NEAR, NIGH

ner, ni (chiefly qarobh, "to draw near," qarabh; eggus): Used of proximity in place (Genesis 19:20; 45:10; Exodus 13:17; Psalms 22:11; John 3:23, etc.), time (Jeremiah 48:16; Ezekiel 7:7; 30:3; Mark 13:28), or kinship (Leviticus 21:2; Ruth 3:12), but also employed of moral nearness. Yahweh is "nigh" to them that are of a broken heart (Psalms 34:18). God draws nigh to His people, and they to Him (James 4:8). The antithesis is God's "farness" from the wicked.

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.