H5012 H5012
To prophesy -- speaking God's word by divine authority (Nifal) or prophesying ecstatically under Spirit compulsion (Hitpael).
Nava' is the Hebrew verb for prophetic activity in both its deliberate and ecstatic dimensions. The Nifal stem carries the standard sense of delivering an oracle or divine message under God's authority -- the prophetic speech of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the classical prophets. The Hitpael stem preserves the older, more visceral connotation of being seized by prophetic impulse, often involving ecstatic behavior, as when Saul falls among the prophets (1 Sam 10:10-13) or the seventy elders prophesy at the tent of meeting (Num 11:25-27). Spanish consistently uses 'profetizar,' French 'prophetiser,' and German 'weissagen,' though these modern terms flatten the vivid distinction between authorized oracle delivery and Spirit-seized ecstatic experience.
Senses
1. prophesy, deliver oracle — Prophesying in the Nifal stem (73x) -- the standard form for delivering divine oracles, commands to prophesy, and participial descriptions of 'the one who prophesies.' This is the voice of classical prophecy: Jeremiah is commanded 'prophesy!' (Jer 19:14; 20:6), Ezekiel speaks over the dry bones (Ezek 37:7), and the Chronicler records levitical prophesying with instruments (1 Chr 25:2-3). Multilingual renderings are straightforward -- Spanish 'profetiza,' French 'prophetise!,' German 'weissagen' -- treating it as authorized divine communication. 73×
AR["تَنَبَّأْ"]·ben["তুমি-ভবিষ্যদ্বাণী-করো", "ভবিষ্যদ্বাণী-কর", "ভবিষ্যদ্বাণী-করবে", "ভবিষ্যদ্বাণী-বল", "ভাববাণী-বল"]·DE["[תנבא]", "weissagen"]·EN["prophesy", "shall-prophesy"]·FR["prophétise!", "prophétiser"]·heb["הינבא", "תינבא"]·HI["भविष्यवाणी-कर", "भविष्यवाणी-कर।", "हे-पुत्र"]·ID["akan-bernubuat", "bernubuatlah"]·IT["profetizzare"]·jav["meca", "mecaa", "medhar-wangsit", "medharna", "medharsabda", "sami-medhara"]·KO["예언하라", "예언하여라"]·PT["Profetiza", "profetiza", "profetizarás"]·RU["пророчествуй"]·ES["Profetiza", "profetiza", "profetiza,", "profetizarás"]·SW["tabiri", "utatabiri"]·TR["peygamberlik-et"]·urd["نبوت-کر", "نبوّت-کر"]
2. prophesy ecstatically, act as prophet — Prophesying in the Hitpael stem (42x), carrying connotations of ecstatic or Spirit-compelled prophetic activity -- being seized by prophetic impulse rather than deliberately delivering an oracle. The paradigmatic scenes are Numbers 11:25-27, where the Spirit rests on the seventy elders and they 'prophesy ecstatically,' and 1 Samuel 10:5-13, where Saul is overtaken among the band of prophets. Translations such as Spanish 'profetizaron' and German 'und sie weissagten' use the same verb but the Hebrew stem signals a phenomenologically different experience -- involuntary, often accompanied by music, and sometimes surprising even to the prophet. 42×
AR["تَنَبَّأُوا", "فَ-تَنَبَّأوا", "وَ-تَنَبَّأَ", "وَ-تَنَبَّأُوا", "يَتَنَبَّأُونَ", "يَتَنَبَّؤُونَ"]·ben["আর-তিনি-ভবিষ্যদ্বাণী-করলেন", "এবং-তারা-ভবিষ্যদ্বাণী-করছিল", "এবং-ভবিষ্যদ্বাণী-করছিল", "এবং-ভবিষ্যদ্বাণী-করল", "তারা-ভাববাণী-বলেছে", "ভবিষ্যদ্বাণী-করছে", "ভবিষ্যদ্বাণী-করেছিল", "ভবিষ্যদ্বাণী-করেছে", "ভাববাণী-বলছে", "ভাববাণী-বলেছে।"]·DE["und-er-weissagte", "und-sie-prophesied", "und-sie-weissagte", "weissagen"]·EN["and-he-prophesied", "and-they-prophesied", "are-prophesying", "prophesied", "prophesying", "they-prophesied"]·FR["et-il-prophétisa", "et-ils-prophesied", "et-ils-prophétisa", "prophétiser"]·heb["הינבאו", "ו-התנבא", "ו-התנבאו", "ו-יתנבאו", "וַ-יִּתְנַבֵּא", "מתנבאים", "ניבאו", "ניבאים"]·HI["उन्होंने-भविष्यवाणी-की", "और-नबूवत-करने-लगे", "और-भविश्यवअनि-कि", "और-भविष्यवाणी-कहते-रहे", "और-भविष्यवाणी-किया", "तो-नबूवत-करने-लगे", "नबूवत-करते-हैं", "भविष्यवाणी-कर-रहे-हैं", "भविष्यवाणी-करते-थे", "भविष्यवाणी-करते-हैं", "भविष्यवाणी-की"]·ID["bernubuat", "dan-dia-bernubuat", "dan-ia-bernubuat", "dan-mereka-bernubuat", "mereka-bernubuat"]·IT["e-egli-profetizzò", "e-essi-profetizzò", "e-essi-prophesied", "profetizzare"]·jav["lan-matur-nabi", "lan-memedha", "lan-piyambakipun-medhar-wangsit", "meca", "sami-meca", "sami-medhar-wangsit", "sami-nabi"]·KO["그들이-예언하였다", "그리고-예언했다", "예언하고-있는", "예언하고-있다", "예언하는-것이다", "예언하였다", "예언한", "예언했다"]·PT["e-profetizaram", "e-profetizou", "profetizam", "profetizaram"]·RU["и-пророчествовал", "и-пророчествовали", "пророчествовали", "пророчествуют", "пророчествующие"]·ES["profetizan", "profetizando", "profetizaron", "y-profetizaba", "y-profetizaron", "y-profetizó"]·SW["na-akatabiri", "na-akatoa-unabii", "na-wakatabiri", "na-wakatoa-unabii", "walitabiri", "walitoa-unabii", "wanatabiri", "wanatabiriwa"]·TR["peygamberlik-edenler", "peygamberlik-ediyorlar", "peygamberlik-ettiler", "ve-peygamberlik-etti", "ve-peygamberlik-ettiler"]·urd["اور-اُس-نے-نبوت-کی", "اور-نبوت-کرتے-رہے-وہ", "اور-نبوت-کی", "اور-نبوت-کی-اُنہوں-نے", "نبوت-کرتے-رہے", "نبوت-کرتے-ہیں", "نبوت-کی"]
Num 11:25, Num 11:26, Num 11:27, 1 Sam 10:5, 1 Sam 10:10, 1 Sam 10:13, 1 Sam 18:10, 1 Sam 19:20, 1 Sam 19:20, 1 Sam 19:21, 1 Sam 19:21, 1 Sam 19:23 (+30 more)
Related Senses
H0559 1. say, speak, tell (5297×)G3004 1. say, tell, speak (2226×)H1696 1. speak, say, tell (Piel) (1105×)H7121 1. call, summon, name (575×)H6680 1. command, order, charge (483×)H6030b 1. answer, respond, reply (289×)G2980 1. speak, talk (277×)H5046 1. Hifil: to tell, report (237×)G0611 1. answer or respond verbally (232×)H1288 1. Piel: bless, invoke blessing (227×)H7650 1. swear, take an oath (Niphal) (154×)H3789 1. Qal passive participle: written, recorded (112×)H1984b 1. praise, laud (Piel) (111×)H7592 1. ask, inquire, question (96×)H3034 1. give thanks, praise (Hifil) (94×)G1321 1. teach, instruct actively (92×)H3789 2. Qal active: write, compose (89×)G1125 1. to write, compose (a letter or document) (84×)H5046 2. Hifil: to declare, proclaim (79×)H7892a 1. song, musical composition (78×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [נָבָא] vb. denom. prophesy (in oldest forms, of religious ecstasy with or without song and music; later, essentially religious instruction, with occasional predictions);— Niph. Pf. 3 ms. נִבָּא Je 20:1 + 7 times; 2 ms. נִבֵּאתָ Je 20:6 + 2 times; נִבֵּיתָ Je 26:9; 1 s. נִבֵּאתִי Ez 37:7; 3 pl. נִבְּאוּ Je 2:8 + 3 times; נִבָּ֑נוּ Je 23:21; Impf. 3 ms. יִנָּבֵא Am 3:8 + 9 times Impf.; Imv.…