Extended Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (Brown-Driver-Briggs based)
to play
Usage: 1) to play or strike strings, play a stringed instrument 1a) (Qal) 1a1) player (participle) 1b) (Piel) 1b1) to play 1b1a) player, minstrel (participle)
Strong's Number
H5059
Language
Hebrew
Linked Usages
12
Books
5
Strong's H5059 Quick Answer
Strong's H5059 נָגַן (nagan) is a Hebrew Strong's word-study entry. nagan (naw-gan') v. 1. (properly) to thrum, i.e. beat a tune with the fingers 2. (especially) to play on a stringed instrument It has 12 linked Bible usages across 5 books. Visible English usage signals include play, played, playing, make, and stringed. Indexed coverage on this page includes Old Testament.
- Meaning
- nagan (naw-gan') v. 1. (properly) to thrum, i.e. beat a tune with the fingers 2. (especially) to play on a stringed instrument
- Usage
- 12 linked usages
- Books
- 5 indexed books
- Corpus
- Old Testament
- Usage Words
- play, played, playing, make, and stringed
Meaning and Definition
nagan (naw-gan') v. 1. (properly) to thrum, i.e. beat a tune with the fingers 2. (especially) to play on a stringed instrument 3. (hence, generally) to make music [a primitive root] KJV: player on instruments, sing to the stringed instruments, melody, ministrel, play(-er, -ing).
Across Lexicons
How independent scholarly lexicons define Strong's H5059. Each definition is shown with its source so you can compare and cite the original reference works.
How Strong's H5059 Is Translated
The English word each shown verse actually uses to render nagan, taken from the interlinear word alignment (the same word underlined in the excerpts below). Where a rendering is used more than once, the count is shown.
play
1 Samuel 16:16
4×
played
1 Samuel 16:23
4×
playing
1 Samuel 16:18
2×
make
Isaiah 23:16
stringed
Isaiah 38:20
How Strong's H5059 Usage Compares
Indexed coverage includes Old Testament. Each section below keeps corpus counts and sample passages visible so readers can compare the word across contexts instead of reading one flat concordance list.
- The largest indexed corpus on this page is Old Testament with 12 linked usages.
- The linked rows are Old Testament Hebrew usage, grouped by book for fast canonical scanning.
Strong's H5059 by Corpus
Indexed usage grouped by testament and extended corpus so readers can compare this word across the Bible, Septuagint, deuterocanonical books, and 1 Enoch where present.
Strong's H5059 in the Old Testament
12 indexed usages in Old Testament.
Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.
And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.
Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him.
Usage Excerpts
First 12 linked usage excerpts for Strong's H5059.
Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.
And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.
Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him.
And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand.
And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand.
But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.
Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.
The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; among them were the damsels playing with timbrels.
Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
The LORD was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the LORD.
And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not.
All Indexed Usage Links
Every indexed verse link for Strong's H5059, grouped by book.
1 Samuel 6 usages, Old Testament
2 Kings 1 usage, Old Testament
Psalms 2 usages, Old Testament
Isaiah 2 usages, Old Testament
Ezekiel 1 usage, Old Testament
Strong's H5059 FAQ
What does nagan (נָגַן) mean?
Nagan (Strong's H5059) is a Hebrew word most simply glossed "player on instruments". nagan (naw-gan') v. 1. (properly) to thrum, i.e. beat a tune with the fingers 2. (especially) to play on a stringed instrument
How many times is nagan (נָגַן) used in the Bible?
This page currently indexes 12 linked usages for Strong's H5059 across 5 books.
Where can I study nagan (נָגַן) in context?
Use the linked verse references on this page to study Strong's H5059 in context. The indexed coverage includes Old Testament.
What English words translate nagan (נָגַן)?
The visible usage excerpts most often surface English words such as play, played, playing, make, and stringed. These are scanning signals from the displayed verses, not replacements for the original-language definition.