NIMROD’S REBELLION

Noah was the first patriarch of the post-Flood society. (Gen. 10:1-32) Nevertheless, during his lifetime false religion again rose up among those under the leadership of Nimrod, as seen in their rebellious attempt to build a “tower with its top in the heavens” for fear that they might be scattered “over all the surface of the earth.” This was in direct opposition to God’s command to “fill the earth,” and a rebellion also against Noah’s position as God’s prophet. Noah lived 350 years after the flood, dying about two years before the birth of Abraham. He therefore got to see Jehovah’s judgment on the builders of the tower of Babel, and the scattering of those rebellious ones over the face of the earth. Noah, and apparently Shem, were not involved in the tower building and consequently would not suffer confusion of their language, but would continue to speak man’s original language, which God gave to Adam.—Gen. 9:28, 29; 11:1-9.

A PROPHETIC PATTERN

The prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jesus Christ and the apostles Peter and Paul all spoke of God’s servant Noah. Noah’s days are shown by Jesus and Peter to be prophetic of the “presence of the Son of man” and a future “day of judgment and of destruction of the ungodly men.” Jehovah, in sparing Noah and his family when he destroyed that wicked world, was “setting a pattern for ungodly persons of things to come.”—2 Pet. 3:5-7; 2:5, 6; Isa. 54:9; Ezek. 14:14, 20; Matt. 24:37-39; Heb. 11:7; 1 Pet. 3:20, 21.

2. [Heb., No·ʽahʹ, meaning movement, from the root “to waver”]. One of Zelophehad’s five daughters, of the tribe of Manasseh. Because Zelophehad died without sons Jehovah decreed that the daughters should receive their father’s tribal possession as an inheritance. This established a legal precedent. Later it was established also that daughters who inherit should become wives of men of their own tribe in order to hold the inheritance, so that it would not circulate from tribe to tribe.—Num. 26:28-33; 27:1-11; 36:6-12; Josh. 17:3, 4.

NOB

A city evidently in the territory of Benjamin and close to Jerusalem. While there is some question as to the precise location of Nob, Nehemiah 11:31, 32 and Isaiah 10:28-32 indicate that it was near Anathoth and possibly close to a hill from which one could see Jerusalem. A number of geographical authorities believe that Nob was at modern Ras Umm et-Tala, on the E slope of Mount Scopus, about one mile (1.6 kilometers) N-NE of where the temple was located in Jerusalem. That would place it just N of the Mount of Olives.

When David fled from Saul, he went to High Priest Ahimelech, who was at Nob, “the city of the priests,” and received from Ahimelech some showbread as food for his men, and Goliath’s sword, which was being kept there. Perhaps the tabernacle had been moved to Nob when Shiloh experienced God’s adverse judgment. (Compare 1 Samuel 14:3; Psalm 78:60; Jeremiah 7:12-14.) Later, Saul accused Ahimelech of conspiracy, in that he gave assistance to David. At Saul’s command, Doeg the Edomite put to death the high priest and eighty-four other priests. Then Doeg slaughtered the men, women, children and animals of Nob. Only Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, escaped.—1 Sam. 21:1-9; 22:6-23.

Nob was one of the places mentioned in connection with the Assyrians’ move toward Jerusalem. (Isa. 10:24, 32) Benjamites resettled it after the return from Babylonian exile.—Neh. 11:31, 32.

NOBAH

(Noʹbah) [barking].

1. An Israelite, probably of the tribe of Manasseh, who captured Kenath and its dependent towns. Thereafter he named the city after himself.—Num. 32:42.

2. A city E of the Jordan, captured by Nobah. (Num. 32:39, 42) The ruins at Qanawat (about fifty miles [80 kilometers] SE of Damascus) are commonly associated with the ancient site.

3. A place situated E of the Jordan and near Jogbehah in Gad. (Num. 32:34, 35; Judg. 8:11) Its precise location is not known today.

NODAB

(Noʹdab) [probably, generosity, nobility].

One of the confederated groups overwhelmingly defeated with Jehovah’s help by the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh. (1 Chron. 5:18-22) Nothing more is known of this tribe, except the possible preservation of the name in that of the village of Nudebe, in the desert E of Palestine.

NOGAH

(Noʹgah) [splendor, brilliance].

Son of King David, born to him in Jerusalem.—1 Chron. 3:5-7; 14:3-6.

NOHAH

(Noʹhah) [rest; quietude].

The fourth-listed son of Benjamin. (1 Chron. 8:1, 2) Since he is not named among those listed in Genesis chapter 46, he was probably born in Egypt. Some suppose that Nohah was another name for Shephupham or was his descendant.—Num. 26:39.

NOPH

The usual Hebrew Scripture name for Memphis, an important city of ancient Egypt.—Isa. 19:13; Jer. 2:16; 44:1; 46:14, 19; Ezek. 30:13, 16; see MEMPHIS.

NOPHAH

(Noʹphah) [possibly, a breeze].

According to the Masoretic text, apparently a place in Moab. (Num. 21:29, 30) But such a site is today unknown, and the Hebrew text itself is uncertain, as indicated by the marks of the Sopherim.

NORTH

In Scriptural usage “north” may denote a section of the earth (Ps. 107:3; Isa. 43:6; Luke 13:29), a northerly direction (Ex. 26:20; 1 Ki. 7:25; Rev. 21:13), the northern sky (Job 26:7) and various lands or kingdoms (including Assyria [Zeph. 2:13] and Chaldea or Babylonia [Jer. 46:10]) that were situated somewhat N and E of the land inhabited by the Israelites. Though Babylon on the Euphrates River actually lay E of Tyre, Ezekiel 26:7 speaks of the king of Babylon as coming against Tyre from the N. Likewise, the calamity that Judah and Jerusalem were to experience from the Babylonians is referred to as coming “out of the north.” (Jer. 1:14, 15) The reason for this appears to be that, when marching westward, the Babylonian armies took a northerly route and thus avoided passing through the desert. This was, in fact, the customary way, as Babylonian records show.

Since various lands and kingdoms are assigned a northern location, the context and other related scriptures are often helpful in determining what is meant by “north” or “land of the north.” For example, Isaiah 21:2, 9 and Daniel 5:28 show that the nations from the “land of the north” mentioned at Jeremiah 50:9 include the Medes, Persians and Elamites. Apparently the nations attacking Babylon are viewed as a united army or common foe of Babylon, “a congregation.” Many of the nations involved were far N of Babylon (Jer. 51:27, 28), and much of Media was at least NE of Babylon. The attack, too, evidently came from a northern direction, since Cyrus stopped the flow of the river N of the city.

“THE KING OF THE NORTH”

Facts of history provide still another basis for determining how “north” is to be understood in some texts. A case in point is the “king of the north” mentioned in Daniel chapter 11. Historical evidence indicates that the “mighty king” of Daniel 11:3 was Alexander the Great. After Alexander’s death, the empire was eventually divided among his four generals. One of these generals, Seleucus Nicator, took Mesopotamia and Syria, this making him the ruler of territory situated N of Palestine. Another general, Ptolemy Lagus, gained control of Egypt, to the SW of Palestine. Therefore, with Seleucus Nicator and Ptolemy Lagus the long struggle between the “king of the north” and the “king of the south” began. However, the prophecy concerning the “king of the north” extends from the time of Seleucus Nicator down to the “time of the end.” (Dan. 11:40) Logically, then, the national and political identity of the “king of the north” would change in the course of history. But it would still be possible to determine his identity on the basis of his relationship to the original “king of the north.”—See the book “Your Will Be Done on Earth,” pp. 220-307.

JEHOVAH’S RESIDENCE

“North” also appears in the Scriptures with reference to the place where Jehovah resided representatively with the Israelites.—Ps. 48:1, 2; Isa. 14:13, 14; see MOUNTAIN OF MEETING.

NOSE, NOSTRILS

The part of the face that affords passage for air in respiration and serves as the organ of smell.

When God created Adam, he put in his body the life force (ruʹahh), as many texts indicate. Then he proceeded to “blow into his nostrils the breath [form of n^esha·mahʹ] of life, and the man came to be a living soul.” (Gen. 2:7) The breath being drawn into the body through the nostrils is essential to life; it sustains the life force. At the Flood, “everything in which the breath of the force of life was active in its nostrils, namely, all that were on the dry ground, died.”—Gen. 7:22.

The Hebrew word for nose or nostril (ʼaph) is frequently used to refer to the entire face. Adam was sentenced to earn his livelihood from the ground ‘in the sweat of his face [literally, “nose” or “nostrils”].’ (Gen. 3:19) Lot bowed down with his face (“nose”) to the ground before the visiting angels.—Gen. 19:1.

