5282. naaman

Lexical Summary

naaman: delightful

Original Word: נַעֲמָן
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: na`aman
Pronunciation: nah-ah-MAHN
Phonetic Spelling: (nah-am-awn')
KJV: pleasant
NASB: delightful
Word Origin: [from H5276 (נָעֵם - pleasant)]

1. pleasantness (plural as concrete)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

pleasant

From na'em; pleasantness (plural as concrete) -- pleasant.

see HEBREW na'em

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from naem
Definition
pleasantness
NASB Translation
delightful (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

I. [נַעֲמָן] noun [masculine] usually pleasantness (so Thes amoenitas), but perhaps epithet of Adonis (so Mo^{Phoen. i. 227} Lag^{Symm. i. 468; Semit. i. 32} who compare red flower called [see Lane¹⁵⁷⁸], i.e. wound of Adonis, whence ἀνεμώη; compare Ew ^{Proph. i. 364} RS^{Proph. vi. n. 10 and} see Lewy^{Fremdwörter, 49}); — only plural נִטְעֵי נַעֲמָנִים Isaiah 17:10 (ᵐ5 φύτευμα ἄπιστον) perhaps = Adonis-plantations, or gardens (on double plural see Ges^{§ 124q}; and on Ἀδώνιδος κῆποι see Rochette^{Rev. Archéol. viii. 1851, 105-123} Daremberg et Saglio^{Dict. des Antiquités (1877), i. 73, and references} WSmith^{Dict. Antiq.} (3) i. 25 Fl in Levy^{NHWB iv. 229}).

Topical Lexicon

Textual Setting

נַעֲמָן (Na‛ăman) appears only once in the Hebrew Bible, in Isaiah 17:10, where the prophet warns Ephraim that its political alliances with Aram and its flirtation with pagan worship will end in disaster: “For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and failed to remember the Rock of your refuge. Therefore you cultivate delightful plants and set out imported vines” (Isaiah 17:10). The phrase “delightful plants” translates נַעֲמָנִים, the plural of נַעֲמָן.

Literary and Prophetic Significance

1. Contrast with Covenant Faithfulness
• Isaiah juxtaposes forgetfulness of “the God of your salvation” with the deliberate planting of נַעֲמָן. Israel turns from the Rock that saved them (Deuteronomy 32:4) to aesthetic projects that promise pleasure but yield judgment.
2. Prophetic Irony
• The lush imagery of ornamental horticulture seems life-giving, yet the surrounding oracle (Isaiah 17:4-11) foresees withering and desolation. Pleasant plantings cannot reverse divine discipline; “the harvest will fail in the day of grief and incurable pain” (Isaiah 17:11).
3. Interplay with Agricultural Motifs
• Scripture often employs vineyard language to depict Israel’s spiritual state (Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 2:21). נַעֲמָן serves as a vivid emblem: human ingenuity may beautify the land, but only obedience secures lasting fruitfulness (Leviticus 26:3-5).

Cultural Background

1. Exotic Gardening in the Ancient Near East
• Royal and urban elites imported choice cuttings to display wealth, status, and devotion to fertility deities. Assyrian reliefs portray parks filled with foreign flora as trophies of conquest. Isaiah’s mention of “imported vines” underscores political compromise—Judah and Ephraim appropriated Syrian-Aramean customs along with their gods (compare 2 Kings 16:10-16).
2. Syncretistic Worship Practices
• Sacred groves and landscaped high places blended agricultural fecundity with ritual prostitution and child sacrifice (2 Kings 17:10-11; Hosea 4:13-14). Planting נַעֲמָן likely functioned as both aesthetic improvement and cultic statement: a tangible pledge of loyalty to Canaanite-Syrian fertility cults.

Theological Implications

1. False Security in Man-Made Beauty
• Isaiah exposes the emptiness of external prosperity divorced from covenant loyalty (Isaiah 2:7-8; 31:1). The allure of נַעֲמָן anticipated Christ’s warning that soil without depth cannot sustain lasting growth (Matthew 13:5-6).
2. Judgment and Restoration
• Though pleasant plantings fail, God reserves a remnant (Isaiah 17:6-7). Judgment aims to redirect Israel back to the “Holy One of Israel,” foreshadowing the gospel call to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 11:5-6).

Intertextual Echoes and Related Terms

• “Pleasant plants” parallels Jeremiah’s charge, “Yet I planted you as a choice vine” (Jeremiah 2:21).
• The motif of trusting foreign resources recurs in Isaiah 30:1-3 and 31:1, where alliances with Egypt replace reliance on the Lord.
• The root idea of pleasantness resurfaces positively in Psalm 16:6—“Indeed, my inheritance is pleasing to me”—showing that true delight is found within covenant boundaries.

Ministry Application

1. Evaluating Modern “Pleasant Plantings”
• Churches and believers may adopt attractive programs, technologies, or cultural trends without examining whether they spring from dependence on God. Isaiah 17:10 invites congregations to assess whether ministry methods merely beautify or truly bear spiritual fruit (John 15:4-5).
2. Shepherding Toward Remembrance
• Pastors can use נַעֲמָן as an illustration when teaching on spiritual forgetfulness. Practical disciplines—Scripture meditation, communion, corporate worship—serve as modern “memorial stones” that keep God’s salvation before His people (Joshua 4:7).
3. Hope Beyond Judgment
• Even when worldly pursuits wither, Isaiah’s remnant theology assures believers that God preserves a faithful seed. This sustains missionary confidence that the gospel will bear lasting fruit despite cultural seductions (Galatians 6:8-9).

Summary

נַעֲמָן, though mentioned only once, embodies a timeless warning: aesthetic or strategic enhancements cannot substitute for covenant fidelity. Isaiah leverages the image of “pleasant plants” to expose idolatrous self-reliance and to call God’s people back to unwavering trust in their Redeemer.

Forms and Transliterations

נַעֲמָנִ֔ים נעמנים na‘ămānîm na·‘ă·mā·nîm naamaNim

Englishman's Concordance

Isaiah 17:10
HEB: תִּטְּעִי֙ נִטְעֵ֣י נַעֲמָנִ֔ים וּזְמֹ֥רַת זָ֖ר
NAS: you plant delightful plants
KJV: therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants,
INT: plant plants delightful vine of a strange

1 Occurrence

Strong's Hebrew 5282
1 Occurrence

na·‘ă·mā·nîm — 1 Occ.