Lexical Summary
dachah: To push, thrust, drive away, cast down
Original Word:דָּחָה
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:dachah
Pronunciation:dah-KHAH
Phonetic Spelling:(daw-khaw')
KJV: chase, drive away (on), overthrow, outcast, X sore, thrust, totter
NASB:thrust down, away, driving, pushed me violently, tottering, trip
Word Origin:[a primitive root]
1. to push down
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
chase, drive away on, overthrow, outcast, sore, thrust, totter
Or dachach {Jer. 23:12) {daw-khakh'}; a primitive root; to push down -- chase, drive away (on), overthrow, outcast, X sore, thrust, totter.
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. root
Definitionto push, thrust
NASB Translationaway (1), driving (1), pushed me violently (1), thrust down (2), tottering (1), trip (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
(Late Hebrew
id., Aramaic , ,
; cf also Arabic
,
spread, extend, also
throw, propel) —
Perfect2masculine singular suffixPsalm 118:13;Infinitive constructPsalm 140:5;absolutePsalm 118:13;Participle activePsalm 35:5 (read De Che);passive femininePsalm 62:4; —push,pushviolently figurative with accusativePsalm 118:13 followed by clause of purpose , comparePsalm 140:5 (Chetrip up my feet), &Psalm 35:5 (transpose withPsalm 35:6 and read ; compare va, andJeremiah 23:12);pushed in (Che), in simile, passive participle, said ofwallPsalm 62:4 ("" ).
ImperfectProverbs 14:32; (3masculine pluralJeremiah 23:12 is from , if rightly pointed;Isaiah 11:12;Isaiah 56:8;Psalm 147:2, see below ); —be thrust orcast down, figurative of wickedProverbs 14:32, comparePsalm 35:6 above
Perfect3pluralPsalm 36:13they are thrust down ("" & ).
[] only
Imperfect3masculine plural (Köi. 377)Jeremiah 23:12they shall be thrust down, figurative, of wicked; read perhaps , from q. v.
(√ of following; perhaps compare Arabic
smoke arose, hencebecome dusky, dingy, inclining to black).
Topical Lexicon
Root Concept and Nuancesדָּחָה consistently conveys a forceful pushing, thrusting, or driving away. The action can be literal (physically pushing someone) or figurative (marginalizing, banishing, overthrowing). Whether performed by human enemies or understood as disciplinary judgment from God, the verb always carries the idea of displacement accompanied by vulnerability or collapse.
Occurrences Across Scripture
Psalm 35:5;Psalm 36:12;Psalm 62:3;Psalm 118:13 (twice in the Hebrew text);Psalm 140:4;Psalm 147:2;Proverbs 14:32;Isaiah 11:12;Isaiah 56:8;Jeremiah 23:12.
The Language of Violence and Persecution
Several psalms employ דָּחָה to describe the aggression of the wicked.
•Psalm 118:13 – “I was pushed so hard I was falling, but the LORD helped me.” Here the hostile shove highlights utter helplessness apart from divine intervention.
•Psalm 140:4 portrays violent plotters who “scheme to push me off my feet,” reminding worshipers that persecution is neither strange nor unexpected.
•Psalm 36:12 depicts evildoers permanently “thrust down, unable to rise,” shifting the verb from attack on the righteous to the ultimate downfall of the unrighteous themselves.
The verb therefore frames conflict in covenantal terms: those who oppose God’s people employ force, yet the same verb predicts their own irreversible ruin.
Divine Protection and Restoration
God repeatedly reverses the effects of דָּחָה. The One who allows temporary displacement becomes the Redeemer who restores.
•Psalm 147:2 – “The LORD builds up Jerusalem; He gathers the exiles of Israel.” The same root that once described exile now appears in the plural noun נִדְחֵי (“outcasts/exiles”), whom the Lord gathers.
•Isaiah 11:12 anticipates Messiah’s kingdom: “He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; He will collect the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth.”
•Isaiah 56:8 extends this promise beyond ethnic Israel: “The Lord GOD … ‘I will gather to them still others besides those already gathered.’”
Thus Scripture links the verb’s negative displacement with God’s positive regathering, revealing his sovereign power to overturn human hostility and heal covenant breaches.
Moral Warning and Eschatological Hope
Proverbs 14:32 offers a wisdom reflection: “The wicked man is thrown down by his own sin, but the righteous one sings and rejoices.” Sin itself becomes the unseen hand that pushes the wicked toward judgment, while the righteous find security even when outwardly pushed.Jeremiah 23:12 applies this principle to corrupt shepherds: “Their path will become slick and gloomy; there they will stumble and fall.” National leaders who misuse authority to oppress God’s flock experience the very fate they impose on others.
Pastoral and Practical Insights
1. Opposition is real but limited. Human or demonic forces may push believers, yetPsalm 118 proves the Lord’s help is nearer and stronger.
2. Personal failure need not be final. Those who feel “banished” can cling to Isaiah’s promise of regathering.
3. Ministry to the marginalized mirrors God’s heart. The regathering of נִדְחֵי Israel foreshadows the church’s call to seek the spiritually displaced, welcoming them into Christ’s body.
4. Leaders carry grave responsibility. Jeremiah’s indictment warns pastors and teachers not to scatter the flock through error or abuse.
Christological and Missional Implications
The Messiah gathers the pushed-aside. His earthly ministry repeatedly embraced lepers, tax collectors, and Gentiles—people socially “driven away.” At the cross He Himself was “rejected by men” (echoing the verb’s thrust), yet His resurrection inaugurated the ultimate ingathering “from the four corners of the earth.” Every missionary endeavor extendsIsaiah 56:8, drawing still others into the redeemed community until the final assembly before the throne.
Forms and Transliterations
דְחִיתַ֣נִי דַּחֹ֣ה דֹּ֝ח֗וּ דּוֹחֶֽה׃ דוחה׃ דחה דחו דחיתני הַדְּחוּיָֽה׃ הדחויה׃ יִדַּ֖חוּ יִדָּחֶ֣ה ידחה ידחו לִדְח֥וֹת לדחות נִדְחֵ֖י נִדְחֵ֣י נדחי da·ḥōh daChoh daḥōh ḏə·ḥî·ṯa·nî dechiTani ḏəḥîṯanî dō·ḥū dō·w·ḥeh doCheh doChu dōḥū dōwḥeh had·də·ḥū·yāh haddechuYah haddəḥūyāh liḏ·ḥō·wṯ lidChot liḏḥōwṯ niḏ·ḥê nidChei niḏḥê yid·dā·ḥeh yid·da·ḥū yiddaCheh yidDachu yiddāḥeh yiddaḥū
Links
Interlinear Greek •
Interlinear Hebrew •
Strong's Numbers •
Englishman's Greek Concordance •
Englishman's Hebrew Concordance •
Parallel Texts
