Lexical Summary
nathak: To tear away, draw (off), break, remove, pluck away
Original Word:נָתַךְ
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:nathak
Pronunciation:naw-thak'
Phonetic Spelling:(naw-thak')
KJV: drop, gather (together), melt, pour (forth, out)
NASB:poured, melted, emptied, melt, pour, rained
Word Origin:[a primitive root]
1. to flow forth (literally or figuratively)
2. (by implication) to liquify
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
drop, gather together, melt, pour forth, out
A primitive root; to flow forth (literally or figuratively); by implication, to liquify -- drop, gather (together), melt, pour (forth, out).
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. root
Definitionto pour forth, be poured out
NASB Translationemptied (2), melt (2), melted (3), pour (2), poured (11), rained (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
[ (intransitive), (Late Hebrew
id., Niph`al
flow, Hiph`il
melt (transitive); Assyrian
natâku,
flow Dl
HWB 487 Jäger
BAS ii. 292; Aph`el
pour out, especially
melt; Zinjirli (Haph`el) Nö
ZMG xlvii (1893), 98 Cook
83; Syriac
(rare) PS
2480); —
Imperfect3feminine singularJeremiah 42:18 3t.,Jeremiah 44:6;Daniel 9:11; 3masculine pluralJob 3:34; —pour forth, always figurative,Job 3:24and my groans have poured forth like water; usually of divine wrath ()Jeremiah 42:18 (with person),Jeremiah 44:6 (absolute), 2 Chronicles 12:7; 34:25 (both with localagainst); compare alsoDaniel 9:11Daniel 9:27 (both with person)
Perfect3masculine singularExodus 9:33 2t.; 3 feminine singularNahum 1:6; 2Chronicles 34:21, consecutiveEzekiel 24:11; 2masculine pluralEzekiel 22:21;Participle feminineJeremiah 7:20: —be poured, of rain,Exodus 9:33 (J), compare2 Samuel 21:10;be poured out, of wrath ofNahum 1:6 (absolute),Jeremiah 7:20 (with location),Jeremiah 42:18 (with person), 2 Chronicles 34:21 (with person);be poured forth i.e. melted, annihilated in the midst of () the fire of s furyEzekiel 22:21 (subject persons), soEzekiel 24:11 (subject impurity, figurative of caldron).
Perfect3masculine plural2 Kings 22:9thy servants have poured out the money ("" 2 Chronicles 34:12 below); 1 singular consecutiveEzekiel 22:20and I will, melt you (figurative of judgment);Infinitive constructEzekiel 22:20in order to melt it (i.e. metal in furnace; Co after . reads
Infinitive, so Berthol, compare Toy);Imperfect3masculine plural 2Chronicles 34:17 (""2 Kings 22:9 above);Job 10:10dost (= didst)thou not pour me out like milk? (of beginnings of life).
Imperfect2masculine pluralEzekiel 22:22so shall ye be melted (figurative of judgement).
Topical Lexicon
Key Imagery and Semantic Rangeנָתַךְ combines the ideas of outflow, melting, and distribution. Whether rain cascading from the heavens, molten metal liquefying in a furnace, money dispensed from the treasury, or wrath unleashed from the throne of God, the verb consistently portrays something once contained now released with purpose and force.
Natural Phenomena: Rain and Hail
The earliest biblical occurrence links נָתַךְ with a God-sent storm (Exodus 9:33). When Moses intercedes, “rain no longer poured down on the land”. The same imagery returns when Rizpah guards the bodies of Saul’s descendants “until the rain poured down from heaven” (2 Samuel 21:10). These texts show that Yahweh alone commands the outpouring of the skies, whether in judgment or mercy.
Divine Wrath Poured Out
More than half the occurrences speak of wrath:
• “My wrath shall not be poured out on Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak” (2 Chronicles 12:7).
• “Great is the wrath of the Lord that has been poured out on us” (2 Chronicles 34:21).
• “Therefore My anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place” (Jeremiah 7:20; cf. 42:18; 44:6).
• Daniel’s prayer acknowledges that “the curse has been poured out on us” (Daniel 9:11), and the vision of 9:27 foretells a final decree “poured out upon the desolator.”
•Nahum 1:6 climaxes the theme: “His wrath is poured out like fire.”
Taken together, these texts reveal that divine judgment is not random; it is deliberate, measured, and ultimately righteous.
Smelting and Purification Allegories
Ezekiel employs נָתַךְ for metalwork (22:20–22; 24:11). The prophet pictures the exiles as ore in a crucible:
“As silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin are gathered into a furnace to be melted… so in My anger and wrath I will gather you and melt you” (Ezekiel 22:20).
What appears destructive is also purifying, separating dross from true metal. The furnace of exile refines a remnant, anticipating the new heart promised inEzekiel 36.
Administrative Disbursement
When repairs were funded for the temple, officials reported, “Your servants have paid out the money that was found in the house of the Lord” (2 Kings 22:9; cf.2 Chronicles 34:17). נָתַךְ here stresses transparent stewardship: resources entrusted to God’s house must be poured directly into God’s work.
Personal Lament and Human Frailty
Job adapts the verb to human experience:
• “My groans pour out like water” (Job 3:24).
• “Did You not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese?” (Job 10:10).
Suffering, birth, and even basic bodily processes become reminders that every life is held— and can be “poured out”—by the Creator.
Prophetic and Eschatological Dimensions
The pattern of wrath already “poured out” (past) and yet to be “poured out” (future) builds a theological bridge to later revelation.Daniel 9:27’s “decreed destruction” anticipates the final outpouring described inRevelation 16, where bowls of wrath complete God’s judgment. The covenantal structure remains intact: persistent rebellion brings a measured but certain torrent of divine justice.
Christological Connections
Isaiah foresees a Servant “poured out unto death” (Isaiah 53:12, using a cognate idea). At Calvary the righteous wrath symbolized by נָתַךְ converges on Christ, so that those who believe need not taste the outpoured fury. Simultaneously, Pentecost answers the promise of Joel that God will “pour out” His Spirit—demonstrating that grace, too, can be lavishly released.
Ministry and Discipleship Applications
1. Holiness: Repeated warnings about wrath urge believers to flee from sin and proclaim the gospel that rescues from the coming outpouring.
2. Stewardship: Temple accounts remind leaders to channel resources faithfully, “pouring out” offerings for kingdom purposes rather than personal gain.
3. Suffering: Job’s imagery validates lament; yet even agonized “pouring out” can be entrusted to a sovereign God who ultimately refines, not destroys.
4. Hope: The furnace motif assures God’s people that trials, though intense, are purifying and temporary, preparing a community fit for His presence.
Thus נָתַךְ traces a sweeping arc—from rain and molten metal to wrath and redemption—illustrating both the severity and the generosity of the covenant-keeping God.
Forms and Transliterations
הִתִּ֤יכוּ התיכו וְהִתַּכְתִּ֖י וְנִתְּכָ֤ה וְנִתַּכְתֶּ֖ם וְתִתַּ֧ךְ וַֽיִּתְּכ֥וּ וַיַּתִּ֕יכוּ וַתִּתַּ֤ךְ וַתִּתַּ֨ךְ והתכתי ויתיכו ויתכו ונתכה ונתכתם ותתך לְהַנְתִּ֑יךְ להנתיך נִתְּכָ֣ה נִתֶּ֙כֶת֙ נִתַּ֥ךְ נִתַּ֨ךְ נִתַּךְ־ נתך נתך־ נתכה נתכת תִּתַּ֖ךְ תִּתַּ֤ךְ תִתַּ֧ךְ תַּתִּיכֵ֑נִי תֻּתְּכ֣וּ תתיכני תתך תתכו hit·tî·ḵū hitTichu hittîḵū lə·han·tîḵ lehanTich ləhantîḵ nit·taḵ nit·taḵ- nit·tə·ḵāh nit·te·ḵeṯ nitTach nittaḵ nittaḵ- nitteChah nitTechet nittəḵāh nitteḵeṯ tat·tî·ḵê·nî tattiCheni tattîḵênî tit·taḵ ṯit·taḵ titTach tittaḵ ṯittaḵ tut·tə·ḵū tutteChu tuttəḵū vaiyatTichu vaiyitteChu vattitTach vehittachTi venittachTem venitteChah vetitTach wat·tit·taḵ wattittaḵ way·yat·tî·ḵū way·yit·tə·ḵū wayyattîḵū wayyittəḵū wə·hit·taḵ·tî wə·nit·taḵ·tem wə·nit·tə·ḵāh wə·ṯit·taḵ wəhittaḵtî wənittaḵtem wənittəḵāh wəṯittaḵ
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