Original Word: נָגַף
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: nagaph
Pronunciation: naw-gaf'
Phonetic Spelling: (naw-gaf')
KJV: beat, dash, hurt, plague, slay, smite (down), strike, stumble, X surely, put to the worse
NASB: defeated, strike, routed, struck, smite, smote, struck down
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to push, gore, defeat, stub (the toe), inflict (a disease)

beat, dash, hurt, plague, slay, smite down, strike, stumble,

A primitive root; to push, gore, defeat, stub (the toe), inflict (a disease) -- beat, dash, hurt, plague, slay, smite (down), strike, stumble, X surely, put to the worse.

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to strike, smite
NASB Translation
beaten (1), defeated (17), hurts (1), plagued (1), routed (4), smite (3), smites (1), smote (3), strike (7), striking (1), struck (4), struck down (3), stumble (2), surely* (1).

נָגַף verb strike, smite (Aramaic נְגַף); -

Qal Perfect ׳נ2Chronicles 13:15; Isaiah 19:22 (וְ consecutive); suffix נְגָפוֺ2Chronicles 21:18, etc.; Imperfect יִגֹּף Exodus 21:35 2t.; וַיִּגֹּף Exodus 32:35 4t.; אֶגּוֺף Psalm 89:24 +, etc.; Infinitive absolute נָנֹף Isaiah 19:22; construct לִנְגֹּף Exodus 12:23 (twice in verse); נָגְפוֺ Exodus 12:27; — strike, smite, of serious (even fatal) injury, compare accusative of person Exodus 21:22,35 (E); one's foot against (בְּ) stone Psalm 91:12; absolute (stumble) Proverbs 3:23; especially of judgment, subject ׳י, object individual (fatal stroke) 1 Samuel 25:38; 1 Samuel 26:10; 2 Samuel 12:15; 2Chronicles 13:20; 21:18 (לָחֳלִי); object people (absolute) Exodus 12:23 (twice in verse); Exodus 12:27 (JE), Exodus 32:35; Joshua 24:5 (E), Isaiah 19:22, compare Isaiah 19:22; see also Psalm 89:24; compare with accusative of cognate meaning מַגֵּפָה Zechariah 14:12,18; 2Chronicles 21:14 (followed by also בְּעַמְּךָ); with בְּ instrumental Exodus 7:27; of causing defeat in battle, compare accusative + לִפְנֵי Judges 20:35; 1 Samuel 4:3; 2Chronicles 13:15; 2 Chronicles 14:11.

Niph`al Perfect נִגַּף 2 Samuel 10:15; נִגְּפוּ 2 Samuel 10:19 2t., etc.; Imperfect יִנָּגֵף2Chronicles 6:24; וַיִּנָּגֵף 1 Samuel 4:2 4t.; Infinitive absolute נִגּוֺף Judges 20:39; construct הִנָּגֵף 1 Kings 8:33; Participle נִגָּף Deuteronomy 28:25; Judges 20:39, etc.; — be smitten, before enemy, in battle, followed by לִפְנֵי Judges 20:32,39 (twice in verse); 1 Samuel 4:2; 1 Samuel 7:10; 2 Samuel 10:15,19; 2 Samuel 18:7; 1 Kings 8:33; 2 Kings 14:12; 1 Chronicles 19:16,19; 2Chronicles 6:24; 25:22; Leviticus 26:17; Numbers 14:42; Deuteronomy 1:42; absolute Judges 20:36; 1 Samuel 4:10; 2 Samuel 2:17; 2Chronicles 20:22; Participle after נָתַן, followed by לִפְנֵי Deuteronomy 28:7,25. see נָגַע

Niph`al

Hithpa`el Imperfect יִתְנַגְּפוּ Jeremiah 13:16 = stumble, subject רַגְלֵיכֶם, followed by על (location); compare

Qal (Psalm 91:12) and נֶגֶף 2

Overview

The verb נָגַף occurs about forty-nine times across the Old Testament and consistently depicts a decisive divine blow that brings defeat, plague, stumbling, or death. Whether the striking comes through enemy armies, angelic agency, contagious disease, or accidental contact with the holy, the subject is ultimately God Himself who guards His covenant, vindicates His holiness, and advances His redemptive purposes.

