Hebrew word · H5392

נֶ֫שֶׁךְ

neshekh

interest

Interest on a loan, whether of money or food. The noun comes from the verb nashak, "to bite" (Num 21:6, 9 of serpents; Gen 49:17; Amos 9:3), so interest is pictured as a bite taken out of the borrower. The verb also appears with the sense "to lend at interest" (Deut 23:19–20 [Heb 20–21]).

Appears 12 times in 10 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated October 24, 2026

What it means

interest, usury

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Proverbs 28:8

Range of meaning: Interest on a loan, whether of money or food. The noun comes from the verb nashak, "to bite" (Num 21:6, 9 of serpents; Gen 49:17; Amos 9:3), so interest is pictured as a bite taken out of the borrower. The verb also appears with the sense "to lend at interest" (Deut 23:19–20 [Heb 20–21]).
Against the English: KJV and BSB render "usury," ESV/NASB "interest," YLT keeps the picture with "biting," and WEB and NLT narrow it to "excessive" or "high" interest. The Hebrew has no notion of a fair rate versus an excessive one. Neshek is any charge at all for a loan to a needy fellow Israelite.
How it drifted: Medieval English "usury" meant any interest at all. After interest was legalized in England in 1545 (with a rate cap), "usury" gradually came to mean only illegal or extortionate rates. English readers now hear "loan-sharking," where the Hebrew word covered all interest.
Used elsewhere in the period: The Torah bans charging neshek to a poor fellow Israelite (Exod 22:25 [Heb 22:24]; Lev 25:36–37) and to a "brother" in general, while allowing it from a foreigner (Deut 23:19–20). Ps 15:5 lists "does not lend his money at neshek" as a mark of the person who may stand on God's holy hill. Ezekiel 18:8, 13, 17 and 22:12 list taking neshek and tarbit among capital-level wrongs. Elsewhere in the ancient Near East interest was normal and regulated: the Laws of Eshnunna and of Hammurabi set ceilings of about 20% on silver and 33⅓% on grain. Aramaic papyri from Elephantine (5th c. BC) show loans at 5% per month.

From the study of Ezekiel 18:17

Range of meaning: Interest on a loan. It comes from nāšak, 'to bite' (used of snakes, Gen 49:17; Num 21:6), so it is literally 'a bite'. It may refer to interest deducted at the start: you borrow ten and receive eight.
Against the English: KJV's 'usury' today means exorbitant or illegal interest. The Torah's ban covers any interest at all on loans to a fellow Israelite in need (Exod 22:25; Lev 25:35–37; Deut 23:19–20), not just high rates.
How it drifted: Older English used 'usury' for any interest. From the 16th century, as Christian Europe came to accept moderate interest, 'usury' narrowed to mean excessive interest. The KJV word now says less than the Hebrew does.
Used elsewhere in the period: Lev 25:36–37; Deut 23:20–21 (Heb); Ps 15:5 (the person who may dwell on God's holy hill 'does not lend his money at nešek'); Prov 28:8; Ezek 18:8, 13; 22:12. Rates elsewhere in the region were steep: Old Babylonian practice allowed about 20% on silver and 33⅓% on grain, and the Elephantine papyri (5th century BCE) record 5% a month.

