Lexical Summary
nagas: To oppress, to drive, to exact, to press, to urge
Original Word:נָגַשׂ
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:nagas
Pronunciation:naw-GAS
Phonetic Spelling:(naw-gas')
KJV: distress, driver, exact(-or), oppress(-or), X raiser of taxes, taskmaster
NASB:taskmasters, oppressor, exact, hard-pressed, oppressed, oppressors, drive hard
Word Origin:[a primitive root]
1. to drive (an animal, a workman, a debtor, an army)
2. (by implication) to tax, harass, tyrannize
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
distress, driver, exactor, oppressor, raiser of taxes, taskmaster
A primitive root; to drive (an animal, a workman, a debtor, an army); by implication, to tax, harass, tyrannize -- distress, driver, exact(-or), oppress(-or), X raiser of taxes, taskmaster.
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. root
Definitionto press, drive, oppress, exact
NASB Translationdrive hard (1), driver (1), exact (2), exacted (1), hard-pressed (2), oppressed (2), oppressor (4), oppressors (2), overseers (1), ruler (1), taskmaster (1), taskmasters (5).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
[ (Assyrian
naga&198;šu,
throw down,
overthrow, Dl
HWB 448; Arabic
rouse and
drive game,
drive vehemently; Ethiopic
reign, wield power,
king); —
Perfect2 Kings 23:25;ImperfectDeuteronomy 15:2; 2masculine singularDeuteronomy 15:3; 2masculine pluralIsaiah 58:3; —ParticipleIsaiah 9:3 +, etc.; —
press, drive to work (object your workmen),Isaiah 58:3 (GesComm., De Di Du;exact [changing , q. v.] Che, etc.); see
,2 Kings 23:35; followed by accusative of person onlyDeuteronomy 15:2,13.
Participle (= substantive)driver, task-masterExodus 3:7;Exodus 5:6,10,13,14;Job 3:18; (ass-) driverJob 39:7; of (arbitrary)rulerIsaiah 3:12,ruler (good sense)Zechariah 10:4; = foreignoppressor, tyrantIsaiah 9:3 (with )Isaiah 14:2,4;Zechariah 9:8;exactor of tribute,Daniel 11:20; plural abstractlordship = lord, ruler, figurative of (personified)Isaiah 60:17 ("" ).
Perfect1 Samuel 13:6 2t. +Isaiah 3:5 ( consecutive); —hard pressed by enemy1 Samuel 13:6, and so1 Samuel 14:24 (but omitted by emendation, after , Th We Dr Kit Bu HPS);treated harshly, of suffering servant ofIsaiah 53:7; reciprocaltyrannize over ()each other Isaiah 35..
Topical Lexicon
OverviewStrong’s Hebrew 5065 (nāgaś) portrays the act of pressing, driving, exacting, or oppressing. From forced labor under Pharaoh to the silent suffering of the Servant, the word traces a red thread through Scripture that highlights human tyranny, divine compassion, covenantal ethics, and ultimate deliverance.
Usage in Torah: Bondage and Deliverance
Exodus sets the paradigm. Pharaoh’s “taskmasters” (nāgaś) afflict Israel (Exodus 3:7; 5:6, 10, 13–14). The LORD’s response—“I have surely seen the affliction of My people… I have heard them crying out because of their oppressors” (Exodus 3:7)—establishes His covenant character as Redeemer who intervenes when oppression peaks.
Covenant Economics: Release from Debt
Deuteronomy translates the term into Israel’s social life. “Every creditor shall cancel what he has loaned… he shall not demand payment from his neighbor or brother” (Deuteronomy 15:2). The Sabbatical release forbids creditors from acting as oppressors, embedding mercy in the nation’s economic rhythms and foreshadowing the Gospel proclamation of remission.
Monarchy and Military Pressures
In the turbulent period of the monarchy, nāgaś surfaces in civic and military stress. Saul’s rash oath “pressed” the troops (1 Samuel 14:24), while Israel under Philistine threat was “hard-pressed” (1 Samuel 13:6). Later, King Jehoiakim “taxed the land and exacted the silver and gold” to satisfy Pharaoh Necho (2 Kings 23:35). Human kings easily become taskmasters when they abandon God’s rule.
