נָתַק (na.taq)
na.taq
to tear
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 23 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb nathaq describes the physical act of tearing, pulling, or drawing something away with force. Its core image is one of separation, whether it is ripping a garment, snapping a rope, or uprooting a plant. The word appears in contexts ranging from the literal breaking of bonds to the metaphorical severing of relationships or plans.
Translators often render nathaq as "break" or "draw away," depending on the context. In Judges 16:9, Samson tears his bindings as if they were burnt thread, highlighting the word's emphasis on sudden, violent separation. Conversely, in Jeremiah 22:24, it describes a ring being torn from a finger, illustrating a forced removal from a position of authority or intimacy.
A notable usage occurs in Joshua 4:18, where the text states that the priests' feet were "lifted up" as they stepped onto dry land after the Jordan River stopped flowing. Here, nathaq conveys being drawn away from the muddy channel to safety, showing how the word can describe a decisive change of location or state rather than just destruction.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
This word describes a sudden, forceful separation. It is not a gentle untying but a breaking of bonds or a tearing away from a fixed place. In the Bible, this action often marks a decisive shift in status or safety. We see it when Samson breaks his ropes as if they were flax, showing that strength can overcome apparent constraints. It also appears when priests step onto dry ground, drawn away from the river’s mud to solid earth.
For your life, this imagery reminds us that some chains are meant to be broken by God’s power. Whether it is a yoke of oppression or a plan that seems stuck, there is hope in the idea that what holds you back can be severed. You do not always have to struggle against the knot; sometimes the bond simply snaps under divine intervention.
Consider the promise that God breaks the yoke from your neck. This is not just about physical freedom but about relief from heavy burdens. When you feel trapped by circumstances or past mistakes, remember that separation from those weights is possible. The same power that parts waters can also untie the knots in your heart.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 23 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- you will tear apart1×
- they will be torn apart1×
- they were drawn out1×
- they were drawn away1×
- they have been torn apart1×
- they have been snapped1×
- they have been separated1×
- they had torn off1×
- let us tear off1×
- it will be torn apart1×
- it is torn apart1×
- it has been torn apart1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- תְּנַתֵּֽקוּ\׃1×
- נִתָּֽקוּ\׃1×
- נִתָּ֑קוּ1×
- נִתַּ֙קְתִּי֙1×
- נִתַּ֖ק1×
- נִתְּק֗וּ1×
- נִתְּק֖וּ1×
- נִתְּק֑וּ1×
- נְֽ֭נַתְּקָה1×
- יִנָּתֵֽקוּ\׃1×
- יִנָּתֵֽק\׃1×
- יִנָּתֵ֤ק1×
Key Verses
-
Judges 16:9
Now she had an ambush waiting in the inner room. She said to him, “The Philistines are on you, Samson!” He broke the cords as a flax thread is broken when it touches the fire. So his strength was not known.
This verse highlights the word's emphasis on sudden, violent separation, as Samson breaks his bonds with ease.
-
Jeremiah 30:8
It will come to pass in that day, says Yahweh of Armies, that I will break his yoke from off your neck, and will burst your bonds. Strangers will no more make them their bondservants;
Here the word describes God actively breaking the yoke from Israel's neck, signaling the end of foreign oppression.
-
Joshua 4:18
When the priests who bore the ark of Yahweh’s covenant had come up out of the middle of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests’ feet had been lifted up to the dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and went over all its banks, as before.
The term conveys being drawn away from the muddy channel to safety, showing a decisive change of location rather than just destruction.
-
Isaiah 58:6
“Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to release the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke?
It is used metaphorically to describe releasing the bonds of wickedness and breaking every yoke of injustice.