5230. nakal

Lexical Summary

nakal: To deceive, to trick, to conspire

Original Word: נָכַל
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: nakal
Pronunciation: nah-KAHL
Phonetic Spelling: (naw-kal')
KJV: beguile, conspire, deceiver, deal subtilly
NASB: deal craftily, deceived, plotted, swindler
Word Origin: [a prim root]

1. to defraud, i.e. act treacherously

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

beguile, conspire, deceiver, deal subtilly

A prim root; to defraud, i.e. Act treacherously -- beguile, conspire, deceiver, deal subtilly.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to be crafty, deceitful or knavish
NASB Translation
deal craftily (1), deceived (1), plotted (1), swindler (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

[נָכַל] verb be crafty, deceitful, knavish (Assyrian nakâlu, be crafty, cunning; ᵑ7 נְכֵל be crafty, Pa`el deceive; Syriac deceive, plot; compare perhaps act faithlessly, faithless, Prä^{Amhar. Spr. 90}); —

Qal Participle נוֺכֵל Malachi 1:14 knave.

Pi`el Perfect3masculine plural with accusative of congnate meaning with verb נִכְלֵיהֶם אֲשֶׁר נִכְּלוּ לָכֶם Numbers 25:18 their wiles with which they beguiled you.

Hithpa`el Imperfect וַיִּתְנַכְּלוּ אֹתוֺ לַהֲמִיתוֺ Genesis 37:18 they knavishly planned against him (Kö^{iii. 9}), etc.; Infinitive construct לְחִתְנַכֵּל בְ Psalm 105:25 to deal knavishly with.

Topical Lexicon

Overview of Biblical Usage

נָכַל (Strong’s 5230) depicts intentional deceit, plotting, or fraudulent maneuvering. In every canonical occurrence the word is attached to an act of calculated ill-will that sets itself against the covenant purposes of God and the wellbeing of His people.

Narrative Contexts

• Genesis 37:18 – Joseph’s brothers “conspired against him to kill him.” The verb marks the decisive moment when jealousy hardened into a premeditated plot.
• Numbers 25:18 – The Midianites “harassed you with their wiles.” The episode shows deceit as a weapon of spiritual seduction, leading Israel into idolatry and judgment.
• Psalm 105:25 – God “turned their heart to hate His people, to conspire against His servants.” Here נָכַל underlines how hostile nations become instruments in the Lord’s sovereign plan to mature and multiply Israel.
• Malachi 1:14 – “Cursed is the deceiver who has an acceptable male in his flock and makes a vow but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord.” Fraudulent worship is exposed as treachery against the covenant King.

Cultic and Covenant Implications

Fraud toward God’s worship (Malachi 1:14) reveals that deceit is not merely horizontal but vertical, a violation of first-commandment loyalty. By pairing נָכַל with sacrificial infidelity, Malachi underscores that dishonest hearts corrupt even orthodox liturgy. The covenant community is thus warned that external compliance cannot mask internal duplicity.

Theological Themes

1. Human Depravity: Every occurrence ties deceit to the fallen heart, whether in family betrayal, political hostility, or religious hypocrisy.
2. Divine Sovereignty: Psalm 105:25 attributes the plotting of Egypt to God’s inscrutable governance, showing that even malicious schemes serve redemptive ends.
3. Holiness and Judgment: Numbers 25:18 and Malachi 1:14 link deceit with divine wrath, highlighting God’s intolerance of treachery both in moral conduct and cultic practice.

Practical Ministry Applications

• Guarding Fellowship: Congregational life must address hidden agendas and relational manipulation (cf. Genesis 37).
• Spiritual Vigilance: Deceptive cultural influences, like Midian’s seduction, still entice believers toward compromise; pastoral teaching must expose such strategies.
• Integrity in Worship: Leaders and members alike must bring the best to God, refusing the “blemished offering” of half-hearted service.
• Counseling and Reconciliation: Understanding the destructive power of conspiracy can inform mediation in family and church conflicts.

Christological and Redemptive Foreshadowing

Joseph’s experience prefigures Christ, the beloved Son against whom his own brothers “conspired,” yet whose suffering became the means of salvation. The cross unmasks and overcomes the ultimate נָכַל of Satan, transforming deceitful plotting into the very pathway of redemption (Acts 2:23-24).

Related Hebrew Concepts

• רָמָה (Strong’s 7411) – to beguile or betray.
• עָקַב (Strong’s 6117) – to supplant or circumvent.

These terms share the motif of calculated wrongdoing but נָכַל uniquely accents organized, often communal, conspiracy.

Key Study Questions

1. How does the presence of נָכַל advance the narrative tension in Genesis 37 and what parallels appear in the Gospel passion accounts?
2. In what ways does Numbers 25 inform a theology of spiritual warfare against deceptive cultural assimilation?
3. How does Malachi’s indictment of fraudulent worship challenge modern stewardship and liturgical sincerity?

Forms and Transliterations

וַיִּֽתְנַכְּל֥וּ ויתנכלו לְ֝הִתְנַכֵּ֗ל להתנכל נִכְּל֥וּ נוֹכֵ֗ל נוכל נכלו lə·hiṯ·nak·kêl lehitnakKel ləhiṯnakkêl nik·kə·lū nikkeLu nikkəlū nō·w·ḵêl noChel nōwḵêl vaiyitnakkeLu way·yiṯ·nak·kə·lū wayyiṯnakkəlū

Englishman's Concordance

Genesis 37:18
HEB: יִקְרַ֣ב אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם וַיִּֽתְנַכְּל֥וּ אֹת֖וֹ לַהֲמִיתֽוֹ׃
NAS: he came close to them, they plotted against
KJV: even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay
INT: came to plotted to put

Numbers 25:18
HEB: בְּנִכְלֵיהֶ֛ם אֲשֶׁר־ נִכְּל֥וּ לָכֶ֖ם עַל־
NAS: with which they have deceived you in the affair
KJV: you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter
INT: their tricks which have deceived in the affair

Psalm 105:25
HEB: לִשְׂנֹ֣א עַמּ֑וֹ לְ֝הִתְנַכֵּ֗ל בַּעֲבָדָֽיו׃
NAS: His people, To deal craftily with His servants.
KJV: his people, to deal subtilly with his servants.
INT: to hate his people to deal his servants

Malachi 1:14
HEB: וְאָר֣וּר נוֹכֵ֗ל וְיֵ֤שׁ בְּעֶדְרוֹ֙
NAS: But cursed be the swindler who has
KJV: But cursed [be] the deceiver, which
INT: cursed be the swindler has his flock

4 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 5230
4 Occurrences

lə·hiṯ·nak·kêl — 1 Occ.
nik·kə·lū — 1 Occ.
nō·w·ḵêl — 1 Occ.
way·yiṯ·nak·kə·lū — 1 Occ.