נָצַל
𐤍𐤑𐤋
nâtsal
H5337 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To deliver, rescue, or save, typically from danger, harm, or distress; to snatch or take away from the possession or control of another, sometimes with force or urgency. The verb can also refer to separating or extracting one party from another's grasp, including removing goods or people from threat, oppression, or captivity, or to strip, plunder, or take as spoil depending on context.
Semantic Range
to deliver, to rescue, to save, to snatch away, to extract, to escape (with assistance), to plunder or strip, to recover, to defend by extraction or removal
Root / Etymology
Root/Etymology: From the root נצל, which expresses a sense of forcibly drawing out or pulling away. The core root meaning is 'to pull, draw away, snatch.' The verb נָצַל developed primarily into the sense of 'to deliver, rescue, or save from danger.' The lexical nuance depends on context (rescue from danger, but also removal from possession), and the action may have a positive (rescue, deliver) or negative (plunder, strip) connotation depending on subject and object.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In the earliest biblical texts, נָצַל is used with clear reference to the act of deliverance or rescue—often by divine intervention—of an Israelite or a group from physical danger, oppression, or threat (e.g., Exodus 3:8; Judges 2:16). This includes rescue from enemies, from servitude, or from any perilous situation. The sense of forcibly pulling away can also involve spoiling or stripping goods from defeated foes (e.g., 1 Samuel 17:35), demonstrating a semantic extension from 'rescue' to 'take away,' whether persons or items. When used in negative contexts, such as 'to strip' or 'to plunder,' the term can refer to the removal of property, not salvation. Over time the concept of נָצַל came to function in both legal and metaphorical senses, such as rescue from false accusation, misfortune, or disaster. English translations often use 'deliver,' 'save,' or 'rescue,' but these terms may sometimes obscure the element of force, separation, or removal present in the Hebrew. The sense of 'defend' is a less direct nuance and often derives from the action of removing from threat rather than standing against it in place. In later literature, 'natsal' can also carry the theological sense of divine rescue, but the primary Hebrew meaning refers to physical or situational extraction. The term is distinct from other Hebrew words for 'deliverance' such as יָשַׁע (yasha‘, to help/bring to safety), which more directly conveys the idea of salvation or bringing to a place of safety rather than forcible removal.
Translation Consistency
'Deliver' is the most frequent and natural English rendering across attestations and best captures the primary sense of נָצַל — to bring someone or something out of danger or another's control. It is broad enough to cover rescue/save/snatch-away contexts while remaining idiomatic in all inflected forms (deliver, delivered, delivering). Rare secondary senses (e.g., plunder) can be handled contextually, but 'deliver' provides the most consistent, typical base verb for this Strong's number.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
a primitive root; to snatch away, whether in a good or a bad sense; [idiom] at all, defend, deliver (self), escape, [idiom] without fail, part, pluck, preserve, recover, rescue, rid, save, spoil, strip, [idiom] surely, take (out).
Bantu Hebrew
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נצל (n-ṣ-l) — pull away, snatch, deliver, rescue
Word Forms
81 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H5337-30 |
מַצִּֽיל | matsil | HVhrmsa |
deliverer | one who rescues | one who delivers | 17 |
H5337-09 |
הַצִּילֵ֥/נִי | hatsileni | HVhv2ms/Sp1cs |
deliver me | Snatch me away | Deliver me | 13 |
H5337-24 |
לְ/הַצִּ֥יל | lehatsil | HR/Vhc |
to deliver | to snatch away | to deliver | 11 |
H5337-17 |
הִצִּ֤יל | hitsil | HVhp3ms |
delivered | he snatched away | he delivered | 9 |
H5337-76 |
יַצִּילֵ֔/נוּ | yatsilenu | HVhi3ms/Sp1cp |
will deliver us | he will snatch us away | he will deliver us | 7 |
H5337-60 |
וְ/הִצַּלְתִּ֥י | vehitsaleti | HC/Vhq1cs |
and I will deliver | and I will snatch away | and I will deliver | 7 |
H5337-70 |
יַצִּ֣יל | yatsil | HVhi3ms |
should deliver | he will snatch away | he will deliver | 7 |
H5337-22 |
הִצִּ֛ילוּ | hitsilu | HVhp3cp |
delivered | they rescued | they delivered | 7 |
H5337-77 |
יַצִּ֖ילוּ | yatsilu | HVhi3mp |
deliver | they will rescue | they will deliver | 7 |
H5337-44 |
וַ/יַּצֵּ֧ל | vayatsel | HC/Vhw3ms |
and delivered | and he snatched away | and he delivered | 6 |
Occurrences in Scripture
213 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H5337-44 |
Genesis 31:9 | וַ/יַּצֵּ֧ל | vayatsel | HC/Vhw3ms |
has taken away | and he snatched away | and he delivered |
H5337-17 |
Genesis 31:16 | הִצִּ֤יל | hitsil | HVhp3ms |
God has taken away | he snatched away | God has taken away |
H5337-09 |
Genesis 32:12 | הַצִּילֵ֥/נִי | hatsileni | HVhv2ms/Sp1cs |
deliver me | Snatch me away | Deliver me |
H5337-43 |
Genesis 32:31 | וַ/תִּנָּצֵ֖ל | vatinatsel | HC/VNw3fs |
and was delivered | and she was snatched away | and it was delivered |
H5337-46 |
Genesis 37:21 | וַ/יַּצִּלֵ֖/הוּ | vayatsilehu | HC/Vhw3ms/Sp3ms |
and rescued him | and he pulled him away | and he rescued him |
H5337-07 |
Genesis 37:22 | הַצִּ֤יל | hatsil | HVhc |
rescue/deliver | to cause to be snatched away | to rescue |
H5337-20 |
Exodus 2:19 | הִצִּילָ֖/נוּ | hitsilanu | HVhp3ms/Sp1cp |
delivered us | he snatched us away | delivered us |
H5337-28 |
Exodus 3:8 | לְ/הַצִּיל֣/וֹ | lehatsilo | HR/Vhc/Sp3ms |
to deliver them | to snatch him away | to deliver him |
H5337-66 |
Exodus 3:22 | וְ/נִצַּלְתֶּ֖ם | venitsaletem | HC/Vpq2mp |
So you shall plunder | and you will snatch away | and you will snatch away |
H5337-53 |
Exodus 5:23 | וְ/הַצֵּ֥ל | vehatsel | HC/Vha |
and delivering | and to snatch away | and delivering |