N-H-R is the root of light and shining. Nuhra is light, and the verb means to shine or to give light. The Qala renders the adjective nahir as full of light (Matthew 6:22). The same consonants also spell nahra, river, which Aramaic treats as a separate root.
| Form | Pattern | Transliteration | Script | Standard | Qala rendering |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verb (Peal) | simple stem | nhar (wanhar) | ונהר ܘܰܢܗܰܪ | to give light | to shine (Matthew 17:2) |
| Verb (Aphel) | causative | anhar (wmanhar) | — | to illuminate | it gives light (Matthew 5:15) |
| Noun | nuhr- + -a | nuhra | נוהרא ܢܘܗܪܐ | light | light |
| Adjective | participial | nahir | — | bright | full of light (Matthew 6:22) |
| Noun (homonym root) | nahr- + -a | nahra (pl. nahrawata) | נהרותא ܢܰܗܪܰܘܳܬ݂ܳܐ | river | river, flood |
In the Gospels the verb appears in the Peal, nhar, to shine ("His face shone," Matthew 17:2), and in the Aphel, anhar, to give light ("it gives light to everyone in the house," Matthew 5:15).
Tonight, turn on one small lamp in a dark room and watch it give light to the whole room, as in Matthew 5:15. Then say nuhra, light, and nenhar, let it shine.
Hebrew has both word families. Nahar (נָהָר), river, appears all through the Bible. The light words are rarer, such as nehara (נְהָרָה, "daylight," Job 3:4) and, in Biblical Aramaic, nehora, as in "light dwells with him" (Daniel 2:22).