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Language Studies
Hebrew Thoughts
nâzal - נָזַל (Strong's #5140 )
To flow
The word נָזַל nâzal (Strong's #5140, x16) "flow, pour, gush, drop, trickle", is hardly a trickle in its first use. In Exodus 15:8 the Song of Moses describes how the waters of the Red Sea were stood upright in a heap, not even a trickle seeping forth!
In another song, that of Deborah, Judges 5:5, the mountains are said to "gush, melt, quake, shake" before the Lord, depending upon the translation - which clearly influence each other. The Greek Septuagint uses "shake, stir up", one can't imagine mountains trickling ... perhaps they metaphorically went "weak at the knees", with all their solid strength turned to water, a phrase used in Ezekiel 7:17, "all knees will become like water". Only Young's Literal translation tried to preserve the verb's intent with "Hills flowed from the face of Jehovah".
נָזַל nâzal is twice paralleled with the rarer רָעַף râaph (Strong's #7491, x5) "to drip/drop", which usually seems to mean gentle dripping when referring to dew, but with respect to the clouds opening, or metaphorically in Isaiah's salvation and righteousness, it seems to allow for an abundant pouring forth, for one would not expect God's deliverance to be a mere trickle.
"Drop down (רָעַף râaph), heavens, from above,
and let the skies pour down (נָזַל nâzal) righteousness;
let the earth open, and bring forth salvation..." (Isaiah 45:8)
"Which the clouds drop down (נָזַל nâzal)
And pour (רָעַף râaph) on many men" (Job 36:28)
Some translations render the word רַב rabh (Strong's #7227, x458) as "abundantly" in relation to the verbal "pouring" but it actually comes at the end of the sentence following the word "men" and the Greek Septuagint and JPS versions seem preferable to the KJV, NKJ, NIV, NRS et al in reading "great many multitudes of men".
נָזַל nâzal is once paralleled with the even rarer verb עָרַף âraph (Strong's #6201, x2) "to drop, descend" which is only used in two places, exclusive to Deuteronomy:
"Let my teaching drop (עָרַף âraph) as the rain, my speech distill (נָזַל nâzal) as the dew,
As raindrops on the tender herb, And as showers on the grass." (Deuteronomy 32:2)
The use of words for young and tender herbs and grasses suggests an element of gentle dripping, pouring forth, rather than a weighty downpour that would crush the plants. נָזַל nâzal seems, therefore, to be more than a trickle, but less than a flood, despite Isaiah 44:3's rendering as "floods", when "streams" would be more appropriate. Although, Jeremiah 9:18 uses נָזַל nâzal of tears, which admittedly in English we might render as "floods of tears".
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