H5088 H5088
A vow — a solemn pledge made to God, promising sacrifice, service, or devotion in exchange for divine favor.
Neder is the standard Hebrew noun for a vow, a voluntary but binding commitment made before God. Its semantic range runs from the intensely personal — Jacob's midnight vow at Bethel promising a tithe if God will protect him (Gen 28:20) and Hannah's tearful pledge of her unborn son to lifelong Nazirite service (1 Sam 1:11) — to the elaborately regulated: Numbers 30 devotes an entire chapter to the legal validity of vows, specifying when a father or husband may annul a woman's neder. Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 warns that it is better not to vow at all than to vow and fail to pay. Multilingual renderings converge tightly: Spanish voto, French voeu, German Gelubde — all pointing to a single semantic core of solemn religious pledge.
Senses
1. vow or solemn pledge — A solemn vow or pledge made to God, encompassing both the act of promising and the thing promised — whether a sacrifice (Lev 7:16; 22:21), personal consecration as a Nazirite (Num 6:2, 5, 21), or a conditional commitment seeking divine favor (Gen 28:20; 1 Sam 1:11; 2 Sam 15:7-8). Numbers 30 provides detailed legislation on the binding force and annulment of vows. All target languages use a single dedicated term — Spanish voto, French voeu, German Gelubde — confirming its tight semantic unity. 60×
AR["النَّذْرُ", "لَا-", "نَذراً", "نَذرًا", "نَذْرًا", "نَذْرٍ", "نُذُورِي"]·ben["-মানত", "আমার-মানত", "মানত", "মানত,", "মানত।"]·DE["[נדר]", "der-Gelübde", "ein-Gelübde", "ein-geloben", "ein-vow", "geloben", "mein-Gelübde", "vow"]·EN["a-vow", "my-vows", "the-vow", "vow"]·FR["[נדר]", "faire-un-vœu", "un-voeu", "un-vouer", "un-vow", "vouer", "vow", "vœu", "נדר"]·heb["נדר", "נדרי"]·HI["मन्नत", "मन्नतें-मेरी", "मानत", "मानता"]·ID["khusus", "nazar"]·IT["[נדר]", "fare-voto", "un-votare", "un-voto", "votare", "voto", "vow"]·jav["kaul", "nadar", "ubarampe-kula"]·KO["서원", "서원-을", "서원-이", "서원과", "서원들-을", "서원을", "서원을-위해", "서원이나"]·PT["de-voto", "meus-votos", "neder", "voto"]·RU["обет", "обета", "обеты-мои"]·ES["mis-votos", "un-voto", "voto"]·SW["ahadi", "cha-nadhiri", "nadhiri", "nadhiri-zangu"]·TR["adak", "adak-için", "adaklarımı"]·urd["منت", "منت-کے-لیے", "منّت", "میری-نذریں", "نذر"]
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
† נֶ֫דֶר, נֵ֫דֶר n.m. Nu 30:5 vow;—נֶ֫דֶר Gn 28:20 + 17 times; נֵ֫דֶר Nu 30:10 + 4 times; sf. נִדְרִי 2 S 15:7 + 5 times sfs.; pl. נְדָרִים Jon 1:16 Pr 20:25; sf. נְדָרַי ψ 22:26 + 3 times; נִדְרֵיהֶם Lv 22:18 + 24 times sfs.;—vow: 1. of personal service to י׳ Gn 28:20; 31:13 (of Jacob at Bethel), 2 S 15:7, 8 (at Hebron); Lv 27:2 (P, any one), of Nazirite Nu 6:2, 5, 21; Hannah’s consecration of…