Nâgad (נָגַד, Strong's #5046), “to tell, explain, inform.” An exact equivalent to this verb is not known outside biblical Hebrew except in late Aramaic. The verb occurs around 335 times and in all periods of biblical Hebrew.

The first emphasis of the word is “to tell.” This especially means that A (frequently a messenger or some other person who has witnessed something) “tells” B (the one to whom the report is made) C (the report). In such instances B (the one told) is spatially separated from the original source of the information. So, in Gen. 9:22, Ham (A) saw his father naked and went outside the tent and “told” his brothers (B) what he had seen (C).

In another group of passages nâgad represents the reporting of a messenger about a matter of life-or-death importance for the recipient. So a fugitive “came … and told Abram” that Lot had been captured and led away captive (Gen. 14:13). A note of this emotionally charged situation is seen in Jacob’s message to Esau: “… I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight” (Gen. 32:5). Although not a report from a messenger from afar, Gen. 12:18 uses the verb of a report that is of crucial importance to the one addressed. Pharaoh asked Abram: “Why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife?” Gen. 12:17 reports that because Pharaoh had taken Sarai into his harem to become his wife, God had smitten his household with great plagues.

Finally, nâgad means “to explain or reveal” something one does not otherwise know. In Gen. 3:11 (the first biblical occurrence of the word) God asked Adam: “Who told thee that thou wast naked?” This was information immediately before them but not previously grasped by them. This usage appears in Gen. 41:24, where Pharaoh said of his dream: “… I told this unto the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me.” Similarly, David made certain there were no survivors from the Philistine cities he looted so no one would “tell” it to Achish (1 Sam. 27:11). This word sometimes has a more forceful significance—God told the prophet to “show my people their transgression” (Isa. 58:1).

B. Noun.

Nâgı̂yd (נַגִד, Strong's #5057), “chief leader.” This noun occurs 44 times in biblical Hebrew. In 1 Sam. 9:16 the word is used as a “chief leader” that is equivalent to a king: “Tomorrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel.…” Nâgı̂yd appears in 1 Chron. 9:11 to refer to a “chief leader” (ruler) of a smaller region. The word may also be used of a head of a family (1 Chron. 9:20).

C. Preposition.

Neged (נֶגֶד, Strong's #5048), “before; in the presence of; in the sight of; in front of; in one’s estimation; straight ahead.” This word occurs 156 times in biblical Hebrew as a preposition and an adverb. Basically the word indicates that its object is immediately “before” something or someone. It is used in Gen. 2:18, where God said He would make Adam “a help meet for him,” or someone to correspond to him, just as the males and females of the animals corresponded to (matched) one another. To be immediately “before” the sun is to be fully in the sunlight (Num. 25:4). In Exod. 10:10 Pharaoh told Moses that evil was immediately “before” his face, or was in his mind. Neged signifies “in front of” (Exod. 19:2), “before” in the sense of “in one’s estimation” (Isa. 40:17), and “straight ahead (before)” (Josh. 6:5). In combination with other particles neged means “contrary to” (Num. 22:32).

D. Adverb.

Neged(נֶגֶד, Strong's #5048), “opposite; over against.” This meaning of neged appears in Gen. 21:16: “And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off.…”

Bibliography Information
Vines, W. E., M. A. Entry for 'Tell'. Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/vot/t/tell.html. 1940.

Bible Dictionaries Tell

Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words

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