📖 Biblical Definition
Nacham (נָחַם) is a remarkable double-meaning Hebrew verb. On one side, it means to comfort — to give breathing-room to the distressed: "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God" (Isaiah 40:1; cf. Psalm 23:4; 71:21). On the other side, it means to relent or regret — a change of mind from grief: "And God repented [nacham] of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not" (Jonah 3:10; cf. Genesis 6:6). The same verb pictures the deep breath of relief and the deep breath of grief. God’s "repenting" never names mutability in His eternal nature — it names the bend in His decree that mercy may flow.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Hebrew "comfort" / "relent" — the deep breath of relief or grief.
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The Hebrew verb that means both to comfort (the deep breath of relief given to the distressed) and to relent or regret (the deep breath of grief that turns from a path). Same verb. YHWH nachams His people (Isa 40:1) and nachams over judgment when Nineveh repents (Jonah 3:10). The breathing-image is the link.
📖 Key Scripture
Isaiah 40:1 — "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God."
Jonah 3:10 — "And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented (nacham) of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not."
Genesis 5:29 — "And he called his name Noah (related to nacham), saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
The double-sense (comfort + relent) gets lost in English translations that pick one rendering or the other.
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English translators must pick: comfort or repent. The Hebrew didn't pick — the same breath that gives relief turns from judgment. The God who relents from threatened judgment is the God who comforts His penitent people. Same breath; same character.
Recover the unified verb: when YHWH nachams, He breathes deeply — toward His people in tenderness, away from His own threatened wrath in mercy. Both are nacham.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew nacham.
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['Hebrew', 'H5162', 'nacham', 'to comfort, to relent']
['Hebrew', 'H5146', 'Noach', 'Noah (rest, comfort)']
Usage
"Nacham is the deep-breath verb — comfort or relent."
"Same breath that comforts also turns from judgment."
"Read Isa 40 and Jonah 3 together."