נַחֲלָה224 H5159
Inheritance, possession; allotted land or estate; covenantal heritage where God or his people are the treasured portion.
Nakhalah speaks of permanent, inalienable possession — most often the tribal allotments of the promised land (Num 27:7; Josh 13-19), but also the astonishing covenant claim that God himself is one's inheritance (Ps 16:5-6) or that Israel is God's own heritage (Deut 4:20). Spanish heredad and herencia, French héritage, and German Erbe all capture this deep connection between identity and land. The word binds together property law, family loyalty, and divine promise into a single concept that runs like a thread from Genesis to the Psalms.
1. inherited land or property — Concrete allotted territory or estate received as a permanent possession — typically the tribal and familial land distributed in Canaan. Rendered consistently as 'inheritance' (heredad/herencia in Spanish, héritage in French, Erbe in German), this sense dominates in Numbers, Joshua, and Deuteronomy (e.g., Num 27:7 'give them a possession of an inheritance'; Josh 13:23 'the inheritance of the children of Reuben'). The land is not merely owned but divinely granted and protected by law against permanent alienation. 170×
AR["مِيراثاً","مِيرَاثًا","مِيرَاثٌ","مِيرَاثٍ","نَصِيبًا","نَصِيبٌ","نَصِيبٍ"]·ben["অধিকার","অধিকার-হিসাবে","অধিকারের","উত্তরাধিকার"]·DE["Erbe","ein-Erbe","wie-Erbe"]·EN["an-inheritance","as-inheritance","inheritance"]·FR["comme-héritage","héritage","un-héritage"]·heb["נחלה"]·HI["-देश-में","उत्तराधिकार","भाग","मीरास","मीरास-का","मीरास-के","विरासत","विरासत-में"]·ID["milik-pusaka","sebagai-warisan","warisan"]·IT["come-eredita","eredita","eredità","un-eredita"]·jav["pusaka","warisan"]·KO["기업으로","기업을","유산","유산-을","유산-이","유산을","유산이","유업으로","유업이"]·PT["como-herança","herança"]·RU["в-наследие","наследие","наследием","наследия"]·ES["como-heredad","como-herencia","heredad","herencia"]·SW["urithi"]·TR["miras","miras-olarak","mirasın"]·urd["میراث","میراث-کی","میراث-کے-طور-پر"]
Num 16:14, Num 18:23, Num 18:24, Num 26:62, Num 27:7, Num 27:7, Num 36:2, Num 36:3, Num 36:4, Num 36:7, Num 36:8, Num 36:8 (+38 more)
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. heritage as covenant portion — Metaphorical or covenantal inheritance expressing relational belonging rather than physical land. God declares Israel to be 'my inheritance' (Deut 4:20; 1 Kgs 8:51), and the psalmist responds that God himself is 'my portion and my inheritance' (Ps 16:5-6). French mon héritage and Spanish mi heredad carry the same possessive intimacy. This reciprocal usage — God possessing Israel, Israel possessing God — is one of the most theologically charged patterns in the Hebrew Bible (cf. Exod 15:17; Num 18:20). 52×
AR["مِيرَاثَكَ","مِيرَاثِي","وَ-ميراثٌ","وَ-مِيرَاثٌ","وَ-مِيرَاثُكَ","وَمِيرَاثٌ","وَمِيرَاثَكَ","وَمِيرَاثُكَ"]·ben["-আমার-অধিকার","-আমার-অধিকারকে","আমার-অধিকারের","আর-উত্তরাধিকার","উত্তরাধিকার-আমার","এবং-অধিকার","এবং-তোমার-অধিকার","এবং-তোমার-অধিকারকে","এবং-তোমার-উত্তরাধিকার","তোমার-অধিকাররূপে","তোমার-উত্তরাধিকারকে"]·DE["dein-Erbe","mein-Erbe","und-Erbe","und-dein-Erbe","und-ein-Erbe"]·EN["My-inheritance","and-inheritance","and-your-inheritance","my-inheritance","your-inheritance"]·FR["et-héritage","et-ton-héritage","mon-héritage","ton-héritage"]·heb["ו-נחלה","ו-נחלתך","נחלת-ך","נחלתי","נחלתך"]·HI["अपनी-विरासत","अपनी-विरासत-को","और-उत्तराधिकार","और-तेरा-उत्तराधिकार","और-तेरी-मीरास","और-तेरी-विरासत-को","और-मीरास","और-विरासत","और-विरासत-तेरी","तेरी-मीरास","निज-भाग-अपने-को","मेरी-विरासत","मेरी-विरासत-के"]·ID["Dan-warisan","dan-milik-pusaka-Mu","dan-milik-pusakaMu","dan-warisan","dan-warisan-Mu","dan-warisanmu","milik-pusaka-Ku","warisan-Ku","warisan-Mu"]·IT["e-eredita","e-eredità","e-la-tua-eredita'","e-tuo-eredita","e-tuo-eredità","eredita","la-tua-eredita'"]·jav["dados-waris-Panjenengan","lan-pusaka-Panjenengan","lan-warisan","lan-warisan-Paduka","lan-warisan-Panjenengan","lan-warisan-panjenengan","pusaka-Kula","warisan-Ingsun","warisan-Kula","warisan-Panjenengan"]·KO["그리고-기업이","그리고-너-의-유산","그리고-당신-의-유산-을","그리고-당신의-유업이니이다","그리고-유산이","그리고-주의-기업을","그리고-주의-기업이니이다","나의-유산을","내-기업을","내-기업이","내-기업이라","네-기업-으로","유산-을","유업을-나의"]·PT["Minha-herança","Minha-herança.","Minha-herança;","e-a-tua-herança","e-herança","e-herança-tua","e-tua-herança","minha-herança","por-tua-herança","tua-herança","¶ E-herança"]·RU["И-наследия","и-наследие","и-наследие-Твоё","и-наследие-твоё","и-наследия","наследие-Моё","наследие-Твое","наследием-Тебе","удел-Мой"]·ES["Y-herencia","heredad-mi","mi-heredad","ni-heredad","ni-herencia","tu-heredad","tu-herencia","y-a-tu-heredad","y-herencia","y-herencia-de-ti","y-tu-heredad","y-tu-herencia"]·SW["Na-urithi","kuwa-urithi","na-urithi","na-urithi-wako","urithi-wako","urithi-wangu","wala-urithi"]·TR["mirasimi","mirasım","mirasımı","mirasımın","mirasın","mirasını","ve-miras","ve-mirası","ve-mirasın","ve-mirasını"]·urd["اور-اپنی-میراث","اور-تیری-میراث","اور-تیری-میراث-کو","اور-میراث","اور-وراثت","اپنی-میراث","اپنی-میراث-کو","تیری-میراث","میراث-میری","میری-میراث"]
Related Senses
H5414 1. give, bestow (1855×)H3947 1. take, seize, grasp (Qal) (940×)G2192 1. possess / have (680×)G1325 1. give, bestow (336×)G2983 1. receive, obtain (134×)H3423 1. Qal: take possession of land (130×)G2983 2. take, take up (113×)G2398 1. one's own, belonging to oneself (91×)G3860 1. hand over, deliver to custody (78×)H7998 1. spoil, plunder, booty (74×)G1325 2. be given, be granted (70×)H5414 2. put, place, set (68×)H7999a 1. pay, repay, recompense (63×)H7069 1. Buy, purchase (59×)H1892 1. vanity, futility, absurdity (58×)H6299 1. redeem or ransom (Qal active) (49×)H4376 1. Sell (Qal active) (47×)H1350a 1. Redeem, buy back (46×)H6743b 1. prosper, succeed (intransitive) (40×)H5414 3. make, render, appoint (38×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
נַחֲלָה224 n.f. possession, property, inheritance (orig. gift; NH = BH);—נ׳ Nu 18:23 +; נַחֲלָת ψ 16:6 (Ges§ 80 g), read נַחֲלָתִי Ew SS We Köii 1, 425; cstr. נַחֲלַת Jos 13:23; sf. נַחֲלָתִי Ru 4:6; נַחֲלַתְכֶם ψ 105:11; pl. נְחָלוֹת Is 49:8, נְחָלֹת Jos 19:51;— 1. property: a. in Canaan given by י׳ to Israel, †נחלת ישׂראל Ju 20:6; †נ׳ יעקב Is 58:14, especially †אֲשֶׁר נֹתֵן לְךָ נַחֲלָה Dt…