What does נָטַשׁ (nāṭaš) mean in the Bible?
This Hebrew verb can describe leaving, letting something remain or forsaking someone or something. The object and circumstances determine whether the action is ordinary, responsible or blameworthy.
Hebrew · H5203
נָטַשׁ
Properly, to pound , i.e. smite ; by implication (as if beating out, and thus expanding) to disperse ; also, to thrust off, down, out or upon (inclusively, reject , let alone , permit , remit , etc.)
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נָטַשׁH5203
Pronunciationnāṭaš
What does נָטַשׁ (nāṭaš) mean in the Bible?
This Hebrew verb can describe leaving, letting something remain or forsaking someone or something. The object and circumstances determine whether the action is ordinary, responsible or blameworthy.
Reader summary
Full entry for נָטַשׁ (H5203) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H5203?
The BSB source-word alignment has 40 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include and spread out (2), forsake (2), He abandoned (2), left (2), abandon (1).
Where does נָטַשׁ (nāṭaš) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 31:28. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Samuel (7), Isaiah (5), Jeremiah (5), Ezekiel (4).
What This Word Actually Means
This Hebrew verb can describe leaving, letting something remain or forsaking someone or something. The object and circumstances determine whether the action is ordinary, responsible or blameworthy. First Samuel 17:20 says David left the flock with a keeper before carrying out Jesse's instruction. Verse 22 likewise describes leaving supplies in another person's care. Eliab's later angry question about the sheep should be read beside those details rather than treated as the narrator's confirmation of neglect.
Proverbs 1:8 warns a son not to forsake his mother's teaching. Psalm 94:14 promises that the Lord will not forsake His people, while Jeremiah 12:7 uses forsaking language in a declaration of judgment upon God's house and inheritance. These passages cannot be reduced to a rule that every departure is disloyal or that divine faithfulness excludes all judgment and hardship. Read who leaves what, under which responsibility, and with which stated outcome. The verb alone cannot tell a teacher whether a present person's departure from a place or relationship is abandonment.
source_lexiconBook contextCanonical parallelPastoral application
How the Bible Uses It
David's entrusted flock, Eliab's accusation, a mother's instruction, the Lord's faithfulness and a prophetic judgment declaration distinguish practical leaving from moral and covenantal claims.
- 1Sam.17.20
So David got up early in the morning, left the flock with a keeper, loaded up, and set out as Jesse had instructed him. He reached the camp as the army was marching out to its position and shouting the battle cry.
David leaves the flock with a keeper while setting out as Jesse instructed. The named arrangement of care prevents the reader from equating this departure with simply abandoning the animals.
- 1Sam.17.28
Now when David’s oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, his anger burned against David. “Why have you come down here?” he asked. “And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and wickedness of heart—you have come down to see the battle!”
Eliab angrily questions David about the sheep and alleges pride and a wicked heart. His accusation must be weighed against the narrator's earlier statement about the keeper, rather than adopted without qualification.
- Prov.1.8
Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.
The son is urged to hear his father's instruction and not forsake his mother's teaching. The surrounding appeal to wisdom and resistance to harmful enticement supplies the setting for receiving this instruction.
- Ps.94.14
For the Lord will not forsake His people; He will never abandon His heritage.
The assurance that the Lord will not forsake His people appears amid appeals concerning wickedness, discipline and righteous judgment. It promises faithfulness without pretending that the people face no distress.
- Jer.12.7
I have forsaken My house; I have abandoned My inheritance. I have given the beloved of My soul into the hands of her enemies.
