Hebrew word · H6217

עָשׁוּקִים

'ashukim

oppression

Formed from the verb ʿashaq, “to oppress, extort, defraud, withhold what is due”. It can mean either “acts of oppression or extortion” or “oppressed persons”.

Appears 4 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

oppression, extortion

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 Amos 3:9

Range of meaning

Formed from the verb ʿashaq, “to oppress, extort, defraud, withhold what is due”. It can mean either “acts of oppression or extortion” or “oppressed persons”.

Against the English

BSB “acts of oppression”, WEB “oppression”, KJV “the oppressed”, YLT “oppressed ones”. The translations split over whether the word names the deeds or the victims.

How it drifted

In modern English “oppression” has become a broad political or psychological word. The Hebrew root is concrete and often economic: withheld wages, extortion, defrauding.

Used elsewhere in the period

The verb is used in Leviticus 19:13 (“do not defraud your neighbour”) and Deuteronomy 24:14 (“do not oppress a hired worker”). Amos 4:1 has “cows of Bashan… who oppress the poor”. Ecclesiastes 4:1 (“I saw all the oppressions”) and Job 35:9 (“because of the multitude of oppressions”) use this same plural form.

From the study of Job 35:9

Range of meaning

From the verb ʿāšaq: to oppress by exploitation, extort, defraud, withhold what is owed, rob the weak through power or trickery. The noun form is rare. It is found here, in Amos 3:9 ('oppressions' in Samaria) and in Ecclesiastes 4:1, where the related form describes 'all the oppressions that are done under the sun' and the oppressed weeping with no one to comfort them.

Against the English

English 'oppression' is accurate but broad, and today it often means something general, structural or even emotional ('I feel oppressed'). The Hebrew root is more concrete and economic. It names the employer who holds back a worker's wages, the creditor who squeezes the poor, and the powerful man who takes what is not his.

How it drifted

Over time English 'oppression' has broadened toward abstract systems and inner states. Hebrew ʿāšaq keeps a firm tie to specific acts of exploitation.

Used elsewhere in the period

Leviticus 19:13 ('You shall not oppress [ʿāšaq] your neighbor or rob him; the wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you overnight'); Deuteronomy 24:14 (do not oppress a poor hired worker); Proverbs 14:31 ('whoever oppresses the poor insults his Maker'); Amos 4:1; Ecclesiastes 4:1. In Job itself, Job swears he never took land or wages unjustly (31:38–39). The Septuagint here uses a passive participle of sykophanteō, 'to be falsely accused, extorted', which keeps the idea of exploitation.

Where it appears

Job · 1

  1. Job 35:9 עֲשׁוּקִ֣ים oppression<s>

    Men cry out under great oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the mighty.

    Here: A plural noun from the root ʿ-sh-q, which means to exploit, extort or defraud someone weaker. These are concrete acts of exploitation piled up, not a general mood of being 'oppressed'. The same consonants could also be read as 'the oppressed'.

Ecclesiastes · 2

  1. Ecclesiastes 4:1 הָ֣עֲשֻׁקִ֔ים הָעֲשֻׁקִ֗ים the oppression<s>, the oppressed

    Again I looked, and I considered all the oppression taking place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter; the power lay in the hands of their oppressors, and there was no comforter.

    Here: An abstract plural, "the oppressions": concrete acts of exploitation, fraud and extortion by the stronger against the weaker. The very same spelling comes back a few words later meaning "the oppressed" (people), so the deed and its victims sound alike.

Amos · 1

  1. Amos 3:9 וַעֲשׁוּקִ֖ים and oppression<s>

    Proclaim to the citadels of Ashdod and to the citadels of Egypt: “Assemble on the mountains of Samaria; see the great unrest in the city and the acts of oppression in her midst.”

    Here: The word comes from the verb for extorting, defrauding or crushing someone economically. It can mean either “acts of extortion” or “people who have been extorted”. Both point to the same reality.

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