Lexical Summary ned: Heap, mound, or pile Original Word: נֵד Strong's Exhaustive Concordance heap From nuwd in the sense of piling up; a mound, i.e. Wave -- heap. see HEBREW nuwd Brown-Driver-Briggs נֵד noun masculineJoshua 3:13 heap of waters; of Red Sea Exodus 15:8 (song), Psalm 78:13; of Jordan Joshua 3:13,16; Psalm 33:7 (simile). נֵד קָצִיר Isaiah 17:11 harvest-heap is perhaps corrupt: Ges Ew Di Du derive from נוד, reading (probably) נָד (Di) fled is the harvest; CheHpt proposes לָכֵן therefore; BuhlLex 13 עַד, after ᵐ5 ᵑ7. Topical Lexicon Conceptual Meaning The term נֵד (nēd) denotes a heap, mound, or piled mass. Five of its six uses describe walls of water miraculously raised by God; the sixth employs the image figuratively for a “heap” of calamity. In every case the word points to the Lord’s power either to preserve or to judge. Canonical Occurrences 1. Exodus 15:8 Miraculous Heaps of Water Exodus 15:8 celebrates the Red Sea crossing: “At the blast of Your nostrils, the waters piled up; the flowing waters stood upright like a heap”. Israel’s deliverance is portrayed as creation reversed; the chaotic sea is restrained as effortlessly as a breath from God. At the Jordan, the same vocabulary reappears: “the waters flowing downstream will stand up in a heap” (Joshua 3:13). The repetition of נֵד links Exodus and conquest, framing Israel’s journey as one continuous act of divine salvation—from slavery to inheritance. The Psalter preserves these events for worship. Psalm 78:13 recalls that God “set the waters upright like a heap,” while Psalm 33:7 universalizes the act: “He gathers the waters of the sea into a heap; He puts the depths into storehouses.” The imagery moves from specific history to a cosmic confession: the Lord who corrals oceans is worthy of global fear and trust (Psalm 33:8). Figurative Heap of Judgment Isaiah 17:11 broadens the word’s scope. The prophet warns that an apparently flourishing harvest will “vanish on the day of grief and incurable pain.” Here נֵד pictures the piling up of sorrow rather than water. The same God who can heap seas for salvation can also stack affliction for the unrepentant. The verse thus balances the earlier narratives: divine power that rescues can also requite. Theology of Divine Sovereignty 1. Creator Control. By heaping waters, God proves absolute mastery over the primal forces introduced in Genesis 1. Faith and Obedience Illustrated Israel’s task in both crossings was simply to step forward. Priests carried the Ark until their feet “touched the waters” (Joshua 3:13). The heap appears in response to obedient faith, encouraging believers to advance wherever the Lord leads, even when circumstances seem fluid and uncontrolled. Worship and Remembrance The Psalms use נֵד to stir praise. Corporate worship rehearses historical salvation so that each generation learns to fear the Lord and hope in His steadfast love (Psalm 33:18). Teaching ministries can harness the imagery to remind congregations that the God of the Exodus still governs oceans, nations, and personal crises. Pastoral and Practical Application • Counseling: When lives feel inundated, proclaim the God who can pile up waters and clear a path. Summary נֵד captures the drama of a God who stacks the very elements of creation to shield His people and advance His purposes. Whether lifting waves like walls or piling sorrow on rebellion, the Lord’s sovereign hand is unmistakable. The word therefore stands as a memorial to His might, a summons to faithful obedience, and a warning that the same power that delivers can also discipline. Forms and Transliterations כַּ֭נֵּד כנד נֵ֖ד נֵ֥ד נֵֽד׃ נֵד־ נד נד־ נד׃ kan·nêḏ Kanned kannêḏ ned nêḏ nêḏ-Links Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Exodus 15:8 HEB: נִצְּב֥וּ כְמוֹ־ נֵ֖ד נֹזְלִ֑ים קָֽפְא֥וּ NAS: up like a heap; The deeps KJV: stood upright as an heap, [and] the depths INT: stood like A heap the flowing were congealed Joshua 3:13 Joshua 3:16 Psalm 33:7 Psalm 78:13 Isaiah 17:11 6 Occurrences |
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