Original Word: נָדַד
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: nadad
Pronunciation: naw-DAD
Phonetic Spelling: (naw-dad')
KJV: chase (away), X could not, depart, flee (X apace, away), (re-)move, thrust away, wander (abroad, -er, -ing)
NASB: fled, flee, wanders, fugitive, chased, chased away, could
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. (properly) to wave to and fro (rarely to flap up and down)
2. (figuratively) to rove, flee, or (causatively) to drive away

chase away, could not, depart, flee apace, away, remove, thrust away, wander abroad,

A primitive root; properly, to wave to and fro (rarely to flap up and down); figuratively, to rove, flee, or (causatively) to drive away -- chase (away), X could not, depart, flee (X apace, away), (re-)move, thrust away, wander (abroad, -er, -ing).

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to retreat, flee, depart, stray, wander, flutter
NASB Translation
chased (1), chased away (1), could (1), flapped (1), fled (6), flee (5), fleeing (1), fugitive (2), fugitives (1), shake (1), shrink (1), strayed (1), thrust away (1), wander (1), wanderers (1), wanders (3).

I. [נָדַד] verb retreat, flee, depart, stray, wander, flutter (Late Hebrew id.; Arabic flee, run away; Aramaic hate, abominate, shrink from, Aph`el put to flight, etc.; נְדַד flee ); —

Qal Perfect3feminine singular נָָֽדְדָה Isaiah 10:31; Esther 6:1; 3plural נָָֽדְדוּ Hosea 7:13 4t., נָדָ֑דוּ Isaiah 21:15; Jeremiah 4:25; Imperfect יִדּוֺד Nahum 3:7; 3feminine singular וַתִּדֹּד Genesis 31:40; 3masculine plural יִדֹּדוּן Psalm 68:13 (twice in verse); Infinitive construct נְדֹד Psalm 55:8; Participle נֹדֵד Jeremiah 49:5 +; feminine נוֺדֶ֫דֶת Proverbs 27:8; plural נֹדְדִים Hosea 9:17; —

1 retreat, flee Isaiah 21:15 from before (מִמְּנֵי) swords; Isaiah 33:3 at the sound (מִקּוֺל) of tumult; absolute Isaiah 10:31; Isaiah 22:3; Psalm 68:13 (twice in verse), of birds and beasts Jeremiah 4:25; Jeremiah 9:9 (+ הָלָ֑כוּ); participle= fugitive Isaiah 16:3; Isaiah 21:14; of fleeing in horror, disgust, with מִן person Nahum 3:7; Psalm 31:12.

2 flee, depart, Israel from (מִןׅ ׳י Hosea 7:13; of sleep (מֵעֵינַי) Genesis 31:40 (E), absolute Esther 6:1.

3 wander, stray (homeless, compare נוד), עוֺף נוֺדֵד Isaiah 16:2 (in simile), so Proverbs 27:8 (מִן local, in simile), compare Proverbs 27:8 (מִן local); of scattered Israel Hosea 9:17; Jeremiah 49:5; (searching) for food Job 15:23 (wicked man); אַרְתִיק נְדֹד Psalm 55:8 I will wander afar.

4 transitive flutter wings (of bird, in figure) Isaiah 10:14.

Po`el Perfect consecutive שֶׁמֶשׁ זָָֽרְחָה וְנֹדַ֔ד Nahum 3:17 the sun hath arisen and it ( the locust swarm) fleeth away.

Hiph`il chase away, Imperfect3masculine plural suffix וּמִתֵּבֵל יְנִדֻּ֑הוּ Job 18:18 (of wicked, "" יֶהְדְּפֻהוּ מֵאוֺר).

Hoph`al be chased away, Imperfect3masculine singular וְיֻדַּד כְּחֶזְיוֺן Job 20:8 (of wicked); קוֺץ מֻנָֿד 2 Samuel 23:6 thorns thrust away (si vera lectio, compare Dr.; Klo Bu HPS מִדְבָּר ׳ק).

Hithpo`el. Imperfect יִתְנוֺדְדוּ Psalm 64:9 flee away (in horror, disgust, compare

Qal Nahum 3:7; Psalm 31:12).

[נְדַד] verb flee (see Biblical Hebrew I. נדד); —

Pe`al Perfect3feminine singular שִׁנְּתֵהּ נַדַּת עֲלוֺהִי (K^{§ 46, Beisp.} a)) Daniel 6:19.

Root Idea and Range of Meaning

נָדַד portrays sudden movement away from a place of safety or stability—fleeing, scattering, wandering, or being driven off. The verb can describe (1) panicked retreat in battle, (2) flight from divine judgment, (3) the aimless roaming of a homeless life, or (4) the restless departure of natural forces such as floodwaters or birds.

Narrative and Historical Contexts

1. Warfare and Exodus: Exodus 14:27 pictures Pharaoh’s charioteers “fleeing” into the closing sea. נָדַד underscores that the mightiest army cannot stand when the LORD fights for His people.
2. Conquest and Settlement: Numbers 32:17 (lit. “until we have brought…”) uses the qal imperfect to promise protection so their families will not be forced to scatter before Canaan’s inhabitants.
3. Tribal Conflicts: Judges 12:4–5 notes how the Ephraimites “fled” before Jephthah. Here נָדַד marks covenant-family strife: Israel’s unity dissolves when righteousness is rejected.

Psalms and Wisdom Literature

1. Cosmic Flight: Psalm 104:7 “At Your rebuke the waters fled.” Creation itself reacts to God’s voice with the same hurried retreat that armies show before His power.
2. Military Panic: Psalm 68:12 “Kings of armies flee—they flee.” The doubled verb heightens the rout; God’s presence turns aggressors into fugitives.
3. Personal Longing: Psalm 55:7 “Oh, that I had wings like a dove; I would fly away and find rest.” David’s wish to נָדַד reveals the tension between faith’s call to stand firm and flesh’s desire to escape suffering.
4. Wandering from Security: Proverbs 27:8 “Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who wanders from his home.” נָדַד warns against detachment from God-given covenant relationships and responsibilities.

Prophetic Literature

1. National Collapse: Jeremiah 4:29; 49:5 portray entire cities “fleeing” to thickets or caves as judgment approaches. נָדַד illustrates how sin disintegrates social order.
2. Foreign Nations: Isaiah 33:3 “At the sound of Your thunder the peoples flee.” The verb emphasizes universal accountability; not Israel alone but every nation must face Yahweh.
3. Day-of-the-LORD Imagery: Joel 2:20 speaks of the northern horde being “driven into a barren land.” God not only repels evil but pursues it until it has no refuge left.

Metaphors of Frailty and Impermanence

Job 20:8 “Like a dream, he flies away… he is chased away like a vision of the night.” נָדַד conveys the transience of wicked prosperity—wealth and influence scatter as quickly as a nightmare at dawn.

Theological Themes

• Divine Sovereignty: Every occurrence of נָדַד ultimately attributes motion—whether of waters, kings, or nations—to God’s command.
• Judgment and Mercy: While sinners flee in terror, the redeemed are sometimes commanded to flee destructive environs (Genesis 19:17) or future wrath (Matthew 3:7), showing that fleeing can also be obedience.
• Covenant Stability: Scripture contrasts the security of those who “dwell in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalm 91:1) with the restlessness of those who stray; נָדַד helps paint that contrast.

Ministry Application

1. Calling Wanderers Home: Pastoral ministry often meets believers drifting like the bird of Proverbs 27:8. נָדַד highlights both the danger of spiritual vagrancy and the Shepherd’s heart to gather the scattered (Ezekiel 34:12).
2. Spiritual Warfare: Psalm 68:12 provides confidence for prayer: demonic strongholds cannot long resist God; they must “flee.”
3. Evangelism: Jeremiah’s pictures of whole cities fleeing invite proclamation of a refuge in Christ (Hebrews 6:18), the One who absorbs judgment so that sinners need not run in vain.

Christological Horizon

Though נָדַד is not directly applied to Jesus, its themes reach fulfillment in Him:
• At Calvary the disciples “fled” (Mark 14:50), showing humanity’s instinctive retreat under threat.
• The resurrection reverses the verb’s direction; now it is death, enemies, and despair that must scatter (James 4:7; Revelation 20:11).
• In the Great Commission believers are sent, not as fugitives but as ambassadors—yet always with the assurance that when God arises, “His enemies are scattered” (Psalm 68:1).

Thus, נָדַד traces a biblical pattern from anxious flight to secure dwelling, culminating in the gospel where Christ gathers all who once “were like sheep going astray” (1 Peter 2:25).

וְ֝יֻדַּ֗ד וְנוֹדַ֔ד וַתִּדַּ֥ד וידד ונודד ותדד יְנִדֻּֽהוּ׃ יִ֝תְנֹדֲד֗וּ יִדֹּד֑וּן יִדֹּד֣וּן יִדּ֣וֹד ידדון ידוד ינדהו׃ יתנדדו לַנֹּדֵֽד׃ לנדד׃ מֻנָ֖ד מנד נְדֹ֑ד נָֽדְדוּ־ נָדְד֖וּ נָדְד֣וּ נָדְד֥וּ נָדְדָ֖ה נָדָ֑דוּ נָדָֽדוּ׃ נֹ֘דֵ֤ד נֹדְדִ֖ים נֹדֵ֖ד נֹדֵ֣ד נֹדֵֽד׃ נדד נדד׃ נדדה נדדו נדדו־ נדדו׃ נדדים נוֹדֵ֖ד נוֹדֵ֥ד נוֹדֶ֣דֶת נודד נודדת lan·nō·ḏêḏ lannoDed lannōḏêḏ mu·nāḏ muNad munāḏ nā·ḏā·ḏū nā·ḏə·ḏāh nā·ḏə·ḏū nā·ḏə·ḏū- naDadu nāḏāḏū nadeDah nāḏəḏāh nadeDu nāḏəḏū nāḏəḏū- nə·ḏōḏ neDod nəḏōḏ nō·ḏə·ḏîm nō·ḏêḏ nō·w·ḏe·ḏeṯ nō·w·ḏêḏ noDed nōḏêḏ noDedet nodeDim nōḏəḏîm nōwḏêḏ nōwḏeḏeṯ vattidDad venoDad veyudDad wat·tid·daḏ wattiddaḏ wə·nō·w·ḏaḏ wə·yud·daḏ wənōwḏaḏ wəyuddaḏ yə·nid·du·hū yenidDuhu yənidduhū yid·dō·ḏūn yid·dō·wḏ yidDod yiddoDun yiddōḏūn yiddōwḏ yiṯ·nō·ḏă·ḏū yitnodaDu yiṯnōḏăḏūInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts