Hebrew word · H5413

נָתַךְ

nitakh

to pour

To pour forth or flow. In the passive and related forms it means to be poured out or to be melted, used for metal run liquid in a furnace. It is also used for God's anger or wrath being "poured out" and for rain or water pouring down.

Appears 21 times in 19 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to pour out or forth, drop (or rain), be poured, be poured out, be melted, be molten

1a) (Qal) to pour forth

1b) (Niphal) to be poured, be poured out

1c) (Hiphil) to pour out, melt

1d) (Hophal) to be melted

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 Ezekiel 22:21

Range of meaning

To pour forth or flow. In the passive and related forms it means to be poured out or to be melted, used for metal run liquid in a furnace. It is also used for God's anger or wrath being "poured out" and for rain or water pouring down.

Against the English

"Melted" is correct for the metal picture. English cannot keep the verb's double reach: the same root means "pour out" when used of wrath. KJV, WEB and BSB render it "melted" here but use different verbs for wrath, so the link is lost.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 9:33 (rain "poured"); 2 Chr 12:7 and 34:21, 25 and Jer 7:20, 42:18, 44:6 (God's wrath "poured out"); Job 10:10 ("poured me out like milk"); Ezek 22:20 ("to melt"), 22:22 (a related noun, "as silver is melted"); Ezek 24:11 (the bronze of the pot melting). The Greek translation (LXX) uses chōneuō, "to smelt or cast metal".

From the study of Daniel 9:11

Range of meaning

To pour out or gush (of water or rain, Exod 9:33; 2 Sam 21:10; Job 3:24). It also means to melt or smelt metal (Ezek 22:20–22). It is used repeatedly for God's anger or fury being poured out (Jer 7:20; 42:18; 44:6; Nah 1:6; 2 Chr 12:7; 34:21, 25).

Against the English

"Poured out" (all versions) is good. The metallurgical side of the word, molten metal in a furnace, does not come through in English.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jer 42:18 and 44:6: "my anger and my wrath were poured out on... Jerusalem". These passages, which Daniel had just been reading in Jeremiah's scroll (9:2), describe the very catastrophe of 587/586 BC. The verb comes back at the end of the chapter (9:27, "until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator").

From the study of 2 Chronicles 34:21

Range of meaning

To pour out or pour forth. In the active stem, of melting and casting metal (Ezek 22:20–22, 'I will melt you'). In the passive stem used here, of rain or water pouring down (Exod 9:33; 2 Sam 21:10) and of wrath being poured out (Jer 42:18; 44:6; Nah 1:6).

Against the English

All the supplied versions say 'poured out,' which is accurate. The parallel in 2 Kgs 22:13 uses a different verb, 'kindled' (nitstsetah, from yatsat, 'set on fire'), which most English versions render 'kindled' or 'burns'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezek 22:20–22 joins melting in a furnace with 'pouring out my wrath'. Nah 1:6: 'his wrath is poured out like fire.' Within Chronicles: 2 Chr 12:7 and 34:25.

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 9:33 נִתַּ֥ךְ it was poured out

    Then Moses departed from Pharaoh, went out of the city, and spread out his hands to the LORD. The thunder and hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured down on the land.

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 21:10 נִתַּךְ־ it was poured out

    And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest until the rain from heaven poured down on the bodies, she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 22:9 הִתִּ֤יכוּ they have poured out

    And Shaphan the scribe went to the king and reported, “Your servants have paid out the money that was found in the temple and have put it into the hands of the workers and supervisors of the house of the LORD.”

2 Chronicles · 4

  1. 2 Chronicles 12:7 תִתַּ֧ךְ it will pour forth

    When the LORD saw that they had humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, “They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them, but will soon grant them deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak.

  2. 2 Chronicles 34:17 וַיַּתִּ֕יכוּ and they have poured out

    They have paid out the money that was found in the house of the LORD and have put it into the hands of the supervisors and workers.”

  3. 2 Chronicles 34:21 נִתְּכָ֣ה it has been poured out

    “Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for those remaining in Israel and Judah concerning the words in the book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the LORD that has been poured out on us because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD by doing all that is written in this book.”

