Strong's Hebrew: 5093. נִהְיָה (nihyah) -- To become, to come to pass, to happen

◄ 5093. nihyah ►

Lexical Summary

nihyah: To become, to come to pass, to happen

Original Word: נִהְיָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: nihyah
Pronunciation: nih-YAH
Phonetic Spelling: (nih-yaw')
KJV: doleful
NASB: bitter
Word Origin: [feminine of H5092 (נְהִי - wailing)]

1. lamentation

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

doleful

Feminine of nhiy; lamentation -- doleful.

see HEBREW nhiy

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from nahah
Definition
a wailing, lamentation
NASB Translation
bitter (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

נִהְיָה noun feminine id. (si vera 1.); — only Micah 2:4 נָהָה נְהִי נִהְיָה, where, however, Thes and others derive נהיה from היה (Niph`al, see above); but probably corrupt, strike out ᵐ5 Sta^{ZAW 1886, 122 f.} We Now as dittograph

Topical Lexicon

נִהְיָה (Strong’s Hebrew 5093)

Semantic Range and Kinship with Lament Terminology

Although this noun does not appear in the received Hebrew text, its cognate forms—particularly the better-attested נְהִי (Strong’s 5092)—locate it within the field of “lamentation, dirge, wailing.” The cluster of words built on the root הוה/היה is regularly employed to describe both spontaneous grief (Genesis 50:10) and formalized dirges taught by prophets (Amos 5:16). נִהְיָה therefore stands not as an aberration but as a legitimate member of a semantic family that gives Israel vocabulary for godly sorrow and corporate contrition.

Absence from the Masoretic Corpus and Textual Considerations

The lack of occurrences highlights the scribal tendency to prefer the shorter form נְהִי or the feminine נְהִיָּה when copying and vocalizing the text. Some lexicons suggest that נִהְיָה may underlie variant readings in a handful of late manuscripts of Jeremiah and Lamentations, yet there is no compelling evidence that the consonants ניה ever stood in the autographs where our Bibles now read נְהִי. The word’s inclusion in lexicons is thus primarily comparative, ensuring that every conceivable vocalization of the root finds a place in lexical numbering.

Lamentation in Israel’s Worship and Prophetic Ministry

Whether expressed with נְהִי or its unattested cousin נִהְיָה, lament was integral to Israel’s spiritual life. God expected His covenant people to give voice to grief in ways that honored His holiness and acknowledged human frailty.

1. Personal grief: David’s lament for Saul and Jonathan (2 Samuel 1:17-27) models how a theocratic king turned battlefield tragedy into worshipful reflection.
2. Communal mourning: “They shall call the farmers to wail and the skillful lamenters to mourn” (Amos 5:16) shows a structured, even professional, dimension to lament culture.
3. Prophetic instruction: “Teach your daughters wailing, and each other a dirge” (Jeremiah 9:20) indicates that lament can be catechetical, transmitting theological truths about sin and judgment.

In this setting, a term like נִהְיָה would have functioned as a liturgical cue, summoning the gathered congregation to a posture of humble sorrow.

Theological Thread from Old to New Testament

The Bible moves from creation’s “very good” (Genesis 1:31) to an eschatological new creation where “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4). Between these bookends lies a history soaked with lament. The longing embedded in each biblical dirge points forward to the consolation accomplished in Christ:

• Prophetic anticipation: Isaiah speaks of the Servant who will be “a man of sorrows” (Isaiah 53:3).
• Apostolic testimony: Jesus weeps over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41) and at Lazarus’s tomb (John 11:35), embodying the righteous lament Israel was called to offer.
• Ecclesial application: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4) reframes lament through the promise of messianic comfort.

Thus, even an unattested form like נִהְיָה participates in a canonical symphony that moves from exile’s wail to resurrection’s joy.

Christological Fulfillment and Eschatological Hope

Christ’s redemptive work gathers every righteous lament—whether voiced with נְהִי or conceived with the silent נִהְיָה—into His own sufferings. The Cross validates sorrow over sin and its consequences, while the Resurrection guarantees that lament will one day cease. In this way, the very existence of lament terminology offers implicit prophecy: if mourning is normative now, it presupposes a future when it is obsolete. Revelation’s vision of the Lamb upon the throne secures that future.

Pastoral and Liturgical Implications for Modern Ministry

1. Space for grief: Churches should resist the temptation to rush from confession to celebration. Biblical lament legitimizes sorrow and makes room for thorough repentance.
2. Formed speech: Teaching congregations historic laments—Psalms 6, 13, 130—equips believers with language that aligns emotion with truth.
3. Missional resonance: In a world accustomed to escapism, honest lament witnesses that the gospel addresses reality, not merely sentiment.
4. Eschatological framing: Every funeral, natural disaster, or national tragedy can be situated between Good Friday’s darkness and Easter morning’s light, holding pain and hope together.

Conclusion

Though the specific spelling נִהְיָה never surfaces in the canonical text, its kinship with attested lament words situates it within Scripture’s rich theology of godly sorrow. From patriarchs to prophets, from Jesus to the apostolic church, lamentation serves as a God-ordained means of confronting sin, processing loss, and anticipating redemption. Any study of נִהְיָה, however indirect, ultimately directs the believer’s gaze toward the Man of Sorrows who turns every faithful dirge into everlasting praise.

Links

Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts