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Etymology •
& Meaning •
Hebrew •
Greek •
Bible •
Names •
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Meaning and etymology of the name Nod
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Nod 
Nod, or more complete, the Land of Nod, is a region east of Eden to which Cain flees after killing his brother Abel (Genesis 4:16).
The name Nod comes from the verb (nud) denoting a going back and forth. This verb is used to denote an aimless wandering, the wagging of one's head, or an attitude that may give rise to that, from compassion to mockery. The story suggests that Cain's descendants never left Nod, which is remarkable because the competing lineage of Seth bottlenecks in Noah, a name that means Rest, in contrast to Nod.
When God pronounces the curse on Cain He uses a derivative of the verb nud: "You shall be a vagabond and a fugitive ( ) (Genesis 4:12). In our day and age there may be a romantic notion to vagrancy, but in the Biblical arena this is very very awful. Restlessness occurs due to separation from God; Cain 'went out from the presence of the Lord' (Genesis 4:16). When Jesus says, "I will give you rest," (Matthew 11:28) He is not only promising the mother of all Saturdays, He is offering us a place in the presence of God, to make us 'stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy' (Jude:24).
The contrast between rest and aimless wandering is perhaps best illustrated by the name by which the devil is commonly known: Beelzebub, derived from the verb zebub, to zig-zag aimlessly, to and fro.
The Land of Nod is the Land Of The Fugitive/ Wanderer.
For a meaning of the name Nod, NOBS Study Bible Name List reads Wandering Exile. Jones' Dictionary of Old Testament Proper Names reads Wandering, and Vagabond.
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