The only element common to all meanings of nhm [nchm] appears to be the attempt to influence a
situation: by changing the course of events, rejecting an obligation, or refraining from an action,
when the focus is on the present; by influencing a decision, when the focus is on the future; and by
accepting the consequences of an act or helping another accept them or contrariwise dissociating
oneself emotionally from them, when the focus is on the past.
15
He observes that the twin factors of decision and emotion are the rule in nacham; they are indissolubly
interwoven, even when in individual cases there may be greater emphasis on one element or the other.
16
Years earlier Lange had arrived at a similar conclusion, specifically for nacham in the niphal, when he
noted that the verb relates the dual aspects of feeling and purpose.
17
For the most part the LXX uses parakaleo, "to summon, call upon, invite, urge, request, comfort,"
and possibly "try to console" or "conciliate," to translate the niphal, piel, pual, and hithpael of nacham. It
uses metanoeo, "to change one's mind," "repent," only for the niphal, several times in connection with
Yahweh, sometimes with regard to Israel. The LXX uses eleeo, "to have mercy" or "pity," "be merciful," 4
times for the piel and once for the niphal. It uses pauo, "to stop, cause to stop, relieve" 5 times for the
niphal.
18
Interestingly, the LXX uses none of these Greek verbs for nacham, niphal, in Genesis 6:6 and
Exodus 32:14. In Genesis 6:6 the LXX renders nacham with the verbal root enthumeomai, "to reflect (on),
consider, think." In Exodus 32:14 appears the Greek verbal root hilaskomai, "to propitiate, conciliate,"
passive "be propitiated, be merciful" or "gracious." Further, in the LXX Genesis 6:6,7 are the only verses
where enthumeomai is used for nacham, and Exodus 32:14 the only place where hilaskomai appears for
nacham. What this data from the LXX means is uncertain. Perhaps the translators wanted to avoid the
impression in both passages that God regretted, was sorry, or changed His mind.
In Genesis 6:6 nacham is an anthropopathic term describing God's reaction to the horrible
wickedness and pervasive corruption of the human race. The rest of the verse is intensely anthropopathic
and anthropomorphic: "He [God] was pained to His heart." Nacham communicates to the reader that the
Deity is not remote, distant, and uninterested in mankind. Rather, He has a keen interest in, watches
15
Simian-Yofre, p. 342. He states that "most experts no longer accept an original semantic identification of
Heb. nhm [nchm] with Arab. nhm [nchm], `breathe heavily,' both because of critical objections to deriving
the meaning of a word from its etymology and because the concrete semantic field associated with nhm
[nchm] in the OT clearly differs from that associated with Arab. nhm [nchm] [p. 341]."
16
Simian-Yofre, pp. 342-343.
17
Lange, Genesis, p. 288.
18
Simian-Yofre, p. 350.