What does נָגַשׂ (nāgaś) mean in the Bible?
Nāgaś describes pressing or exacting, including oppressive labor demands and restricted debt collection. Exodus 3:7 names the oppressors whose treatment of Israel accompanies cries the LORD hears.
Hebrew · H5065
נָגַשׂ
Nāgaś describes pressing or exacting, including oppressive labor demands and restricted debt collection. Exodus 3:7 names the oppressors whose treatment of Israel accompanies cries the Lord hears.
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נָגַשׂH5065
Pronunciationnāgaś
What does נָגַשׂ (nāgaś) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for נָגַשׂ (H5065) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H5065?
The BSB source-word alignment has 23 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include the taskmasters (2), a tax collector (1), and exacted (1), and you oppress (1), as your ruler (1).
Where does נָגַשׂ (nāgaś) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Exodus 3:7. Its strongest book concentrations include Isaiah (8), Exodus (5), 1 Samuel (2), Deuteronomy (2).
What This Word Actually Means
Nāgaś describes pressing or exacting, including oppressive labor demands and restricted debt collection. Exodus 3:7 names the oppressors whose treatment of Israel accompanies cries the Lord hears. Exodus 5:13 shows taskmasters pressing the people to meet the same brick quota after straw has been withheld. The demand's coercive character comes from the actual burdens and treatment described, not from a generic dislike of every obligation or request.
Deuteronomy 15:2 forbids collection from the neighbor or brother in the proclaimed time of release, with the surrounding instruction also requiring an open hand toward the poor. Isaiah 58:3 exposes workers being oppressed on the very day their employers claim to fast. Teaching should keep labor, debt and religious conduct in their distinct textual settings while recognizing the concrete harm that pressing others can cause. The verb does not authorize religious leaders to increase coercive demands or turn the ancient release instruction into an unexamined verdict about a particular modern contract.
Passage contextCanonical parallel
How the Bible Uses It
Egyptian oppression, impossible production demands, debt-release restrictions and workers oppressed during fasting show distinct forms of pressing others. The passages name actual obligations and abuses rather than supplying one universal evaluation of every demand.
- Exod.3.7
The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors, and I am aware of their sufferings.
The Lord hears Israel's cries because of their oppressors and knows their suffering. The ensuing rescue commission does not normalize the taskmasters' treatment as beneficial discipline.
- Exod.5.13
The taskmasters kept pressing them, saying, “Fulfill your quota each day, just as you did when straw was provided.”
Taskmasters demand the unchanged daily quota after the people must gather their own straw. The surrounding beating of foremen makes the coercive workload concrete.
- Deut.15.2
This is the manner of remission: Every creditor shall cancel what he has loaned to his neighbor. He is not to collect anything from his neighbor or brother, because the Lord’s time of release has been proclaimed.
Collection from the neighbor or brother is forbidden because the Lord's release has been proclaimed. The law's stated relationships and timing belong with the instruction.
- Isa.58.3
“Why have we fasted, and You have not seen? Why have we humbled ourselves, and You have not noticed?” “Behold, on the day of your fast, you do as you please, and you oppress all your workers.
Workers are oppressed while their employers complain that fasting has gone unnoticed. The prophetic reply exposes a contradiction between religious observance and treatment of others.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itthe taskmasters2×Exodus 5:6, Exodus 5:13
a tax collector1×Daniel 11:20
and exacted1×2 Kings 23:35
and you oppress1×Isaiah 58:3
as your ruler1×Isaiah 60:17
He was oppressed1×Isaiah 53:7
of a driver1×Job 39:7
of the oppressor1×Job 3:18
of their oppressor1×Isaiah 9:4
oppress1×Isaiah 3:12
over their oppressors1×Isaiah 14:2
ruler1×Zechariah 10:4
So the taskmasters1×Exodus 5:10
taskmasters1×Exodus 5:14
the oppressor1×Isaiah 14:4
their oppressors1×Exodus 3:7
to collect1×Deuteronomy 15:2
were hard-pressed1×1 Samuel 13:6
were in distress1×1 Samuel 14:24
will an oppressor1×Zechariah 9:8
will oppress one another1×Isaiah 3:5
You may collect1×Deuteronomy 15:3
Show sample aligned rows
Exodus 3:7נֹֽגְשָׂ֔יוtotheir oppressorsVerb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singularExodus 5:6הַנֹּגְשִׂ֣יםtothe taskmastersArticle | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine pluralExodus 5:10נֹגְשֵׂ֤יtoSo the taskmastersVerb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural constructExodus 5:13וְהַנֹּגְשִׂ֖יםtoThe taskmastersConjunctive waw, Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine pluralExodus 5:14נֹגְשֵׂ֥יtotaskmastersVerb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural constructDeuteronomy 15:2יִגֹּ֤שׂtoto collectVerb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singularDeuteronomy 15:3תִּגֹּ֑שׂtoYou may collectVerb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular1 Samuel 13:6נִגַּ֖שׂtowere hard-pressedVerb - Nifal - Perfect - third person masculine singular1 Samuel 14:24נִגַּ֖שׂtowere in distressVerb - Nifal - Perfect - third person masculine singular2 Kings 23:35נָגַ֞שׂtoand exactedVerb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowExodus 3:7
Aligned rows23
Books represented8
Exodus5Deuteronomy21 Samuel22 Kings1Job2Isaiah8Daniel1Zechariah2
Source forms
נִגַּ֖שׂ2xnig·gaś1 Samuel 13:6, 1 Samuel 14:24
נוֹגֵ֖שׂ2xnō·w·ḡêśDaniel 11:20, Zechariah 10:4
בְּנֹגְשֵׂיהֶֽם׃ס1xbə·nō·ḡə·śê·hemIsaiah 14:2
הַנֹּגֵ֣שׂ1xhan·nō·ḡêśIsaiah 9:4
הַנֹּגְשִׂ֣ים1xhan·nō·ḡə·śîmExodus 5:6
וְהַנֹּגְשִׂ֖ים1xwə·han·nō·ḡə·śîmExodus 5:13
וְנִגַּ֣שׂ1xwə·nig·gaśIsaiah 3:5
וְנֹגְשַׂ֖יִךְ1xwə·nō·ḡə·śa·yiḵIsaiah 60:17
Parsing patterns
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular6xJob 3:18, Job 39:7, Isaiah 14:4, Daniel 11:20
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person masculine singular3x1 Samuel 13:6, 1 Samuel 14:24, Isaiah 53:7
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural construct2xExodus 5:10, Exodus 5:14
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular2xExodus 3:7, Isaiah 3:12
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural1xExodus 5:6
Article | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular1xIsaiah 9:4
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular1xIsaiah 3:5
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural construct | second person feminine singular1xIsaiah 60:17
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Hear concrete reports of harmful workload and treatment without recasting every complaint as spiritual laziness.
