Original Word: נָתִיב
Part of Speech: Noun
Transliteration: nathiyb
Pronunciation: naw-theeb'
Phonetic Spelling: (naw-theeb')
KJV: path((-way)), X travel(-ler), way
Word Origin: [from an unused root meaning to tramp]

1. a (beaten) track

pathway, traveller, way

Or (feminine) nthiybah {neth-ee-baw'}; or nthibah (Jeremiah 6:16) {neth-ee-baw'}; from an unused root meaning to tramp; a (beaten) track -- path((-way)), X travel(-ler), way.

נָתִיב noun masculine^{Job 28:7} path, pathway (as raised); — absolute ׳נ Job 18:10 3t.; construct נְתִיב Psalm 119:35; suffix 3feminine singular נְתִיבָהֿ Proverbs 12:28 (si vera lectio, see below; on omission of Mappik see Ges^{§ 91e}, see below); — path Job 18:10 (figurative) Job 28:7; Job 41:24 (track); Psalm 78:50 (figurative); נְתִיב מִצְוֺתֶיךָ Psalm 119:35 the path of thy commands; דֶּרֶךְ נְתִיבָה אַלמָֿוֶת Proverbs 12:28 the journey of her pathway is no-death! "" בְּאֹרַח צְדָקָה חַיִּים Ew Be De. see אַל a above; others read אֶלֿ, and either translate ׳נ by-paths (Hi Str), or substitute a synonym of 'wickedness' (compare Now Frankenb; Perles^{Analekten 87 f.} נִתְעָבִים after Levy^{ChWB i. 28 b}).

נְתִיבָה noun feminine id.; — absolute ׳נ Isaiah 43:16, suffix נְתִּיבָתִי Job 30:13 2t. נְתִיבָתָם Proverbs 1:15; plural absolute נְתִיכוֺת Proverbs 8:2 +; construct id. Job 38:20 +; suffix נְתִיבֹתַי Job 19:8; Lamentations 3:9, נְתִיבֹתָיו Job 24:13, etc.; — path:

1 lit הֹלְכֵי נְתִיבוֺת Judges 5:6 goers on paths, i.e. travellers, Proverbs 8:2; Isaiah 58:12 (Oort Lag Klo נְתִיצוֺת but against this Du); path through sea Isaiah 43:16 (in figurative); of path to house of (personified) light and darkness Job 38:20.

2 often "" דֶּרֶךְ

a. = course of life Job 19:8; Job 30:13; Lamentations 3:9; Psalm 119:105; Psalm 142:4, of Israel Hosea 2:8; of path of God's appointment Isaiah 42:16.

b. of moral action, and character: paths of wisdom Proverbs 3:17, justice Proverbs 8:20 ("" אֹרַח צְדָקָה); light Job 24:13; עוֺלָם ׳נ Jeremiah 6:16 ("" דֶּרֶךְ הַטּוֺב); path of wicked Proverbs 1:15; Isaiah 59:8 (crooked), path of adulteress Proverbs 7:25; נְתִיבוֺת Jeremiah 18:15 is rendered 'by-paths,' by Gf Rothst and others; < Gie makes construct before following נְתִיבָהּ֯ סְלוּלָה דֶּרֶךְ לֹא Proverbs 12:28 see נָתִיב.

Overview

נָתִיב pictures a well-trodden track that both guides and bears testimony to the feet that have passed over it. The word serves Scripture by describing literal roadways, the invisible routes of creation, and, most prominently, the moral and spiritual courses that either please or grieve the Lord.

Distribution in Scripture

Approximately twenty-six occurrences appear across Historical narrative (Judges), Wisdom literature (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon), and the Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Habakkuk). The breadth of genres underscores that every sphere of life—national security, personal ethics, cosmology, and eschatology—depends on which “path” one follows.

Literal Roadways and National Security

Judges 5:6 remembers the days “when the highways were deserted” during Canaanite oppression. When covenant fellowship with the LORD waned, even commerce and travel collapsed. Conversely, Isaiah foresees a restored Israel where God promises, “I will turn all My mountains into roads, and My highways will be raised up” (Isaiah 49:11). The viability of נָתִיב in society reflects the spiritual health of the nation.

Cosmic Paths in Creation

Job marvels that light has “paths to its home” (Job 38:20), and Leviathan leaves a gleaming “path” in the sea (Job 41:32). Psalms 8:8 extols creatures that “swim the paths of the seas.” These texts elevate נָתִיב beyond earthbound tracks, portraying ordered routes woven into creation itself, routes known and governed by the Creator.

Moral and Spiritual Pathways

1. Paths of Righteousness
• “Her ways are pleasant, and all her paths are peaceful” (Proverbs 3:17).
• “The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn” (Proverbs 4:18).
• Psalm 119:35 petitions, “Direct me in the path of Your commandments.”

Wisdom is thus pictured as a reliable road whose destination is peace, light, and obedience.

2. Paths of the Wicked
• “They rebel against the light; they do not recognize its ways or stay on its paths” (Job 24:13).
• Jeremiah 18:15 laments those who “stumble in their ways, in the ancient paths.”
• The adulterer prowls after dark “and covers his face” (Job 24:15), confirming that secret sin walks crooked paths.

These uses warn that abandoning God’s route results in darkness, snares, and judgment.

Providential Paths of Deliverance

Psalm 77:19 sings, “Your path led through the sea, Your way through the mighty waters,” recalling the Exodus. Isaiah 42:16 extends the pattern: “I will lead the blind by a way they did not know.” The LORD carves redemptive נְתִיבוֹת where no human engineer could, foreshadowing the Messiah who declares, “I am the way” (John 14:6).

Judgment and Desolation

Lamentations 3:9 mourns that God “has walled me in so I cannot escape; He has weighed me down with chains. He has barred my ways with hewn stone and made my paths crooked.” When covenant rebellion persists, God obstructs the very tracks that once offered blessing, turning them into avenues of chastisement.

Ministry and Pastoral Application

• Guidance: The shepherding task revolves around directing people to God’s established path (Psalm 23; Proverbs 4:11).
• Warning: Like the prophets, preachers must expose false highways that promise freedom yet lead to ruin (Jeremiah 18:15; Proverbs 2:18).
• Comfort: Believers baffled by detours find assurance that “Your paths overflow with plenty” (Psalm 65:11); God’s ways may be hidden but are always good.
• Mission: Isaiah 58:12 calls God’s people to be “Repairers of the Breach,” restoring ruined pathways so that future generations may walk securely.

Theological Synthesis

נָתִיב unites divine sovereignty with human responsibility. God ordains and knows every path, yet individuals must choose to walk in His ways. The Old Testament’s physical and moral tracks anticipate the New Covenant revelation of the singular, saving road in Jesus Christ—“the new and living way” (Hebrews 10:20). The believer’s pilgrimage, therefore, is a continual resolve to forsake crooked trails and to stay within the illuminated highway of the Lord, confident that His paths end in glory.

בִּנְתִ֣יב בִּנְתִיב֥וֹת בִּנְתִיבֹתָֽיו׃ בִּנְתִיבוֹתֶֽיהָ׃ בנתיב בנתיבות בנתיבותיה׃ בנתיבתיו׃ וּנְתִיבוֹתֶ֖יהָ ונתיבותיה לִנְתִב֣וֹת לִנְתִיבָתִֽי׃ לנתבות לנתיבתי׃ מִנְּתִיבָתָֽם׃ מנתיבתם׃ נְ֝תִיבוֹתַ֗י נְֽתִיבָ֫תִ֥י נְתִ֖יבוֹתֶ֣יהָ נְתִיב֔וֹת נְתִיב֖וֹת נְתִיב֣וֹת נְתִיב֥וֹת נְתִיבָ֣ה נְתִיבָֽה׃ נְתִיבֹתַ֖י נְתִיבֽוֹתֵיהֶם֙ נָ֭תִיב נָתִ֑יב נָתִ֗יב נָתִֽיב׃ נתיב נתיב׃ נתיבה נתיבה׃ נתיבות נתיבותי נתיבותיה נתיבותיהם נתיבתי bin·ṯî·ḇō·ṯāw bin·ṯî·ḇō·w·ṯe·hā bin·ṯî·ḇō·wṯ bin·ṯîḇ binṯîḇ binṯîḇōṯāw binṯîḇōwṯ binṯîḇōwṯehā binTiv bintiVot bintivoTav bintivoTeiha lin·ṯî·ḇā·ṯî lin·ṯi·ḇō·wṯ linṯîḇāṯî linṯiḇōwṯ lintivaTi lintiVot min·nə·ṯî·ḇā·ṯām minnəṯîḇāṯām minnetivaTam nā·ṯîḇ nāṯîḇ naTiv nə·ṯî·ḇā·ṯî nə·ṯî·ḇāh nə·ṯî·ḇō·ṯay nə·ṯî·ḇō·w·ṯay nə·ṯî·ḇō·w·ṯe·hā nə·ṯî·ḇō·w·ṯê·hem nə·ṯî·ḇō·wṯ nəṯîḇāh nəṯîḇāṯî nəṯîḇōṯay nəṯîḇōwṯ nəṯîḇōwṯay nəṯîḇōwṯehā nəṯîḇōwṯêhem netiVah netiVaTi netiVot netivoTai neTivoTeiha netivoteiHem ū·nə·ṯî·ḇō·w·ṯe·hā ūnəṯîḇōwṯehā unetivoTeihaInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts