נָשַׁךְ (na.shakh)
na.shakh
to bite; to pay interest
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 12 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb nashakh carries a strikingly visceral image: to bite. In its most literal sense, it describes the physical act of biting, such as when a serpent strikes or an animal attacks. This concrete meaning provides the foundation for its figurative use in economic contexts, where lending money at interest is portrayed as a predatory bite that drains the borrower.
Scripture employs this metaphor to highlight the painful and consuming nature of usury. The word appears frequently in wisdom literature and prophetic warnings, illustrating how debt can gnaw away at a person’s livelihood. For instance, Ecclesiastes observes that interest payments can consume a landowner’s harvest, leaving them with nothing (Ecclesiastes 5:8), while Amos condemns those who crush the poor by charging excessive fees (Amos 8:6).
Theological weight arises from this imagery. By linking financial exploitation to a physical bite, the text emphasizes that usury is not merely a transaction but an act of aggression against one’s neighbor. This perspective underpins biblical laws restricting interest among Israelites, framing fair lending as a matter of justice and compassion rather than mere economics.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The Hebrew word nashakh carries a strikingly visceral image: to bite. In its most literal sense, it describes the physical act of biting, such as when a serpent strikes or an animal attacks. This concrete meaning provides the foundation for its figurative use in economic contexts, where lending money at interest is portrayed as a predatory bite that drains the borrower.
Scripture employs this metaphor to highlight the painful and consuming nature of usury. The word appears frequently in wisdom literature and prophetic warnings, illustrating how debt can gnaw away at a person’s livelihood. For instance, Ecclesiastes observes that interest payments can consume a landowner’s harvest, leaving them with nothing (Ecclesiastes 5:8), while Amos condemns those who crush the poor by charging excessive fees (Amos 8:6).
Theological weight arises from this imagery. By linking financial exploitation to a physical bite, the text emphasizes that usury is not merely a transaction but an act of aggression against one’s neighbor. This perspective underpins biblical laws restricting interest among Israelites, framing fair lending as a matter of justice and compassion rather than mere economics.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 12 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- it will bite2×
- who/ bite1×
- the/ [one which] bites1×
- it will bite/ him1×
- it had bitten1×
- and/ they will bite1×
- and/ they bit1×
- and/ it will bite/ them1×
- and/ it bites/ him1×
- [those who] pay interest to/ you1×
- <the>/ [one who] is bitten1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- נֹשְׁכֶ֔י/ךָ1×
- נָשַׁ֤ךְ1×
- יִשֹּׁ֥ךְ1×
- יִשָּׁ֑ךְ1×
- יִשְּׁכֶ֥/נּוּ1×
- וּ/נְשָׁכָֽ/ם\׃1×
- וּ/נְשָׁכ֖/וֹ1×
- וַֽ/יְנַשְּׁכ֖וּ1×
- וְ/נִשְּׁכ֥וּ1×
- הַ/נֹּשֵׁךְ֙1×
- הַ/נֹּשְׁכִ֤ים1×
- הַ/נָּשׁ֔וּךְ1×
Key Verses
-
Genesis 49:17
Dan will be a serpent on the trail, an adder in the path, that bites the horse’s heels, so that his rider falls backward.
This verse uses the word to describe Dan as a serpent that bites the horse's heels, illustrating sudden, unexpected danger in a tribal blessing.
-
Numbers 21:6
Yahweh sent venomous snakes among the people, and they bit the people. Many people of Israel died.
Here the verb describes venomous snakes biting the people of Israel, serving as a direct consequence of their complaints against God and Moses.
-
Proverbs 23:32
In the end, it bites like a snake, and poisons like a viper.
The word metaphorically describes wine that bites like a snake and poisons like a viper, warning against the deceptive allure of intoxication.
-
Amos 5:19
As if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him; or he went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a snake bit him.
This verse paints a picture of inescapable disaster, where fleeing from a lion leads to being bitten by a snake inside a house, emphasizing total vulnerability.