Naʾ נָא — Translate This Word Now, Please!

Speakers of Modern Hebrew and students of Biblical Hebrew know the word נָא (naʾ) as a fancy and old-fashioned way of saying “please.” This translation has its roots in the Talmud and in later medieval grammarians who were influenced by its dictum:

^{בבלי ברכות ט.} אין נא אלא לשון בקשה

^{b. Ber. 9a} נא is only an expression of request (cf. b. Soṭ. 10b, b. San. 43b; b. San. 89b).

The interpretation of נָא as “please” may have been prompted or reinforced by the biblical use of נָא following two explicit expressions of entreaty:

בִּי אֲדֹנִי...נָא – When YHWH afflicts Miriam with a skin disease after she and Aaron speak against Moses, Aaron asks Moses to intervene:

^{במדבר יב:יא} וַיֹּאמֶר אַהֲרֹן אֶל מֹשֶׁה בִּי אֲדֹנִי אַל־נָא תָשֵׁת עָלֵינוּ חַטָּאת אֲשֶׁר נוֹאַלְנוּ וַאֲשֶׁר חָטָאנוּ.

^{Num 12:11} And Aaron said to Moses, “Please, my Lord, do not put on us sin because we acted foolishly and sinned.”^[1]

אָנָּא...נָא – Hezekiah prays for healing when he is stricken with a fatal illness:

^{מלכים ב כ:ג} אָנָּה יְ־הוָה זְכָר־נָא אֵת אֲשֶׁר הִתְהַלַּכְתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ בֶּאֱמֶת וּבְלֵבָב שָׁלֵם וְהַטּוֹב בְּעֵינֶיךָ עָשִׂיתִי וַיֵּבְךְּ חִזְקִיָּהוּ בְּכִי גָדוֹל.

^{2 Kgs 20:3} “Please, O YHWH, remember how I walked before you in truth and with a perfect heart and have done what is pleasing to You!” And Hezekiah wept profusely.

The rabbinic emphasis that אין נא אלא לשון בקשה, “naʾ נא is only an expression of request,” suggests that the rabbis also knew of a different interpretation of נָא—one which was not related to a request—but they disagreed with it. Indeed, נָא, which occurs almost 400 times in the Bible, more often appears without terms of entreaty—and may not carry with it the sense of a request.

1. Biblical Contexts in which נָא Occurs

So as not to prejudge and to prejudice the conclusion, I leave the particle נָא untranslated in the following examples. Most frequently נָא follows an imperative:

Abram tells Sarai as they approach Egypt, אִמְרִי־נָא אֲחֹתִי אָתְּ, “Say you are my sister!” (Gen 12:13)

After the sin of the spies, Moses says to YHWH, סְלַח־נָא לַעֲוֺן הָעָם הַזֶּה, “Forgive the iniquity of this people!” (Num 14:19)

The wise woman of Tekoa is instructed to disguise herself so that she can approach King David: הִתְאַבְּלִי־נָא וְלִבְשִׁי נָא בִגְדֵי אֵבֶל, “Pretend to mourn and wear clothes of mourning!” (2 Sam 14:2)

It is also common after verbs that express modality, i.e., that indicate the attitude or desire of the speaker regarding the action:^[2]

When Samson’s betrothed is given to another man, her father offers his younger daughter to Samson: תְּהִי־נָא לְךָ תַּחְתֶּיהָ, “May she be in place of her.” (Judg 15:2)

In the wilderness, Moses sends a message to the king of Edom: נַעְבְּרָה־נָּא בְאַרְצֶךָ, “Let us pass through your land.” (Num 20:17)

Samson makes a wager with the guests at his wedding: אָחוּדָה־נָּא לָכֶם חִידָה, “I want to ask you a riddle.” (Judg 14:12)

The particle נָא is also connected (enclitic) to a host of particles, listed below in descending order of frequency, and in most of them it is difficult to see any notion of “please”:

(a) הִנֵּה־נָא – Abram says to Sarai as they approach Egypt:

‏^{בראשׁית יב:יא} וַיְהִי כַּאֲשֶׁר הִקְרִיב לָבוֹא מִצְרָיְמָה וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל שָׂרַי אִשְׁתּוֹ הִנֵּה־נָא יָדַעְתִּי כִּי אִשָּׁה יְפַת מַרְאֶה אָתְּ. יב:יב וְהָיָה כִּי יִרְאוּ אֹתָךְ הַמִּצְרִים וְאָמְרוּ אִשְׁתּוֹ זֹאת וְהָרְגוּ אֹתִי וְאֹתָךְ יְחַיּוּ.

^{Gen 12:11} As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “הִנֵּה־נָא, I know that you are a beautiful woman. ^12:12 If the Egyptians see you, and think, ‘She is his wife,’ they will kill me and let you live.”

(b) אַל־נָא – Abram decides to separate from Lot because the land cannot support the flocks of both men:

^{בראשׁית יג:ח} וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָם אֶל לוֹט אַל־נָא תְהִי מְרִיבָה בֵּינִי וּבֵינֶיךָ וּבֵין רֹעַי וּבֵין רֹעֶיךָ כִּי אֲנָשִׁים אַחִים אֲנָחְנוּ.

^{Gen 13:8} Abram said to Lot, “Let there not be a quarrel between me and you, and between my shepherds and your shepherds, for we are kinsmen.”

(c) אִם־נָא: – When Gideon doubts his calling to deliver Israel from Midianites, he asks for a sign:

^{שׁפטים ו:יז} וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אִם־נָא מָצָאתִי חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ וְעָשִׂיתָ לִּי אוֹת שָׁאַתָּה מְדַבֵּר עִמִּי.

^{Judg 6:17} And he said to Him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, make a sign for me that You are speaking to me.”^[3]

Even if the above examples could convey a request, other verses using נָא certainly cannot. For example, how exactly can we fit the word “please” into Abraham’s declaration that he is challenging YHWH’s plan to destroy Sodom?

^{בראשׁית יח:כז} וַיַּעַן אַבְרָהָם וַיֹּאמַר הִנֵּה־נָא הוֹאַלְתִּי לְדַבֵּר אֶל אֲדֹנָי וְאָנֹכִי עָפָר וָאֵפֶר.

^{Gen 18:27} And Abraham answered and said, “Here I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord, while I am but dust and ashes.”

Another example where נָא as “please” is problematic appears in the book of Judges, when the governor of Shechem goads a rebel leader to fight the army that Abimelech has sent to put down dissent in the city:

^{שׁפטים ט:לח} וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו זְבֻל אַיֵּה אֵפוֹא פִיךָ אֲשֶׁר תֹּאמַר מִי אֲבִימֶלֶךְ כִּי נַעַבְדֶנּוּ הֲלֹא זֶה הָעָם אֲשֶׁר מָאַסְתָּה בּוֹ צֵא־נָא עַתָּה וְהִלָּחֶם בּוֹ.

^{Judg 9:38} And Zebul said to him, “Where then is your boast (lit., mouth) that you say, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ Is this not the people whom you have despised? Go out now and fight him!”’

Does it make sense that נָא should mean “please” when it occurs after a sneering imperative—“Go out!?”

2. How Do the Ancient Versions of the Bible Translate נָא?

The next piece of the נָא-puzzle is to examine the early translations of the Bible. In most cases, נָא is either left untranslated or is interpreted as a particle marking logical consequence or inference, i.e. “therefore,” “indeed,” “then,” “now,” etc.

The Septuagint

The Septuagint, whose books were translated at different times between the 3^rd and 1^st centuries B.C.E., is the oldest of the translations of the Bible. The translators of the Torah usually left נָא untranslated, but we sometimes find the inferential Greek particle οὖν, “then, therefore, certainly.” For example, נָא appears twice when Sarai sends Abram to Hagar. The Septuagint leaves the first instance untranslated and uses οὖν for the second:

^{בראשׁית טז:ב} וַתֹּאמֶר שָׂרַי אֶל אַבְרָם הִנֵּה־נָא עֲצָרַנִי יְ־הוָה מִלֶּדֶת בֹּא־נָא אֶל שִׁפְחָתִי אוּלַי אִבָּנֶה מִמֶּנָּה וַיִּשְׁמַע אַבְרָם לְקוֹל שָׂרָי.

^{LXX Gen 16:2} And Sarah said to Abram, “See, the Lord has shut me off from giving birth; go then (οὖν) in to my slave-girl in order that you may beget children by her: And Abram listened to the voice of Sarah.^[4]

In the books of the Former Prophets, the various translators generally rendered נָא with the particle δή, “in truth, indeed, then, therefore, now.”^[5] For example, after Saul takes David into his service and makes him an arms-bearer, Saul contacts David’s father:

^{שׁמואל א טז:כב} וַיִּשְׁלַח שָׁאוּל אֶל יִשַׁי לֵאמֹר יַעֲמָד־נָא דָוִד לְפָנַי כִּי מָצָא חֵן בְּעֵינָי.

^{LXX 1 Sam 16:22} And Saoul send to Iessai, saying, “Do then (δή) let Dauid stand before me, for he has found favor in my eyes.”^[6]

The translators of the books in the Latter Prophets and the Writings generally did not translate נָא, though it is occasionally rendered as οὖν (e.g., Job 4:7), as well as νῦν, “now, thereupon” (e.g., Isa 47:12).^[7]

נָא in the Hebrew אַל־נָא, which expresses negation, is also generally untranslated, but we occasionally find it rendered as a request.^[8] For example, when one of the angels tells Lot to flee from Sodom into the hills, he objects, and the Septuagint translates this as a plea:

^{בראשׁית יט:יח} וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹט אֲלֵהֶם אַל־נָא אֲדֹנָי.

^{LXX Gen 19:18} But Lot said to them, “I beg, O Lord.^[9]

The Targumim

The next oldest translations are the Aramaic translations, Targum Onqelos and Targum Jonathan (likely composed originally sometime around the beginning of the Common Era), as well as the Palestinian Targum Neophyti (a few centuries later). They render נָא with כְּעַן, “now.” For example, when Sarai sends Abram to Hagar, Targum Onqelos reads:

^{תרגום אונקלוס בראשית טז:ב} וַאֲמַרַת שָׂרַי לְאַברָם הָא כְעַן מְנַענִי יוי מִלְמֵילַד עוֹל כְעַן לְוָת אַמתִי מָא אִם אִתבְנֵי מִנַה וְקַבֵיל אַברָם לְמֵימַר שָׁרָי׃

^{Targ. Onq. Gen 16:2} Sarai said to Abram, “See, now (הָא כְעַן = הִנֵּה־נָא), the Lord has prevented me from bearing a child. Go in, now (עוֹל כְעַן = בֹּא־נָא), to my maidservant. Perhaps I will be built up from her.” Then Abram accepted the word of Sarai.^[10]

כְּעַן (keʿan) is etymologically related to Hebrew עַתָּה (ʿattah), “now”; both are temporal adverbs that also developed the meaning “under the present circumstances; in view of what has happened.”[11]

When Moses intervenes after Miriam is afflicted with the skin disease, Targum Onqelos translates the first of the two occurrences of נָא as בְּבָעוּ, “please,” and the second as כְּעַן. The Hebrew reads:

^{במדבר יב:יג} וַיִּצְעַק מֹשֶׁה אֶל יְ־הוָה לֵאמֹר אֵל נָא רְפָא נָא לָהּ.

The targum translates the verse as:

^{תרגום אונקלוס במדבר יב:יג} וְצַלִי מֹשַׁה קדם יוי לְמֵימַר אֲלָהָא בְבָעוּ אֲסִי כְעַן יָתַה

^{Targ. Onq. Num 12:13} So Moses prayed before the Lord, saying, “O God, please heal her now!”

The Samaritan Targum to the Pentateuch (2^nd–3^rd centuries C.E.) renders נָא, after an imperative or imperfect, as שבי / שוי (shevi), “immediately, now,” but after the conditional particle אם and the negative particle אל as ני, as in אם ני “if”and אל ני / אלני “let not.”^[12]

In the Christian Palestinian Targum (perhaps from the 2nd half of the 1st millennium C.E.), of which there are only fragments, נָא is left untranslated more often than not. In a few passages one finds the inferential Greek particle און (οὖν), “then, therefore, certainly,” always with reference to what precedes (e.g., Gen 18:21; 50:5). On the other hand, Lot’s plea to the angel, אַל־נָא אֲדֹנָי, “Oh no, my lord!” (Gen 19:18), is translated as ובעא אנא מנך מרי, “and I beg you, O my Lord.”

The Peshiṭta

In the Peshiṭta, the 2^nd century C.E. Syriac translation by the early church fathers, נָא is usually untranslated. In a few passages, however, we find in the Syriac text the particle ܢܐ݁ (נֵא, perhaps a loan word from Hebrew; e.g., Gen 27:21; 1 Sam 22:12; half of the examples are in the book of Job), and in some others we find terms marking logical consequence:

הָשָׁא, “now” (e.g., Exod 10:11; Deut 3:25);

מֶכֵּיל, “hereafter, therefore” (e.g., Mic 6:1; Hag 2:18);

הָכֵיל, “therefore” (e.g., Ezek 18:25; Mic 3:1,9); and

תוּב, “again, still” (e.g., Num 16:5: Judg 6:39).

In only a few cases do we find explicit requests:

בְּבָעוּ, “please,” appears twice: בבעו אלהא אסה, “Please, O God, heal her!” (Num 12:13);

בבעו מריא אלהא אתדכריני וחיליני, “Please, O Lord, God, remember me and strengthen me (Hebrew זָכְרֵנִי נָא וְחַזְּקֵנִי נָא)!” (Judg 16:28); and

בעינן חנן מנך, “We beg you (Hebrew תִּפָּל־נָא)!” (Jer 42:2).^[13]

The Vulgate

Of the ancient translations, only the Vulgate, the Latin translation by Jerome (4^th–5^th centuries C.E.), when it translates the particle, most often renders נָא by “please.” Jerome is known to have studied Hebrew with the rabbis. Might he have learned from them that נָא means “please?”^[14]

Arabic Translations

The 10^th century C. E. Arabic translation (tafsir) of the Bible by R. Saadia Gaon usually does not translate נָא, but when it does, Saadia renders נָא by אלאן (ʾalʾan), “now.” In the Arabic translations of the Samaritan Pentateuch (11^th–13^th centuries C.E.), נָא is translated consistently by the same word, אלאן.

3. Interpretation of נא by Medieval Grammarians and Commentators

In his dictionary האגרון (ha-Egron), Saadia (10^th century C.E.) explains נָא as the language of request טלבה)),^[15] even though, as noted above, he translates נָא as אלאן, “now,” in his Judeo-Arabic translation. Abraham al-Fasi (10^th century C.E.) also translates נָא as אלאן:

וכל נא פי אלעבראני תפסירה אלאן בלא כלף

And every נא in Hebrew, its translation is אלאן, “now, without delay.”^[16]

Abraham Ibn Ezra (11^th–12^th centuries C.E.) relates נָא (naʾ) etymologically to Arabic אלאן (alʾan), suggesting that the letters of the Arabic word were reversed (metathesized).^[17]

By contrast, Rashi (11^th century C.E.) follows the Talmud and understands נָא as the language of request.^[18] Both R. Jonah ibn Janaḥ (10^th–11^th centuries C.E.), in his ספר השורשים,^[19] and Radak (R. David Kimḥi; 12^th–13^th centuries C.E.), in his ספר השורשים, interpret נא as “now” in some passages, but as a request in others.^[20]

4. Interpretation of נָא by Modern Grammarians and Commentators

In the modern period most, but not all, scholars interpret נָא as a particle of request.

Brown-Driver-Briggs—“entreaty or exhortation”^[21]

Dictionary of Classical Hebrew—“please”^[22]

Stephen Kaufman, Ahouva Shulman, and Helen Dallaire—“please”^[23]

HALOT—“emphasis”^[24]

Gesenius’ dictionary of the Old Testament—“emphasis in requests, wishes, demands, commands, decisions”^[25]

Paul Haupt—an emphatic particle^[26]

M. Bar-Magen—a phonetic addition that was interpreted later in different ways^[27]

Bent Christiansen—a “propositive” particle, i.e., indicates that the speaker intends to carry out a particular course of action^[28]

Thomas O. Lambdin, Bruce Waltke, and Michael O’Connor—a particle expressing the logical consequence of a previous statement or situation^[29]

A Particle of Request or Logical Consequence?

So what is the meaning of נָא in Biblical Hebrew? As we saw above, in some cases in the Bible, it simply does not make sense to translate נָא as “please.” Moreover, the fact that נָא is frequently left untranslated in the Septuagint and Peshiṭta, as well as in Saadia Gaon’s tafsir, hints that, as far as the translators were concerned, the exact nuance of the particle was either difficult to express (despite the fact that Greek has many particles marking subtle nuances) or was unimportant.

Yet when the ancient translators chose to translate נָא, they generally did so with particles that signified logical consequence or inference. The Septuagint most often chooses “then, therefore,” and in the Aramaic targumim and medieval Arabic translations, one finds consistently the temporal adverb “now.”^[30]

The biblical usage and distribution of נָא, as well as the important evidence from the ancient translations of the Bible, thus favors understanding נא as a particle of logical consequence: “then, therefore.” Despite the rabbinic dictum, it should not be rendered as “please.”