From the study of Ezekiel 18:13

Range of meaning: Interest charged on a loan. The noun comes from the verb nashakh, 'to bite', used of snakes (Gen 49:17; Num 21:6, 9). In the legal texts it is the general term for any charge on a loan: on money, food 'or anything that is lent at interest' (Deut 23:19). With natan ('give') it means 'to lend at interest'.
Against the English: KJV and BSB use 'usury'; most modern versions use 'interest'. 'Interest' is the more accurate choice today. 'Usury' now means an illegal or excessive rate, which narrows the Hebrew.
How it drifted: In 1611 'usury' still largely meant any interest. After England legalised moderate interest (1545 and 1571), 'usury' gradually came to mean only excessive interest, so the KJV word now reads more narrowly than it once did.
Used elsewhere in the period: Exod 22:25 (Heb. 22:24) forbids taking neshekh from a poor fellow Israelite. Lev 25:36–37 pairs neshekh with tarbit/marbit. Deut 23:19–20 forbids it between Israelites and allows it from a foreigner (nokhri, usually a foreign trader rather than a resident immigrant). Ps 15:5 makes not lending at interest a condition for entering God's presence. Prov 28:8 and Ezek 22:12 condemn it. The Septuagint uses tokos, the ordinary Greek word for interest, which also means 'offspring', since money 'breeds'.

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

Exodus 22:25 נֶֽשֶׁךְ׃ interest

If you lend money to one of My people among you who is poor, you must not act as a creditor to him; you are not to charge him interest.

Here: Interest, from a root meaning 'to bite' (nashakh). Any charge on top of the principal (the amount lent) bites into the borrower. No rate is named: the ban is on charging the poor anything at all, not on charging too much.

Leviticus · 2

Leviticus 25:36 נֶ֣שֶׁךְ interest

Do not take any interest or profit from him, but fear your God, that your countryman may live among you.
Leviticus 25:37 בְּנֶ֑שֶׁךְ for interest

You must not lend him your silver at interest or sell him your food for profit.

Deuteronomy · 3

Deuteronomy 23:19 נֶ֥שֶׁךְ נֶ֣שֶׁךְ נֶ֕שֶׁךְ interest of

Do not charge your brother interest on money, food, or any other type of loan.

Psalms · 1

Psalm 15:5 בְּנֶשֶׁךְ֮ for interest

who lends his money without interest and refuses a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.

Here: "At interest," literally "on bite." The noun comes from the verb nāšak, which describes a snake biting. It is the Torah's word for any charge a lender takes on top of a loan, whatever the rate.

Proverbs · 1

Proverbs 28:8 בְּנֶ֣שֶׁךְ by interest

He who increases his wealth by interest and usury lays it up for one who is kind to the poor.

Here: "By the bite." The word comes from the verb nashak, "to bite" (used of snakes). It is the standard Torah word for interest charged on a loan, pictured as a bite taken out of the borrower.

Ezekiel · 4

Ezekiel 18:8 בַּנֶּ֣שֶׁךְ for <the> interest

He does not engage in usury or take excess interest, but he withholds his hand from iniquity and executes true justice between men.

Here: "At interest": the preposition plus article marks the terms on which something is lent. The noun comes from the verb 'to bite' and names the charge a lender takes on a loan. It is placed first for emphasis: interest is the one thing this man will not lend on.
Ezekiel 18:13 בַּנֶּ֧שֶׁךְ for <the> interest

He engages in usury and takes excess interest. Will this son live? He will not! Since he has committed all these abominations, he will surely die; his blood will be on his own head.

Here: "On interest." The noun comes from the verb for a snake's bite, so the picture is a loan that bites a piece out of the borrower. With the verb 'give' it is the set phrase for lending at interest.
Ezekiel 18:17 נֶ֤שֶׁךְ interest

He withholds his hand from harming the poor and takes no interest or usury. He keeps My ordinances and follows My statutes. Such a man will not die for his father’s iniquity. He will surely live.

Here: From the verb 'to bite'. It is interest that takes a bite out of the borrower, perhaps by deducting it in advance. In the Torah's terms it means any interest charged on a loan to a needy fellow Israelite, not only excessive interest.
Ezekiel 22:12 נֶ֧שֶׁךְ interest

In you they take bribes to shed blood. You engage in usury, take excess interest, and extort your neighbors. But Me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD.

Here: Interest on a loan. The word comes from the verb "to bite", so it is the bite a lender takes out of a borrower. The Law banned it on loans to a fellow Israelite (Exod 22:25; Lev 25:36; Deut 23:19).

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.