עָשַׁק
ʻâshaq · H6231 · Hebrew · 37 occurrences
Meanings
-
to practice extortion, to defraud, to abuse
Action by which humans use their position of power or devious means to appropriate for themselves something that rightfully belongs to someone else
ExamplesLeviticus 19:13 ‘You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired worker are not to remain with you all night until morning.
Deuteronomy 24:14 “You shall not exploit a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your strangers who are in your land in your towns.
Deuteronomy 28:29 and you will be groping about at noon, just as a person who is blind gropes in the darkness, and you will not be successful in your ways; but you will only be oppressed and robbed all the time, with no one to save you.
-
to oppress, to wrong
Literally: to defraud, abuse; hence: action by which humans mistreat other humans in ways that are not elaborated
Examples1 Chronicles 16:21 He allowed no one to oppress them, And He rebuked kings for their sakes, saying,
Job 10:3 ‘Is it right for You indeed to oppress, To reject the work of Your hands, And to look favorably on the plan of the wicked?
Psalm 105:14 He allowed no one to oppress them, And He rebuked kings for their sakes, saying,
-
to be burdened, to be tormented
Literally: to be oppressed, wronged (by a certain situation); hence: state in which humans feel responsible for their actions to the extent that they experience anxiety and distress
ExamplesProverbs 28:17 A person who is burdened with the guilt of human blood Will be a fugitive until death; no one is to support him!
How it’s used In 12 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Who or what does itSubject
25 occurrences in 12 groups
- Not stated (participle) 5
- Not stated: you (one person) 4
- Not stated: he, she or it 3
- Not stated (infinitive) 3
- Other words · 8 groups that occur once or twice (11) 11
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
19 occurrences in 18 groups
- דַּלpoor, weak 4
- גֵּרalien, sojourner, stranger 3
- Other words · 16 groups that occur once or twice (18) 18
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
4 occurrences in 4 groups
- בin/on/with+ דָּםblood 1
- בin/on/with+ מִשְׁפָּטjustice, judgment, ordinance 1
- בin/on/with+ אֶפֶסthere is not 1
- לto/for+ רָבָהto increase 1
With adverbsAdverbs
7 occurrences in 3 groups
- לֹאnot 4
- אַלnot, do not 2
- יַחַדtogether 1
Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive
3 occurrences in 3 groups
- שָׂכָרhire 1
- נִיme 1
- הֶםthem 1
Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- עָשָׂהto do, to make 1
Named alongside itApposition
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- בְּתוּלָהvirgin, young woman 1
- פָּרָהcow 1
What it doesIt is the subject
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- חָרַףto reproach 1
What is done to itIt is the object
4 occurrences in 3 groups
- הָיָהto be, to become 2
- דָּכָאto crush 1
- רָאָהto see 1
What it is said to bePredicate
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- טוֹבgood 1
- מַחְסוֹרneed, poverty, lack 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
7 occurrences in 2 groups
- לto/for 8
- בin/on/with 1
In phrases “… of it”It is the genitive
3 occurrences in 2 groups
- יָדhand, power 2
- דִּמְעָהtears 1
When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.
MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Near synonyms 1 word
- צוּק tsûwq · H6693 · to nag, to pester, to oppress
- Both words denote inflicting hardship or distress upon someone, in the sense of oppression or affliction.
In the other Testament 1 word
- ἀδικέω adikéō · G91 · to harm, to hurt, to act unjustly
- Greek ἀδικέω (adikéō, G91) renders Hebrew עָשַׁק (ʻâshaq, H6231) in LXX contexts where the Hebrew term's semantic range of oppression, extortion, and wrongful treatment aligns with the Greek term's core sense of acting unjustly or doing wrong to another party.
Semantic domains 5 entries
- Possess002003002019
- עָשַׁק describes defrauding or extorting another's goods, as in the law against oppressing a neighbor in Leviticus 19:13 and the case of a man who has extorted from another in Leviticus 5:21 and 5:23.
- Unsafe002003003022
- The word denotes oppression more broadly, as in the warning that a hired worker who is poor and needy must not be exploited in Deuteronomy 24:14, and the curse of being continually oppressed and robbed in Deuteronomy 28:29.
- Bear002003003003
- עָשַׁק's sense of imposing a burden on a victim carries an association with bearing a load, though this facet is not directly illustrated among the sampled citations, which describe the act of oppressing rather than the burden borne.
- Grieve002001002013
- The distress inflicted by oppression carries an association with grief, though this facet is not directly illustrated among the sampled citations, which focus on the unjust taking and exploiting itself.
- Flow002002001008
- This domain's connection to עָשַׁק is not directly illustrated among the sampled citations, which show the word's sense of defrauding and oppressing rather than any sense of flowing.
Word family 8 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H6231. ashaq עָשַׁק verb oppress, wrong, extort (עֲשַׁק ᵑ7 = Biblical Hebrew, so Old…
עָשַׁק verb oppress, wrong, extort (עֲשַׁק ᵑ7 = Biblical Hebrew, so Old Aramaic עשק; Syriac accuse, slander; Assyrian adjective eš‡u, strong; Arabic roughness, injustice); —
Qal Perfect ׳ע Leviticus 5:21; Eze 18:18; Eze 18:2masculine singular suffix עֲשַׁקְתָּ֫נוּ 1Sa 12:4, etc.; Imperfect3masculine singular suffix יַעַשׁקֻנִי Psa 119:122; Psa 119:2masculine singular תַּעֲשֹׁק Lev 19:13 +, etc.; Infinitive construct עֲשֹׁק Hos 12:8, suffix עָשְׁקָם 1Ch 16:21; Psa 105:14; Participle active עשֵׁק Pro 14:31 +, feminine plural הָעשְׁקוֺת Amo 4:1, etc.; passive עָשׁוּק Deu 28:29 +, etc.; —
1 oppress, wrong (often by extortion, || גָּזַל), with accusative of person 1Sa 12:3-4, Mic 2:2; Leviticus 5:21; Lev 19:13; especially the poor and helpless Amo 4:1; Deu 24:14; Jer 7:6; Eze 22:29; Zec 7:10; Pro 14:31; Pro 22:16; Pro 28:3; Ecc 4:1; also with accusative of congnate meaning with verb ׳ע גָּזֵל (וְ)גָזַל עשֶׁק Eze 18:18 practise extortion, Eze 22:29, take by extortion Leviticus 5:23 and (with accusative of thing) Mal 3:5; absolute Hos 12:8 practise extortion; Job 10:3 deal tyrannically (of God); participle oppressor, extortioner Jer 21:12; Psa 72:4; Ecc 4:1; passive participle as substantive the oppressed Psa 103:6; Psa 146:7.
2 oppress a nation Isa 52:4, compare Psa 105:14 = 1Ch 16:21; Psa 119:122, participle act. oppressor Psa 119:121, passive participle oppressed Jer 50:33, in predict. ׳ע וְגָזוּל Deu 28:29, ׳ע וְרָצּוּץ Deu 28:23; Hos 5:11.
3 dubious are: נָהָר יַעְשֹׁק Job 40:23 a river oppresses him, i.e. rushes violently upon him (that is, the hippopotamus; Du יָשֹׁק, from שׁוּק; > Gunk Bu יִשְׁקַע falls, sinks); נֶפֶשׁ בְּדַם עָשֻׁק Pro 28:17 oppressed (? burdened) with the blood of a person.
Pu`al Participle feminine הַמְּעֻשָּׁקָה Isa 23:12 crushed (of conquered Sidon under figure of woman).
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 4 entries
Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Sources
eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0
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