙חֶם֙ וְנֹ֣אד יַ֔יִן וּגְדִ֥י
NAS: [loaded with] bread and a jug of wine
KJV: [laden] with bread, and a bottle of wine,
INT: A donkey bread jug of wine young

Psalm 56:8
HEB: שִׂ֣ימָה דִמְעָתִ֣י בְנֹאדֶ֑ךָ הֲ֝לֹ֗א בְּסִפְרָתֶֽךָ׃
NAS: my tears in Your bottle. Are [they] not in Your book?
KJV: thou my tears into thy bottle: [are they] not in thy book?
INT: Put my tears your bottle not bill

Psalm 119:83
HEB: כִּֽי־ הָ֭יִיתִי כְּנֹ֣אד בְּקִיט֑וֹר חֻ֝קֶּ֗יךָ
NAS: I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
KJV: For I am become like a bottle in the smoke;
INT: Though have become A wineskin the smoke your statutes

6 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 4997
6 Occurrences


kə·nōḏ — 1 Occ.
nō·wḏ — 1 Occ.
nō·ḏō·wṯ — 1 Occ.
wə·nōḏ — 1 Occ.
ḇə·nō·ḏe·ḵā — 1 Occ.
wə·nō·ḏō·wṯ — 1 Occ.

4996
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