- Discuss the passage's care for the poor while leaving particular legal and financial determinations to their proper evidence and expertise.
Avoid claiming...
- Nāgaś does not authorize coercive religious demands or turn oppressive labor into a faithful leadership model.
- The verb does not alone establish the legality of any present debt or require people to endure harm without seeking protection.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Coercive subjugation: driving animals to labor, then humans under oppressive authority or forced taxation
Strong'sH5065
Lexical occurrences23 versesWord forms2 forms15 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkExodus 5:10-21Source Gloss
to drive (an animal, a workman, a debtor, an army); by implication, to tax , harass , tyrannize
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Coercive subjugation: driving animals to labor, then humans under oppressive authority or forced taxation
to drive (an animal, a workman, a debtor, an army); by implication, to tax, harass, tyrannize BDB: press Usage: distress, driver, exact(-or), oppress(-or), × raiser of taxes, taskmaster.
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups2Aligned forms15
Qalbasic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense12×
Participle activeDan 11:20 · Exod 5:10 · Exod 5:14 · Isa 14:4 · Job 3:18 · Job 39:7 · Zech 9:8 · Zech 10:48×
ImperfectDeut 15:2 · Deut 15:3 · Isa 58:33×
Perfect2Kgs 23:351×
Niphalpassive or reflexive — the subject receives or experiences the action3×
Perfect1Sam 13:6 · 1Sam 14:24 · Isa 53:73×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Egyptian overseers who drive and oppress Hebrew slaves with harsh labor demands
Those who harass and tyrannize the people as divine judgment on Jerusalem
The king of Babylon who drove and tyrannized others, now brought to rest and relief
The suffering servant who is afflicted and pressed down yet remains silent and submissive
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 23 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
נָגַשׂ is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Exodus 5 does more than call the workload heavy: the straw supply disappears while the quota remains, and the foremen are beaten for failure. The reader can see the demand and its consequences rather than needing to invent the oppressor's hidden motive. Exodus 3 places Israel's cries within the Lord's awareness and rescue commission, refusing to treat that harm as something the people simply must learn to enjoy.
Deuteronomy's release instruction concerns stated relationships and an announced time, together with commands not to refuse the poor because the release is near. Isaiah exposes another pattern: fasting and claimed nearness to God coexist with oppressive treatment of workers. Mark 10:42-45 offers a Christian comparison in which leadership among Jesus' followers is directed toward service rather than domination. These witnesses support examining conduct and relieving harmful pressure, but the Hebrew verb alone supplies neither professional financial advice nor authority to dismiss every responsibility as oppression.
Anchor passage
Exod.5.13
Doctrinal connections
- Exodus 3:7-10 joins God's knowledge of Israel's suffering with a commission to bring them out of Egypt.
- Exodus 5:6-14 describes withdrawn straw, unchanged quotas, pressing taskmasters and beaten Israelite foremen.
- Deuteronomy 15:1-3 states the time of release and distinguishes its debt-collection relationships.
- Deuteronomy 15:7-11 requires an open hand and forbids withholding help because the release year approaches.
- Isaiah 58:3-9 contrasts oppressive fasting with loosening burdens and sharing practical provision.
- Mark 10:42-45 directs greatness among Jesus' followers toward service instead of dominating others.
Pressing and exacting can refer to labor or collection, and the actor and required action identify the particular use. The noun-like taskmaster forms in Exodus and the collection prohibition in Deuteronomy must not be flattened into a single modern institutional label.
From Old to New Testament
Mark 10:42-45 contrasts dominating rulers with the service Jesus requires among His followers. It provides a Christian leadership comparison beside oppressive pressing and religiously excused burdens. It does not make nāgaś the same Greek leadership term or settle the legality of a present debt or employment arrangement.
Passage contextCanonical parallel