SENSITIVITY IN SMELLING AND TASTING

The olfactory area is located in the upper part of the nasal cavity, where the olfactory nerves terminate in hairlike endings; also fine endings of the trigeminal nerve are found in this area. The sense of smell in humans is very acute, giving credit to the ability of man’s Creator. According to an article in the Scientific American, in its issue of February 1964: “The sense of smell obviously is a chemical sense, and its sensitivity is proverbial; to a chemist the ability of the nose to sort out and characterize substances is almost beyond belief. It deals with complex compounds that might take a chemist months to analyze in the laboratory; the nose identifies them instantly, even in an amount so small (as little as a ten-millionth of a gram) that the most sensitive modern laboratory instruments often cannot detect the substance, let alone analyze and label it.”

In the same article, an interesting theory was set forth, which has passed several tests with indications that the theory may be close to the actual facts. This theory holds that the odors of different substances are based on the geometrical shape of the molecules of that substance; that there are “primary” odors just as there are primary colors of light (red, green and blue). These primary odors are identified as numbering seven, namely, camphoraceous, musky, floral, pepperminty, ethereal (etherlike), pungent and putrid. The latter two are thought to be exceptions, giving their odor sensations, not because of shape, but because of the electrical charge they carry. The receptors in the nerve endings are thought to be of various shapes, the smell sensation being due to the molecules of the substance fitting into the receptors of the nerves that carry the sensation to the brain for interpretation as a certain odor. Complex odors have molecules that will fit into more than one receptor, depending upon whether or not the molecules lie flat, on the side or endwise. In this way they fit into a number of different receptors, bringing about combinations of the “primary” odors.

The nose also plays a large part in “taste.” There are four primary tastes: sweet, salt, sour and bitter. These the taste buds in the mouth recognize. But much of the flavor in food is enjoyed due to the sense of smell. For example, a person whose nostrils are stopped up finds difficulty in distinguishing between two kinds of food, as most things then taste more or less flat.

BEAUTY

Being located so prominently, a well-formed nose contributes greatly to facial beauty. In The Song of Solomon (7:4) the Shulammite girl’s nose being likened to “the tower of Lebanon” may have reference to the symmetry of her nose as adding dignity and beauty to her face. God required that Israel’s priests, because they were his representatives before the people, be without blemish, one of the requirements being that no priest should have a slit or mutilated nose.—Lev. 21:18.

ILLUSTRATIVE AND FIGURATIVE USES

The word for nose or nostrils (ʼaph) is often used figuratively for anger (because of the violent breathing or snorting of an enraged person). (See ANGER.) It is also employed with reference to Jehovah’s action because of his anger (Ps. 18:8, 15), or when he exerts his powerful active force.—Ex. 14:21; 15:8.

The disgusting idolatry into which Israel fell was a cause for the burning anger of Jehovah against them, which he expressed through the prophet Isaiah, saying: “These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire burning all day long.”—Isa. 65:5.

Proverbs 30:32, 33 states: “If you have acted senselessly by lifting yourself up, and if you have fixed your thought upon it, put the hand to the mouth. For the churning of milk is what brings forth butter, and the squeezing of the nose is what brings forth blood, and the squeezing out of anger is what brings forth quarreling.” This strongly emphasizes the trouble that can be caused by one who speaks wrongly or who harbors up anger or lets it out unrestrained. Here, in a play on words, “anger” is the dual form of the word for “nose.”

NOSE RING

An ornamental ring worn on the nose. It was inserted either through the left or the right side of the nose or through the partition separating the nostrils and was especially worn by women. (Gen. 24:22, 30, 47; Isa. 3:21) Ishmaelite men, however, according to some translations, also wore nose rings.—Judg. 8:24-26.

The Hebrew word for “nose ring” (neʹzem) can also be applied to an earring and, in some cases, there may have been little difference in the forms of these ornaments. Sometimes the context makes it possible to determine whether a nose ring or an earring is meant.—Compare Genesis 24:47 with Genesis 35:4; Ezek. 16:12.

Though nose rings were generally made of gold, other materials, such as silver, were also used. Nose rings might be ornamented with beads, pieces of coral, or jewels, suspended from them as small pendants. The diameter of nose rings varied from one to as much as three inches (2.5 to 7.6 centimeters). Hanging down over the mouth as it did, the nose ring had to be moved when eating.

At Proverbs 11:22 an outwardly beautiful woman who rejects sensibleness is compared to a “gold nose ring in the snout of a pig.”

NUMBER, NUMERAL

The Hebrews used arithmetic, employing the various mathematical operations—addition, subtraction, multiplication, and so forth, including fractions. (Num. 1:2; Lev. 27:18; 25:8; 6:5; 14:10; 27:30; Num. 15:6) In ancient Hebrew, numbers were spelled out.

Sometime after the exile to Babylon the Jews