Wisdom Literature: Longing for Relief
Job’s laments widen the lens. The grave is pictured as a place where captives “do not hear the voice of the oppressor” (Job 3:18), and the wild donkey “hears no shouts from the driver” (Job 39:7). Oppression is woven into the very fabric of a fallen world, and even creation groans for a realm without it.
Prophetic Indictment of Oppression
Isaiah brings the sharpest rebuke. “The people will oppress one another” (Isaiah 3:5); “Youths oppress My people” (Isaiah 3:12); “you oppress all your workers” while fasting (Isaiah 58:3). The prophets expose systemic sin and call Judah back to covenant justice. The promise follows: “You have shattered… the staff of their oppressor” (Isaiah 9:4), pledging divine intervention.
Messianic Fulfillment and Suffering Servant
The climax occurs inIsaiah 53:7: “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth.” The Servant voluntarily bears oppression, transforming the term from a mark of tyranny to the doorway of atonement. By absorbing unjust pressure without retaliation, He liberates the oppressed and the oppressor alike.
Eschatological Reversal and Hope
Judgment and hope mingle in later passages. Babylon, the archetypal tyrant, is felled: “How the oppressor has ceased!” (Isaiah 14:4). Peace replaces oppression in Zion: “I will appoint peace as your overseers and righteousness as your oppressors” (Isaiah 60:17). Daniel predicts an “exactor of tribute” who will be destroyed (Daniel 11:20), while Zechariah hears the LORD promise, “No oppressor will march against them again” (Zechariah 9:8). History bends toward a kingdom where oppression is impossible.
Ministry Implications
1. Compassionate Advocacy: Scripture’s consistent denunciation of nāgaś calls believers to defend the vulnerable and resist exploitative systems.
2. Gospel Motivation: Christ’s endurance of oppression provides both atonement and example (1 Peter 2:23).
3. Eschatological Confidence: Final eradication of all oppressors fuels perseverance and hope (Revelation 21:4).
4. Ethical Stewardship: From debt-forgiveness to just labor practices, God’s people are summoned to tangible acts that reflect His liberating heart.
Nāgaś warns against the misuse of power, witnesses to the God who hears the cry of the oppressed, and directs faith toward the Day when the rod of every taskmaster will be broken forever.
Forms and Transliterations
בְּנֹגְשֵׂיהֶֽם׃ בנגשיהם׃ הַנֹּגְשִׂ֣ים הַנֹּגֵ֣שׂ הנגש הנגשים וְהַנֹּגְשִׂ֖ים וְנִגַּ֣שׂ וְנֹגְשַׂ֖יִךְ והנגשים ונגש ונגשיך יִגֹּ֤שׂ יגש נ֝וֹגֵ֗שׂ נִגַּ֖שׂ נִגַּ֨שׂ נָגַ֞שׂ נֹֽגְשָׂ֔יו נֹגְשֵׂ֤י נֹגְשֵׂ֥י נֹגְשָׂ֣יו נֹגֵ֑שׂ נֹגֵ֔שׂ נֹגֵֽשׂ׃ נגש נגש׃ נגשי נגשיו נוֹגֵ֖שׂ נוגש תִּגֹּ֑שׂ תִּנְגֹּֽשׂוּ׃ תגש תנגשו׃ bə·nō·ḡə·śê·hem bənōḡəśêhem benogeseiHem han·nō·ḡə·śîm han·nō·ḡêś hannoGes hannōḡêś hannogeSim hannōḡəśîm nā·ḡaś naGas nāḡaś nig·gaś nigGas niggaś nō·ḡə·śāw nō·ḡə·śê nō·ḡêś nō·w·ḡêś noGes nōḡêś nogeSav nōḡəśāw nōḡəśê nogeSei nōwḡêś tig·gōś tigGos tiggōś tin·gō·śū tinGosu tingōśū vehannogeSim venigGas venogeSayich wə·han·nō·ḡə·śîm wə·nig·gaś wə·nō·ḡə·śa·yiḵ wəhannōḡəśîm wəniggaś wənōḡəśayiḵ yig·gōś yigGos yiggōś
Links
Interlinear Greek •
Interlinear Hebrew •
Strong's Numbers •
Englishman's Greek Concordance •
Englishman's Hebrew Concordance •
Parallel Texts
