Lexical Summary
nashah: To lend, to borrow, to exact, to deceive
Original Word:נָשָׁה
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:nashah
Pronunciation:naw-shaw'
Phonetic Spelling:(naw-shaw')
KJV: creditor, exact, extortioner, lend, usurer, lend on (taker on) usury
NASB:creditor, lent, creditors, exacting, lending, loaned, make
Word Origin:[a primitive root (rather identical withH5382 (נָשָׁה - forget), in the sense ofH5378 (נָשָׁא - deceive))]
1. to lend or (by reciprocity) borrow on security or interest
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
creditor, exact, extortioner, lend, usurer, lend on taker on usury
A primitive root (rather identical withnashah, in the sense ofnasha'); to lend or (by reciprocity) borrow on security or interest -- creditor, exact, extortioner, lend, usurer, lend on (taker on) usury.
see HEBREWnashah
see HEBREWnasha'
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. root
Definitionto lend, become a creditor
NASB Translationcreditor (4), creditors (1), exacting (1), lending (1), lent (2), loaned (1), make (1), make the loan (1).
Topical Lexicon
Root Usage and Canonical Distributionנָשָׁה is found thirteen times, exclusively in contexts that govern or describe the relationship between lender and debtor. From covenant legislation (Exodus, Deuteronomy) to historical narrative (2 Kings), post-exilic reform (Nehemiah), poetic lament (Psalms), prophetic oracle (Isaiah, Jeremiah), and eschatological judgment (Isaiah 24), the word gathers a consistent ethical field: the power held by a creditor and the divine demand that such power be used righteously.
Covenant Legislation: Guardrails for Economic Power
Exodus 22:25 sets the tone: “If you lend money to one of My people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest”. Here lending is permitted but tightly regulated to protect the vulnerable. Deuteronomy sharpens the same concern. A Sabbath-year remission is mandated: “Every creditor shall release what he has loaned to his neighbor” (Deuteronomy 15:2). Later, personal dignity must be respected even when securing collateral—“You are to stand outside while the man to whom you are lending brings the security out to you” (Deuteronomy 24:11). Together these statutes reveal the heart of God: compassion, justice, and personal freedom outweigh commercial gain.
Historical Narrative: A Widow, Her Sons, and the Prophetic Intervention
In2 Kings 4:1 the tragic consequences of unchecked debt reach their climax: a widow faces the loss of her sons to slavery. The same lexeme marks the creditor as the human agent of the crisis, while Elisha becomes the divine agent of deliverance. What the law envisioned—protection of the poor—had broken down; prophetic ministry steps in to restore God’s intention.
Post-Exilic Reform: Nehemiah’s Confrontation
After the exile, Nehemiah confronts the nobles: “You are exacting usury, each from his brother” (Nehemiah 5:7). Three rapid-fire uses of נָשָׁה (verses 7, 10, 11) show a community in which covenant identity is threatened by internal economic oppression. Nehemiah’s solution—public repentance, restitution, and oath—re-establishes social solidarity and demonstrates that spiritual renewal must touch financial practices.
Worship and Wisdom: The Psalmic Curse
Psalm 109:11 adds an imprecatory dimension: “May the creditor seize all he owns”. The psalmist invokes the power of the lender against the wicked, revealing that, in Israel’s thought world, the role could be either protective (when ruled by Torah) or punitive (when unleashed against the unrepentant).
Prophetic Oracles: Cosmic Levelling and Redemptive Analogy
Isaiah 24:2 folds creditor and debtor alike into a sweeping judgment: no status mitigates the coming desolation; economic distinctions collapse before divine holiness. InIsaiah 50:1 the motif becomes redemptive: “To which of My creditors did I sell you? … you were sold because of your sins”. The rhetorical question nullifies any claim against God’s people; their exile is moral, not financial. The vocabulary of debt prepares the way for the gospel proclamation that sin itself is a liability only God can cancel.
Jeremiah’s Personal Lament: Innocence and Hostility
Twice inJeremiah 15:10 the prophet protests, “I have neither lent nor borrowed, yet everyone curses me”. His isolation underscores that social animosity can arise even when no literal debt exists; prophetic truth-telling provokes hostility more fierce than any financial quarrel.
Theological Trajectory Toward the New Testament
The Old Covenant’s strictures on lending anticipate the New Covenant’s deeper ethic of sacrificial generosity (Luke 6:34-35) and the climactic cancellation of sin-debt at the cross (Colossians 2:14). The creditor-debtor vocabulary of נָשָׁה lays the linguistic and conceptual groundwork for Jesus’ petition, “forgive us our debts” (Matthew 6:12).
Ministry and Discipleship Implications
1. Stewardship with Compassion: Lending remains a legitimate service, yet Scripture insists that the image-bearer across the table is never to be exploited.
2. Community Accountability: Nehemiah’s example justifies church discipline when financial practices harm the fellowship.
3. Gospel Witness: Practical mercy to the indebted mirrors the ultimate mercy of God, commending the message of redemption to a watching world.
4. Eschatological Perspective:Isaiah 24 warns that earthly accounts will be settled by divine audit; believers steward resources with eternity in view.
Contemporary Application
Whether managing micro-loans in developing contexts or navigating consumer credit in affluent societies, the biblical ethic behind נָשָׁה calls for lending that advances human flourishing, honors covenant loyalty, and points unmistakably to the gracious God who releases every believer from the greatest debt of all.
Forms and Transliterations
וְהַ֨נֹּשֶׁ֔ה והנשה יַשֶּׁ֖ה ישה כְּנֹשֶׁ֑ה כַּנֹּשֶׁ֕ה כנשה מִנּוֹשַׁ֔י מנושי נ֭וֹשֶׁה נָֽשׁוּ־ נָשִׁ֥יתִי נֹשִׁ֑אים נֹשִׁ֥ים נֹשֶׁ֣ה נושה נשאים נשה נשו־ נשים נשיתי תַשֶּׁ֥ה תשה kan·nō·šeh kannōšeh kannoSheh kə·nō·šeh kənōšeh kenoSheh min·nō·wō·šay minnoShai minnōwōšay nā·šî·ṯî nā·šū- naShiti nashu nāšîṯî nāšū- nō·šeh nō·šim nō·šîm nō·wō·šeh Noosheh nōšeh noSheh noShim nōšim nōšîm nōwōšeh ṯaš·šeh tashSheh ṯaššeh veHannoSheh wə·han·nō·šeh wəhannōšeh yaš·šeh yashSheh yaššeh
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