Bible Dictionary
Nave
A nave is the hub or central part of a wheel where the spokes are fixed. Related biblical terms can also describe a rounded or elevated part, such as a shield boss.
Definition
Nave denotes a convex or arched part, such as the boss of a shield, and may also describe an elevated or eminent place. In the plural, “naves” means the central parts, or hubs, of wheels where the spokes are inserted. The word can also refer to rings or possibly the tire of a wheel.
Biblical Usage
The term is used for a shield boss, eyebrows, an eminent place, and the hubs of wheels. In Ezekiel’s vision it is rendered “rings,” with the margin suggesting a word for a wheel’s hub or tire.
Historical Background
The older term “strakes” could refer to the nave or hub of a wheel and, more probably, to its felloe or tire, as the part making a stroke upon the ground.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(Heb. gao), anything convex or arched, as the boss of a shield, (Job 15:26) the eyebrows, (Leviticus 14:9) an eminent place. (Ezekiel 16:31) It is rendered once only in the plural, “naves,” (1 Kings 7:33) meaning the centres of the wheels in which the spokes are inserted i.e. the hubs. In (Ezekiel 1:18) it is rendered twice “rings,” and margin “strakes,” an old word apparently used for the nave (hub) of a wheel and also more probably for the felloe or the tire, as making the streak or stroke upon the ground.