דָּחָה
𐤃𐤇𐤄
dâchâh
H1760 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To push or drive away, to thrust or cast out forcefully, whether literally (as in pushing someone bodily) or figuratively (removing or rejecting someone or something from a position or state). Often conveys the idea of forcibly expelling or humiliating, whether a person, a group (as in removal from community), or one's status (such as causing to totter or fall).
Semantic Range
to push away, thrust aside, drive out, expel, reject, cast aside, cause to totter, force into instability, overthrow, remove forcibly
Root / Etymology
Root: דחה. Derived from the root meaning 'to drive, push, thrust.' The form דָּחָה reflects the fundamental sense of active displacement or removal, and is used predominantly in qal and hiphil verbal stems in the Hebrew Bible. The alternate form דָּחַח (Jeremiah 23:12) is a dialectical or scribal variant, with no significant change in meaning.
Historical & Contextual Notes
דָּחָה primarily refers in the Hebrew Bible to literal or figurative acts of pushing or driving away, including both hostile actions (enemies driven from a land, individuals excluded from fellowship, or casting aside by force) and metaphorical uses (such as God rejecting or turning away from individuals or groups). In poetic usage (notably Psalms and prophetic literature), the term can suggest the broader concept of causing instability or downfall ('made my foot to totter'). It is often used with the sense of rejection by the deity, expressing notions of divine disfavor, exclusion, or judgment. Compared to related roots such as גרשׁ ('to expel, drive out'), דָּחָה emphasizes the act of pushing away more than formal banishment or legal expulsion, and can be either a single act or a persistent state of rejection. In most standard English translations, the nuance of forceful pushing is present but sometimes narrowed to 'cast out' or 'drive away,' which may miss the term's broader use for both social exclusion and abrupt destabilization. The alternate spelling (דָּחַח) is unique to Jeremiah 23:12 and does not reflect a difference in meaning. The word appears across a range of periods (early monarchy through post-exilic texts) and retains its basic sense throughout, although the imagery from literal physical pushing to metaphorical rejection becomes especially significant in later poetry and theological discourse.
Translation Consistency
Covers the full semantic range — literal pushing/thrusting and forceful expulsion or rejection — while sounding natural in English. ‘Drive’ easily combines with particles (away/out) for idiomatic renderings and fits both physical and figurative senses (expel, banish, force into instability). It is more natural than formal alternatives like ‘expel’ and stronger than the milder ‘push.’
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
or דָּחַח; (Jeremiah 23:12), a primitive root; to push down; chase, drive away (on), overthrow, outcast, [idiom] sore, thrust, totter.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.
Root Family
דחה (dâchâh) — to push, thrust, drive away
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H1761 | דַּחֲוָה | and struck instruments |
| H1762 | דְּחִי | a thrusting down |
| H4072 | מִדְחֶה | place of casting away |
Word Forms
9 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H1760-07 |
נִדְחֵ֣י | nidechey | HVNrmpc |
dispersed-of | driven-away ones | driven-away ones of | 3 |
H1760-01 |
דַּחֹ֣ה | dachoh | HVqa |
you pushed | to thrust away | thrusting away | 1 |
H1760-02 |
דְחִיתַ֣/נִי | dechitani | HVqp2ms/Sp1cs |
me back | you thrust me away | you thrust me away | 1 |
H1760-03 |
דּוֹחֶֽה | docheh | HVqrmsa |
driving | driving-away one | driving away | 1 |
H1760-04 |
דֹּ֝ח֗וּ | dochu | HVPp3cp |
they are thrust down | they were forcibly driven away | they were thrust down | 1 |
H1760-05 |
הַ/דְּחוּיָֽה | hadechuyah | HTd/Vqsfsa |
tottering | the driven-away one | the tottering one | 1 |
H1760-06 |
לִ/דְח֥וֹת | lidechot | HR/Vqc |
to trip up | to thrust away | to thrust away | 1 |
H1760-08 |
יִדָּחֶ֣ה | yidacheh | HVNi3ms |
is driven away | he will be thrust away | he will be thrust away | 1 |
H1760-09 |
יִדַּ֖חוּ | yidachu | HVNi3mp |
they will be driven | they will be thrust away | they will be driven away | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
11 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H1760-07 |
Isaiah 11:12 | נִדְחֵ֣י | nidechey | HVNrmpc |
the banished | driven-away ones | driven-away ones of |
H1760-07 |
Isaiah 56:8 | נִדְחֵ֣י | nidechey | HVNrmpc |
dispersed-of | driven-away ones | driven-away ones of |
H1760-09 |
Jeremiah 23:12 | יִדַּ֖חוּ | yidachu | HVNi3mp |
they will be driven | they will be thrust away | they will be driven away |
H1760-03 |
Psalms 35:5 | דּוֹחֶֽה | docheh | HVqrmsa |
driving | driving-away one | driving away |
H1760-04 |
Psalms 36:13 | דֹּ֝ח֗וּ | dochu | HVPp3cp |
they are thrust down | they were forcibly driven away | they were thrust down |
H1760-05 |
Psalms 62:4 | הַ/דְּחוּיָֽה | hadechuyah | HTd/Vqsfsa |
tottering | the driven-away one | the tottering one |
H1760-01 |
Psalms 118:13 | דַּחֹ֣ה | dachoh | HVqa |
you pushed | to thrust away | thrusting away |
H1760-02 |
Psalms 118:13 | דְחִיתַ֣/נִי | dechitani | HVqp2ms/Sp1cs |
me back | you thrust me away | you thrust me away |
H1760-06 |
Psalms 140:5 | לִ/דְח֥וֹת | lidechot | HR/Vqc |
to trip up | to thrust away | to thrust away |
H1760-07 |
Psalms 147:2 | נִדְחֵ֖י | nidechey | HVNrmpc |
outcasts | driven-away ones | driven-away ones of |
H1760-08 |
Proverbs 14:32 | יִדָּחֶ֣ה | yidacheh | HVNi3ms |
is driven away | he will be thrust away | he will be thrust away |