Lexical Summary
nasah: To test, to try, to prove, to tempt
Original Word:נָסָה
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:nacah
Pronunciation:naw-saw'
Phonetic Spelling:(naw-saw')
KJV: adventure, assay, prove, tempt, try
NASB:test, tested, tempted, testing, put to the test, make a test, proved
Word Origin:[a primitive root]
1. to test
2. (by implication) to attempt
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
adventure, assay, prove, tempt, try
A primitive root; to test; by implication, to attempt -- adventure, assay, prove, tempt, try.
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. root
Definitionto test, try
NASB Translationmake a test (1), proved (1), put (1), put to the test (2), tempted (3), test (13), tested (9), testing (3), tried (1), try (1), venture (1), ventures (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
[] (Late Hebrew
id., Pi`el; Pa`el ; Syriac Pa`el
; compare Ethiopic
temptation); —
Perfect3masculine singularDeuteronomy 4:34 3t.; suffixExodus 15:25; 3feminine singularDeuteronomy 28:56; 1singularEcclesiastes 7:23, + 4 t. Perfect;Imperfect3masculine singular suffixDaniel 1:14; 1singularJudges 6:39; suffixEcclesiastes 2:2; 3masculine pluralNumbers 14:22; 2masculine pluralExodus 17:2, + 7 t. Imperfect;ImperativeDaniel 1:12; suffixPsalm 26:2;Infinitive constructExodus 20:20, + 8 t. Infinitive;ParticipleDeuteronomy 13:4; —
test, try (synonym ), absolute1 Samuel 17:39 (a sword); withJudges 7:39;Ecclesiastes 2:1; with accusativeDaniel 1:12,14; accusative +1 Kings 10:1 2Chronicles 9:1;Ecclesiastes 7:23.
attempt, assay, try to do a thing, with InfinitiveDeuteronomy 4:34;Deuteronomy 28:56; with accusativeJob 4:2 (venture a word).
test, try, prove, tempt [but not in modern sense of the word: see DrDeuteronomy 6:16; Psalms 453, 483]
tests orproves AbrahamGenesis 22:1 (E), IsraelExodus 15:25;Exodus 20:20 (E),Exodus 16:4 (J),Deuteronomy 8:2,16;Deuteronomy 13:4; withJudges 2:22;Judges 3:1,4; tribe of LeviDeuteronomy 33:8 (poem); Hezekiah 2 Chronicles 32:31; psalmistPsalm 26:2.
Israeltests, ortries God:Exodus 17:2,7;Numbers 14:22 (J),Deuteronomy 6:16;Psalm 78:18;Psalm 78:41;Psalm 78:56;Psalm 95:9;Psalm 106:14; so Ahaz,Isaiah 7:12.
Topical Lexicon
Nature and Scope of נָסָהThe verb paints the picture of putting something or someone to the proof in order to reveal what is really there. Roughly thirty-six appearances span the Pentateuch, Historical Books, Psalms and Chronicles, always revolving around one of three ideas: (1) God testing people, (2) people testing God, or (3) someone testing a thing or circumstance to discover its suitability.
God Tests His People
•Genesis 22:1 sets the tone for every later occurrence: “God tested Abraham”. The command to offer Isaac exposed the contents of the patriarch’s heart and anticipated the ultimate provision of a substitute.
• In the wilderness God “tested” Israel again and again—Marah (Exodus 15:25), manna (Exodus 16:4), Massah (Exodus 17:2), Sinai (Exodus 20:20). Each episode clarifies that divine testing is designed “so that the fear of Him may be before you, to keep you from sinning” (Exodus 20:20).
• Deuteronomy distills the theology of testing. The forty-year trek “humbled you and tested you to know what was in your heart” (Deuteronomy 8:2); the same word reappears in 8:16 and 13:3. Testing is never aimless; it refines faith and loyalty.
• Later narratives preserve the pattern. God left Hezekiah “to test him and to know all that was in his heart” (2 Chronicles 32:31). David invites the process, “Test me, O LORD, and try me; examine my heart and mind” (Psalm 26:2).
Human Presumption: Testing God
The mirror image of נָסָה appears when people put God on trial:
• At Rephidim the people asked, “Is the LORD among us or not?” and the place was named Massah “because they tested the LORD” (Exodus 17:7).
• “You shall not test the LORD your God as you did at Massah” (Deuteronomy 6:16). This prohibition stands behind Jesus’ rebuke to the tempter (Matthew 4:7), demonstrating Scripture’s internal harmony.
•Psalm 95:8-9 warns later generations: “Do not harden your hearts… when your fathers tested and tried Me, though they had seen My work.”
Testing God is always condemned, for it springs from unbelief and demands proof from the One who has already proven Himself.
Everyday Usage: Proving What Is Fit
נָסָה also operates in ordinary life. David declined Saul’s armor because he had “not tested them” (1 Samuel 17:39). The word stresses careful evaluation before commitment.
Theological Threads
1. Divine testing never seeks to induce sin; it seeks to display and strengthen faith.
2. God reserves the right to examine hearts; humans never have the right to demand that God prove Himself.
3. The pattern culminates at the cross, where the obedient Son endures the ultimate test (Hebrews 5:8 picks up the same concept in Greek) and thereby proves the Father’s faithfulness for all who follow Him.
Pastoral and Ministry Implications
• Trials are purposeful. Leaders should teach congregations to expect them and to view them as instruments of sanctification rather than signs of divine displeasure.
• Corporate worship must remember Massah. Grumbling and unbelief “test” God and invite discipline.
• Personal prayer may rightly echo David: “Test me,” inviting God’s searching gaze that leads to growth (Psalm 139:23 employs a synonym but the same idea).
• Discernment requires testing doctrines and practices (1 Thessalonians 5:21), an application of the same spiritual principle.
Summary
נָסָה weaves through Scripture as a consistent testimony to a holy God who proves His people, a warning against presumption that would put Him on trial, and an encouragement that every trial, rightly received, leads to deeper trust and obedience.
Forms and Transliterations
אֲנַסְּכָ֛ה אֲנַסֶּ֖ה אֲנַסֶּ֛נּוּ אֲנַסֶּ֤ה אנסה אנסכה אנסנו הֲנִסָּ֣ה הֲנִסָּ֬ה הנסה וְנַסֵּ֑נִי וַיְנַסֵּ֖ם וַיְנַסּ֣וּ וַיְנַסּוּ־ וינסו וינסו־ וינסם ונסני לְנַ֨סּוֹת֔וֹ לְנַסֹּֽתְךָ֗ לְנַסֹּת֖וֹ לְנַסּ֥וֹת לְנַסּוֹת֩ לנסות לנסותו לנסתו לנסתך מְנַסֶּ֞ה מנסה נִ֭סּוּנִי נִסְּתָ֤ה נִסִּ֑יתִי נִסִּ֣יתִי נִסִּיתֶ֖ם נִסִּיתוֹ֙ נִסָּ֖ה נִסָּֽהוּ׃ נִסָּה֒ נַסֹּתֶ֔ךָ נַסֹּתָ֤ם נַסּ֣וֹת נַסּ֥וֹת נַס־ נס־ נסה נסהו׃ נסוני נסות נסיתו נסיתי נסיתם נסתה נסתך נסתם תְּנַסּ֖וּן תְנַסּ֔וּ תנסו תנסון ’ă·nas·sə·ḵāh ’ă·nas·seh ’ă·nas·sen·nū ’ănasseh ’ănassəḵāh ’ănassennū anasseChah anasSeh anasSennu hă·nis·sāh hanisSah hănissāh lə·nas·sō·ṯə·ḵā lə·nas·sō·ṯōw lə·nas·sō·w·ṯōw lə·nas·sō·wṯ lenasSot lenassoteCha lənassōṯəḵā lenassoTo lənassōṯōw lənassōwṯ lənassōwṯōw mə·nas·seh menasSeh mənasseh nas nas- nas·sō·ṯām nas·sō·ṯe·ḵā nas·sō·wṯ nasSot nassoTam nassōṯām nassoTecha nassōṯeḵā nassōwṯ nis·sā·hū nis·sāh nis·sə·ṯāh nis·sî·ṯem nis·sî·ṯî nis·sî·ṯōw nis·sū·nî nisSah nissāh nisSahu nissāhū nisseTah nissəṯāh nissiTem nissîṯem nisSiti nissîṯî nissiTo nissîṯōw Nissuni nissūnî ṯə·nas·sū tə·nas·sūn tenasSu ṯənassū tenasSun tənassūn vaynasSem vaynasSu venasSeni way·nas·sêm way·nas·sū way·nas·sū- waynassêm waynassū waynassū- wə·nas·sê·nî wənassênî
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