    Here: A passive past form: 'has been poured out.' The verb is used of molten metal, rain and floods. Josiah speaks as if the wrath is already coming down on them, not merely threatened.

  4. 2 Chronicles 34:25 וְתִתַּ֧ךְ so it may pour forth

    because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. My wrath will be poured out upon this place and will not be quenched.’

Job · 2

  1. Job 3:24 וַֽיִּתְּכ֥וּ and they poured forth

    I sigh when food is put before me, and my groans pour out like water.

  2. Job 10:10 תַּתִּיכֵ֑נִי did you pour out me

    Did You not pour me out like milk, and curdle me like cheese?

Jeremiah · 4

  1. Jeremiah 7:20 נִתֶּ֙כֶת֙ [are] about to be poured out

    Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and the produce of the land, and it will burn and not be extinguished.

    Here: A feminine participle meaning "being poured out" or "about to be poured out". The same verb is used for molten metal running out of a furnace (Ezek 22:20–22) and for rain pouring down (Exod 9:33). Here God's rage comes down on the land like a downpour or a flow of molten metal.

  2. Jeremiah 42:18 נִתַּ֨ךְ תִּתַּ֤ךְ it was poured out, it will pour out

    For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as My anger and wrath were poured out on the residents of Jerusalem, so will My wrath be poured out on you if you go to Egypt. You will become an object of cursing and horror, of vilification and disgrace, and you will never see this place again.’

    Here: Passive perfect, 'was poured out': a done thing they had watched with their own eyes in 587/586 BC. The verb is used for pouring liquid and for molten metal (Ezek 22:20–22).

  3. Jeremiah 44:6 וַתִּתַּ֤ךְ and it poured forth

    Therefore My wrath and anger poured out and burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, so that they have become the desolate ruin they are today.

    Here: 'And it poured out.' The verb is used for rain and liquids, and also for metal melted down in a furnace (Ezekiel 22:20–22). The form is the ordinary storytelling past: Jeremiah tells this as something that has already happened.

Ezekiel · 5

  1. Ezekiel 22:20 לְהַנְתִּ֑יךְ וְהִתַּכְתִּ֖י to melt [it], and I will melt

    Just as one gathers silver, copper, iron, lead, and tin into the furnace to melt with a fiery blast, so I will gather you in My anger and wrath, leave you there, and melt you.

  2. Ezekiel 22:21 וְנִתַּכְתֶּ֖ם and you will be melted

    Yes, I will gather you together and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted within the city.

    Here: "And you will be melted." The verb pictures metal turning liquid and running. The same verb is used elsewhere for wrath being "poured out". The people melt in the same way God's anger pours (compare v. 22).

  3. Ezekiel 22:22 תֻּתְּכ֣וּ you will be melted

    As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted within the city. Then you will know that I, the LORD, have poured out My wrath upon you.’”

  4. Ezekiel 24:11 וְנִתְּכָ֤ה and it will be melted

    Set the empty pot on its coals until it becomes hot and its copper glows. Then its impurity will melt within; its rust will be consumed.

Daniel · 2

  1. Daniel 9:11 וַתִּתַּ֨ךְ and it has poured forth

    All Israel has transgressed Your law and turned away, refusing to obey Your voice; so the oath and the curse written in the Law of Moses the servant of God has been poured out on us, because we have sinned against You.

    Here: "And it poured forth". The verb form marks this as the consequence of what came before. Elsewhere this verb is used for God's wrath being poured out (Jer 7:20; 42:18; 44:6; 2 Chr 34:21) and for metal melted in a furnace (Ezek 22:20–22). The curse comes down like a flood or like molten metal.

  2. Daniel 9:27 תִּתַּ֖ךְ it will be poured forth

    And he will confirm a covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of the temple will come the abomination that causes desolation, until the decreed destruction is poured out upon him.”

    Here: 'It will be poured out', like molten metal or a flood. This is the same verb as 9:11, where 'the curse and the oath were poured out on us.'

Nahum · 1

  1. Nahum 1:6 נִתְּכָ֣ה it is poured out

    Who can withstand His indignation? Who can endure His burning anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; even rocks are shattered before Him.

    Here: Used of liquid pouring down and of metal melting in a furnace. The rage pours out like a flood of molten fire. The verb form presents it as already happening.

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