Pleasant/sweet/delightful: na’em- verb (Strong’s 5276); na’yim- adjective (Strong’s 5273)
Root: נָעֵם
Na’em and na’yim are words that indicate that something is pleasant or sweet. It’s not sweet to the tongue (like candy) but it’s something that gives you that similar feeling of warmth and goodness. In the Bible there were a lot of things that were described as pleasant or sweet:
- Land and certain places evoked feelings of pleasantness (Genesis 49:15, Psalm 16:6). I find that when I visit the hometown of my youth (Tiverton Ontario, Canada) I get a great feeling of sweet nostalgia. It’s a pleasant feeling!
- Friends are sweet (2 Samuel 1:26) and our loved ones are sweet (Songs 1:16).
- Life in unity with all our fellow humans is a sweet thing (Psalm 133:1).
- Music is pleasant & singing praises to YHWH is sweet (Psalm 81:2, Psalm 147:1).
- Words (such as poetry or words of encouragement) are instruments of pleasantness (Psalm 141:6).
- The treasures of wisdom, understanding & knowledge are pleasant things to acquire (Proverbs 24:3-4).
Of all the pleasant things in the world, the name of God should be the sweetest to our ears:
Psalm 135:3
Praise Yah, for YHWH is good; sing praises to His name, for it is lovely sweet [na’im נָעִֽים].
The Proverbs and Delightful Knowledge
Something repeatedly described as delightful is the seeking of knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. The book of Proverbs highlights this:
Proverbs 2:6-10
For YHWH gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and He watches over the way of His Godly Ones.
Then you will discern righteousness, justice, and integrity, and every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be delightful to your soul [l-naph’sh’ka yi-n’am לְנַפְשְׁךָ יִנְעָם].
Proverbs 22:17-18
Extend your ear and hear the words of the wise, and apply your mind to my knowledge; for it will be pleasant [na’im נָ֭עִים] if you keep them within you, so that they may be ready on your lips.
Proverbs 24:3-4, 25
By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; and by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant [w-na’im וְנָעִֽים] riches…
…But for those who rebuke the wicked there will be delight [yi-n’am יִנְעָ֑ם], and a good blessing will come upon them.
Sweet Relationships!
What makes life most pleasant and sweet is relationships. David was best friends with Jonathan. When Jonathan died David wrote a eulogy honouring his friend and his friend’s father Saul. In the eulogy David described them as delightful:
2 Samuel 1:23
“Saul and Jonathan, beloved and delightful [w-ha-n’eemim וְהַנְּעִימִם֙] in life, and in their deaths they were not separated; they were swifter than eagles, they were mightier than lions.”
David then called Jonathan his sweet/pleasant friend:
2 Samuel 1:26-27
“I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; you have been a close sweet/pleasant [na’am’ta נָעַ֥מְתָּ] friend to me. Your love for me was more wonderful than the love of women. How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war have perished!”
David described his friend as sweet, but David himself was also described as the sweet psalmist of Israel:
2 Samuel 23:1-4
Now these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse declares, the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob and the sweet psalmist of Israel [u-n’yim z’miroht Israel [נְעִים זְמִרוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל] declares, “The Spirit of YHWH spoke through me, and His word was on my tongue. The God of Israel said it; the Rock of Israel spoke to me:
‘He who rules over mankind righteously, who rules in the fear of God, is like the light of the morning when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, when the fresh grass springs out of the earth from sunshine after rain.’”
One of the great joys in life is the relationships we make with each other. Humans were made to work in harmony and to be pleasant to each other:
Psalm 133:1
Behold, how good and how pleasant [na’im נָּעִ֑ים] it is for brothers to live together in unity!
A truly sweet life cannot be without family and friends. We need each other to build community, to share blessings and support each other in times of distress and need.
Of course the greatest relationship we need to foster is our relationship with our Creator. Following YHWH leads (eventually) to a life of joy and sweetness:
Psalm 16:11
You will make known to me the way of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures [n’imoht נְעִמ֖וֹת] forever.
To praise YHWH is to experience the everlasting sweetness of life in God’s Kingdom:
Psalm 135:3
Praise Yah, for YHWH is good!
Sing praises to His name, for it is lovely sweet [na’im נָעִֽים].
Psalm 147:1
Praise YHWH! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant [na’im נָ֝עִים] and praise is beautiful.
However, it’s not enough just to praise YHWH, we must follow Him and be a servant in God’s plan to build His kingdom of love, forgiveness, mercy and redemption:
Job 36:11
[Elihu:] “If they listen and serve Him, they will end their days in prosperity, and their years in happiness pleasantness/sweetness [ba-n’imim בַּנְּעִימִֽים].”
If we love God we cannot help but love all God’s creatures… every human, every animal, all the beautiful plants, rivers, mountains and valleys. The whole earth can be delightful and sweet when we see it through the eyes of YHWH.
At the end of creation God looked at it all and saw that it was very tov. It was good. It was sweet. It was pleasant. It was delightful. Let us all look at the world that way… and where it doesn’t look so sweet, we can step in and make a difference, striving to make the world just a little bit sweeter. It’s what YHWH meant when He commissioned us to be the stewards of the earth.
Life is sweet, the universe is sweet, you are sweet! Let’s do what we can to make it even sweeter, so that each and every day the world looks just a little bit more like YHWH’s Kingdom to come!
Next week’s Sermon: Cain. Am I my brother’s keeper?
