Lexical Summary Nobach: Nobach Original Word: נֹבַח Strong's Exhaustive Concordance Nobah From nabach; a bark; Nobach, the name of an Israelite, and of a place East of the Jordan -- Nobah. see HEBREW nabach NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom nabach Definition a place in Gilead, also a Manassite NASB Translation Nobah (3). Brown-Driver-Briggs נֹ֫בַח proper name, masculine and of a location 1. masculine a Manassite Numbers 32:42 (JE), ᵐ5 Ναβαυ. 2. location in Gilead Judges 8:11, ᵐ5 Ναβαι, Ναβε(θ); Numbers 32:42 (formerly קְנָת, q. v. ), ᵐ5 Ναβωθ. Topical Lexicon Biblical occurrencesNumbers 32:42 records, “Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages and called it Nobah after his own name”. In that single verse the name appears twice: first as the conquering individual and second as the newly named city. Judges 8:11 later situates the town on Gideon’s march: “Gideon went up by the route of the nomads east of Nobah and Jogbehah and struck down the camp, for the army was unsuspecting”. These three occurrences firmly link נֹבַח to the early settlement of the Transjordan and to Israel’s deliverance in the era of the Judges. Historical setting 1. Conquest-era expansion The episode in Numbers unfolds while Israel is still on the plains of Moab. Reuben and Gad have requested the pasturelands east of the Jordan, and Moses grants the petition on condition of martial support (Numbers 32:20-22). The half-tribe of Manasseh, represented by Jair and Nobah, then presses farther north into Bashan, seizing fortified centers once held by Amorite king Og (Deuteronomy 3:4-5). Nobah’s capture of Kenath fills out this Transjordan triangle, demonstrating God’s promise that every place the sole of Israel’s foot would tread would belong to them (Deuteronomy 11:24). 2. Period of the Judges Gideon’s pursuit of Midian around 1200-1100 BC cites Nobah as an identifiable waypoint. The city had endured for roughly two centuries, implying a stable Israelite presence in Gilead during a time otherwise marked by instability. Its mention also corroborates that Gideon’s victory extended far into the eastern steppes, fulfilling the earlier mandate to drive out oppressors from the inherited land. Geographic location Nobah lay east of the Jordan River, north of the Jabbok and south of Hermon, somewhere in the vicinity of modern-day Kenawat in the Hauran region. Its strategic height on the Bashan plateau commanded caravan routes between the desert and the Galilee, explaining both Nobah’s desire to possess it and Gideon’s use of the corridor in his surprise assault. The man Nobah: faith and initiative Unlike the more famous Jair, Nobah appears only once as an individual, yet his action is decisive. Without waiting for collective permission, he acts on the covenant promise, seizes Kenath, and commemorates the victory by giving the city his name. The Hebrew narrative neither criticizes nor praises explicitly, but the placement alongside Jair (Numbers 32:41-42) suggests parallel commendation. Individually appropriating divine promise, Nobah models personal responsibility within communal inheritance. Kenath renamed Renaming signals both ownership and theological testimony. In the Ancient Near East, to assign one’s name to a place was to declare permanent possession. For Israel, it additionally proclaimed Yahweh’s faithfulness: the territory once under the sway of the Rephaim giant Og is now attached irrevocably to a tribe of Israel. The fact that Judges still uses the name centuries later confirms the permanence of the claim. Significance in Israel’s expansion in Transjordan The dual references to Nobah bookend a crucial lesson: promises possessed must be protected. The city is first taken in faith, later preserved amid national drift, and finally serves as a landmark in deliverance. This arc mirrors the larger redemptive story—initial conquest, periods of neglect, and God’s gracious intervention. Lessons for ministry • Bold obedience: Nobah did not wait for perfect conditions; he advanced because the land was promised. Kingdom work today calls for similar initiative grounded in Scripture. Theological reflection The continued existence of a city named Nobah in Judges validates the historicity of the Numbers account and exemplifies Scripture’s internal consistency. Geographical and chronological coherence testify that God’s Word accurately records real events in real places, reinforcing confidence in every covenant promise that remains to be fulfilled. Forms and Transliterations וְנֹ֣בַח ונבח לְנֹ֖בַח לנבח נֹ֖בַח נבח lə·nō·ḇaḥ leNoach lənōḇaḥ nō·ḇaḥ Noach nōḇaḥ veNoach wə·nō·ḇaḥ wənōḇaḥLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Numbers 32:42 HEB: וְנֹ֣בַח הָלַ֔ךְ וַיִּלְכֹּ֥ד NAS: Nobah went and took KJV: And Nobah went and took INT: Nobah went and took Numbers 32:42 Judges 8:11 3 Occurrences |
    |