The Lord declares that He has forsaken His house and given His beloved inheritance into enemy hands. The judgment language must retain its force and stated covenant setting without becoming a claim that every suffering person has been rejected.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itand spread out2×2 Samuel 5:18, 2 Samuel 5:22
forsake2×Psalms 94:14, Proverbs 6:20
He abandoned2×Deuteronomy 32:15, Psalms 78:60
left2×1 Samuel 17:20, 1 Samuel 17:22
abandon1×1 Samuel 12:22
and abandoned it1×Ezekiel 31:12
and brought them1×Numbers 11:31
and deployed themselves1×Judges 15:9
and do not forsake1×Proverbs 1:8
and forsaken1×Jeremiah 7:29
and left it1×Ezekiel 31:12
and lie fallow1×Exodus 23:11
and will cast you1×Jeremiah 23:39
are slack1×Isaiah 33:23
did you leave1×1 Samuel 17:28
even let me1×Genesis 31:28
forsake us1×1 Kings 8:57
had spread out1×Isaiah 16:8
has forsaken us1×Judges 6:13
has stopped1×1 Samuel 10:2
have forsaken1×Jeremiah 15:6
I have abandoned1×Jeremiah 12:7
I will abandon1×Ezekiel 32:4
I will forsake1×Jeremiah 23:33
I will leave1×Ezekiel 29:5
leave me1×Psalms 27:9
She lies abandoned1×Amos 5:2
so abandon1×Proverbs 17:14
So I will forsake1×2 Kings 21:14
spread1×1 Samuel 4:2
spread out1×1 Samuel 30:16
that is drawn1×Isaiah 21:15
we will let the fields lie fallow1×Nehemiah 10:31
will be forsaken1×Isaiah 32:14
will leave1×Hosea 12:14
You have abandoned1×Isaiah 2:6
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 31:28נְטַשְׁתַּ֔נִיtoeven let meVerb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine singular | first person common singularExodus 23:11וּנְטַשְׁתָּ֗הּtoand lie fallowConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine singular | third person feminine singularNumbers 11:31וַיִּטֹּ֨שׁtoand brought themConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singularDeuteronomy 32:15וַיִּטֹּשׁ֙toHe abandonedConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singularJudges 6:13נְטָשָׁ֣נוּtohas forsaken usVerb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular | first person common pluralJudges 15:9וַיִּנָּטְשׁ֖וּtoand deployed themselvesConjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural1 Samuel 4:2וַתִּטֹּשׁ֙tospreadConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular1 Samuel 10:2נָטַ֤שׁtohas stoppedVerb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular1 Samuel 12:22יִטֹּ֤שׁtoabandonVerb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular1 Samuel 17:20וַיִּטֹּ֤שׁtoleftConjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowGenesis 31:28
Aligned rows40
Books represented17
Genesis1Exodus1Numbers1Deuteronomy1Judges21 Samuel72 Samuel21 Kings12 Kings1Nehemiah1Psalms3Proverbs3Isaiah5Jeremiah5Ezekiel4Hosea1Amos1
Source forms
וַיִּנָּטְשׁ֖וּ2xway·yin·nā·ṭə·šūJudges 15:9, 2 Samuel 5:18
וּנְטַשְׁתִּ֣יךָ2xū·nə·ṭaš·tî·ḵāEzekiel 29:5, Ezekiel 32:4
נִטְּשׁ֖וּ2xniṭ·ṭə·šūIsaiah 16:8, Isaiah 33:23
תִּ֝טֹּ֗שׁ2xtiṭ·ṭōšProverbs 1:8, Proverbs 6:20
וַיִּטֹּ֨שׁ1xway·yiṭ·ṭōšNumbers 11:31
וַיִּטֹּשׁ֙1xway·yiṭ·ṭōšDeuteronomy 32:15
וַיִּטֹּ֤שׁ1xway·yiṭ·ṭōš1 Samuel 17:20
וַיִּטֹּשׁ֩1xway·yiṭ·ṭōš1 Samuel 17:22
Parsing patterns
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular6xNumbers 11:31, Deuteronomy 32:15, 1 Samuel 17:20, 1 Samuel 17:22
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Nifal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural3xJudges 15:9, 2 Samuel 5:18, 2 Samuel 5:22
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular3x2 Kings 21:14, Jeremiah 23:33, Jeremiah 23:39
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular3x1 Samuel 12:22, Psalms 94:14, Hosea 12:14
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular | second person masculine singular2xEzekiel 29:5, Ezekiel 32:4
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural | third person masculine singular2xEzekiel 31:12
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person common plural2xIsaiah 16:8, Isaiah 33:23
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular2xProverbs 1:8, Proverbs 6:20
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Assess responsibilities and actual care arrangements before assigning blame for someone's absence.
- Encourage trustworthy care without demanding continued exposure to abuse as proof of loyalty.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that divine faithfulness rules out every experience of discipline, judgment or loss.
- Do not claim that every departure is sinful abandonment or that an accusation proves the accused person's motives.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. To abandon or leave behind, often with force; frequently God's rejection of His people or covenant partner.
Strong'sH5203
Lexical occurrences40 versesWord forms3 forms17 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkJeremiah 12:7-13Source Gloss
properly, to pound , i.e. smite ; by implication (as if beating out, and thus expanding) to disperse ; also, to thrust off, down, out or upon (inclusively, reject , let alone , permit , remit , etc.)
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups3Aligned forms17
Qalbasic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense13×
Perfect1Sam 17:28 · Isa 2:6 · 1Sam 10:2 · