5427. nether
Lexical Summary
nether: Natron, lye, alkali

Original Word: נֶתֶר
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: nether
Pronunciation: neh'-ther
Phonetic Spelling: (neh'-ther)
KJV: nitre
NASB: lye, soda
Word Origin: [from H5425 (נָתַר - To loosen)]

1. mineral potash (so called from effervescing with acid)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
nitre

From nathar; mineral potash (so called from effervescing with acid) -- nitre.

see HEBREW nathar

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from nathar
Definition
natron or carbonate of soda
NASB Translation
lye (1), soda (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
נֶ֫תֶר noun [masculine] natron, or carbonate of soda, a mineral alkali (Late Hebrew = Biblical Hebrew; Aramaic נִתְרָא, ; compare Greek νίτρον, λίτρον, Latin nitrum (see Lexicons)); — אִםתְּֿכַבְּסִי בַּנֶּתֶר Jeremiah 2:22 though thou wash thyself with natron (figurative; "" בֹּרִית; on use of 'nitrum' for handwashing among Greeks see MeinekeFragm. Comicorum ii. 638); חֹמֶץ עַלנָֿ֑תֶר Proverbs 25:20 (figurative of the incompatible).

Topical Lexicon
Overview of נֶתֶר in Scripture

The term refers to a naturally occurring alkaline substance commonly employed in the ancient world for laundering, medicinal cleansing, and certain industrial processes. In both of its biblical appearances it functions figuratively, leveraging the cultural familiarity of an effective cleansing agent to communicate moral or relational truths.

Occurrences and Immediate Literary Context

Proverbs 25:20 compares an ill-timed act of cheer to “vinegar poured on soda,” highlighting how an incompatible combination neutralizes the desired effect—an image sharpened by the effervescent reaction everyone in Solomon’s audience would have recognized.
Jeremiah 2:22 records the Lord’s indictment of Judah: “Although you wash with lye and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before Me,” declares the Lord GOD. Even vigorous self-scrubbing with the best available cleanser cannot remove covenantal guilt.

Historical and Material Culture

Archaeological chemistry confirms that natron beds along the Dead Sea and Wadi Natrun in Egypt produced an alkaline compound prized for scouring cloth, treating wounds, and preparing corpses for mummification. Merchants transported the mineral throughout the Levant, making it a staple of everyday life in Israelite households. Its familiar fizzing action when mixed with an acid made it a vivid pedagogical tool for sages and prophets.

Symbolic and Theological Significance

1. Inefficacy of Human Effort. Jeremiah’s imagery exposes the futility of ritual or moral self-improvement apart from divine forgiveness (compare Isaiah 64:6; Titus 3:5).
2. Disruptive Incongruity. Proverbs illustrates how a well-meant but misplaced gesture can intensify sorrow, just as vinegar disables soda’s cleansing capacity (cf. Romans 12:15, “weep with those who weep”).
3. True Cleansing From God. The stark contrast between stubborn guilt and powerless lye anticipates promises of a new covenant cleansing (Ezekiel 36:25; Hebrews 9:14; 1 John 1:7).

Intertestamental and New Testament Echoes

While the specific mineral is not named in the New Testament, its theological trajectory continues: John the Baptist calls for repentance symbolized by baptismal washing (Matthew 3:11); Jesus offers living water that purifies from within (John 4:14); and Paul speaks of believers “washed, sanctified, and justified” (1 Corinthians 6:11). The ineffective lye of Jeremiah stands in deliberate tension with the efficacious blood of Christ (Hebrews 10:22).

Pastoral and Homiletical Applications

• Counselors can draw on Proverbs 25:20 when teaching empathy, reminding congregants to match comfort to circumstance.
• Evangelists may employ Jeremiah 2:22 to show the necessity of grace, contrasting external religion with internal regeneration.
• Discipleship ministries can frame holiness not as abrasive self-scrubbing but as Spirit-enabled transformation (Galatians 5:16-25).

Further Study Suggestions

Compare the cleansing motifs of Psalm 51:2, Isaiah 1:16-18, and Revelation 7:14; examine ancient Egyptian texts on natron usage; explore Second Temple literature on ritual purity to appreciate how prophetic critiques laid groundwork for New Testament soteriology.

Forms and Transliterations
בַּנֶּ֔תֶר בנתר נָ֑תֶר נתר ban·ne·ṯer banNeter banneṯer nā·ṯer Nater nāṯer
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Proverbs 25:20
HEB: חֹ֣מֶץ עַל־ נָ֑תֶר וְשָׁ֥ר בַּ֝שִּׁרִ֗ים
NAS: [or like] vinegar on soda, Is he who sings
KJV: [and as] vinegar upon nitre, so [is] he that singeth
INT: vinegar on soda sings songs

Jeremiah 2:22
HEB: אִם־ תְּכַבְּסִי֙ בַּנֶּ֔תֶר וְתַרְבִּי־ לָ֖ךְ
NAS: you wash yourself with lye And use much
KJV: For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much
INT: lo you wash lye and use soap

2 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 5427
2 Occurrences


ban·ne·ṯer — 1 Occ.
nā·ṯer — 1 Occ.

5426
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