Range of Meaning within Scripture

1. Military defeat: the rout of an army set in opposition to the Lord (Joshua 24:5; 2 Samuel 18:7).
2. Plague or pestilence: a fatal outbreak sent as judgment (Exodus 12:23; Numbers 16:46).
3. Physical striking or stumbling: an individual or group smitten or caused to fall (Isaiah 8:14; Psalm 89:23).
4. Cultic transgression: those who handle holy objects presumptuously are smitten (1 Samuel 6:19; 2 Samuel 6:7).

Distribution and Literary Setting

• Torah – 15 uses: chiefly in Exodus and Numbers, tying נָגַף to covenant sanctions.
• Historical Books – 23 uses: Chronicles, Samuel, Kings highlight battlefield reversals and ark incidents.
• Writings – 6 uses: Psalms and Esther employ the term for both prayer and praise.
• Prophets – 5 uses: Isaiah and Jeremiah apply it metaphorically to national stumbling and final judgment.

Association with the Ark and Holy War

In 1 Samuel 4–6 the ark narrative forms a sustained theology of נָגַף. Israel is “struck” before the Philistines (1 Samuel 4:2, 10), the Philistines are in turn “struck” by tumors (1 Samuel 5:6), and Beth-shemesh suffers a lethal blow for irreverent curiosity (1 Samuel 6:19). The pattern teaches that victory or calamity pivots on reverence for the divine presence rather than on the mere possession of sacred objects.

Instrument of Divine Judgment

Exodus 12:23 portrays the destroying angel who “will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you down.” The striking that fells Egypt while sparing the marked households anchors the Passover typology of substitutionary protection. Later generations facing covenant infidelity meet the same verb: “The Lord will strike you with wasting disease” (Deuteronomy 28:22).

Boundary Setting and Sanctity of Sacred Space

When Uzzah stretches out his hand to steady the ark, “God struck him there for his irreverence, and he died there beside the ark of God” (2 Samuel 6:7). The incident underscores that proximity to holiness without atonement brings lethal consequence, anticipating the need for a High Priest who can truly bear the holy presence.

Covenant Blessings and Curses

Both Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 balance נָגַף with promises of protection: “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you” (Deuteronomy 28:7). Obedience converts the verb from peril to promise; disobedience reverses the blessing into defeat (Leviticus 26:17).

National Tragedy and Restoration

After David’s illicit census, “The Lord sent a plague on Israel from morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men fell” (2 Samuel 24:15). Yet the same site of judgment becomes the future temple mount (2 Chronicles 3:1), demonstrating how God transforms smiting into sacrifice and hope.

Personal and Corporate Responsibility

Psalm 89:23 celebrates God’s covenant with David: “I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him.” Conversely, Proverbs 7:26 warns that illicit desire “has struck down many wounded.” The verb therefore addresses both communal destiny and individual morality.

Foreshadowing the Messianic Work

Isaiah 53, though not using נָגַף directly, echoes its theology: the Servant is “stricken by God” (Isaiah 53:4) so that God’s people might be healed. The pattern of a righteous sufferer absorbing the divine blow fulfills what earlier narratives only adumbrated.

Intercessory Responses

Moses (Numbers 16:46-48) and David (1 Chronicles 21:17) interpose sacrifice and prayer between the striking angel and the people, prefiguring the mediatorial priesthood of Christ. Intercession does not negate judgment; it channels it toward atonement.

Key Pastoral and Liturgical Applications

1. The seriousness of sin and the holiness of God demand reverence in worship.
2. Divine discipline aims at repentance and restoration, not annihilation.
3. Spiritual victories rely on covenant faithfulness, not external tokens.
4. Christ’s atonement satisfies the ultimate נָגַף, turning wrath into peace.

Representative Passages

Exodus 12:23 – “For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when He sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the doorway and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you.”

Numbers 16:46 – “Take your censer, put fire from the altar in it, and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun.”

Deuteronomy 28:7 – “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will march out against you in one direction but flee before you in seven.”

1 Samuel 4:10 – “So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent.”

1 Samuel 5:6 – “The hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Ashdod; He ravaged them and struck them with tumors.”

2 Samuel 6:7 – “And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his irreverence.”

2 Samuel 24:15 – “So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel from that morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men of the people died.”

Psalm 89:23 – “I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him.”

Isaiah 8:14 – “He will be a sanctuary, but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”

Jeremiah 13:14 – “I will smash them one against another, fathers and sons alike, declares the Lord. I will allow no compassion, pity, or mercy to keep Me from destroying them.”

Occurrence Index (approximate)

Exodus 6 " Leviticus 1 " Numbers 7 " Deuteronomy 3 " Joshua 1 " 1 Samuel 9 " 2 Samuel 5 " 1 Kings 1 " 2 Kings 1 " 1 Chronicles 2 " 2 Chronicles 3 " Psalms 3 " Proverbs 1 " Isaiah 3 " Jeremiah 2 " Esther 1

The prevalence of נָגַף across the Law, Prophets, and Writings testifies to the consistent biblical theme: the God who strikes in righteousness also provides the means of escape through repentance, intercession, and ultimately the redemptive work of His Anointed.

אֶגּֽוֹף׃ אגוף׃ בְּֽהִנָּגֵ֞ף בְּנָגְפּ֥וֹ בהנגף בנגפו וְנִגַּפְתֶּ֖ם וְנָ֨גְפ֜וּ וְנָגַ֧ף וַיִּגְּפֵ֥הוּ וַיִּגֹּ֣ף וַיִּגֹּ֤ף וַיִּגֹּ֥ף וַיִּגֹּ֧ף וַיִּגֹּ֨ף וַיִּנָּ֤גְפוּ וַיִּנָּ֤גֶף וַיִּנָּ֥גֶף וַיִּנָּגְפ֖וּ וַיִּנָּגֵֽפוּ׃ וָאֶגֹּ֣ף ואגף ויגף ויגפהו וינגף וינגפו וינגפו׃ ונגף ונגפו ונגפתם יִֽתְנַגְּפ֥וּ יִגָּפֶ֑נּוּ יִגֹּ֤ף יִגֹּ֧ף יִנָּגֵ֞ף יגף יגפנו ינגף יתנגפו לִנְגֹּ֣ף לִנְגֹּֽף׃ לנגף לנגף׃ נְגָפ֨וֹ נְגָפָ֧נוּ נִגְּפוּ֙ נִגְּפוּ֮ נִגַּ֖ף נִגָּ֑פוּ נִגָּ֥ף נִגָּף֮ נִגָּפִ֖ים נִגָּפִ֥ים נִגּ֨וֹף נָגַ֤ף נָגֹ֣ף נֹגֵ֛ף נגוף נגף נגפו נגפים נגפנו תִּגֹּ֖ף תִּנָּ֣גְפ֔וּ תִּנָּֽגְפ֔וּ תִגּֽוֹף׃ תגוף׃ תגף תנגפו ’eg·gō·wp̄ ’eggōwp̄ bə·hin·nā·ḡêp̄ bə·nā·ḡə·pōw behinnaGef bəhinnāḡêp̄ benagePo bənāḡəpōw egGof lin·gōp̄ linGof lingōp̄ nā·ḡap̄ nā·ḡōp̄ naGaf nāḡap̄ naGof nāḡōp̄ nə·ḡā·p̄ā·nū nə·ḡā·p̄ōw negaFanu negaFo nəḡāp̄ānū nəḡāp̄ōw nig·gā·p̄îm nig·gā·p̄ū nig·gap̄ nig·gāp̄ nig·gə·p̄ū nig·gō·wp̄ nigGaf niggaFim nigGafu niggap̄ niggāp̄ niggāp̄îm niggāp̄ū niggeFu niggəp̄ū nigGof niggōwp̄ nō·ḡêp̄ noGef nōḡêp̄ ṯig·gō·wp̄ tig·gōp̄ tigGof tiggōp̄ ṯiggōwp̄ tin·nā·ḡə·p̄ū tinNageFu tinnāḡəp̄ū vaegGof vaiyiggeFehu vaiyigGof vaiyinNagef vaiyinnageFu venaGaf veNageFu veniggafTem wā’eggōp̄ wā·’eg·gōp̄ way·yig·gə·p̄ê·hū way·yig·gōp̄ way·yin·nā·ḡê·p̄ū way·yin·nā·ḡə·p̄ū way·yin·nā·ḡep̄ wayyiggəp̄êhū wayyiggōp̄ wayyinnāḡep̄ wayyinnāḡêp̄ū wayyinnāḡəp̄ū wə·nā·ḡap̄ wə·nā·ḡə·p̄ū wə·nig·gap̄·tem wənāḡap̄ wənāḡəp̄ū wəniggap̄tem yig·gā·p̄en·nū yig·gōp̄ yiggaFennu yiggāp̄ennū yigGof yiggōp̄ yin·nā·ḡêp̄ yinnaGef yinnāḡêp̄ yiṯ·nag·gə·p̄ū yitnaggeFu yiṯnaggəp̄ūInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts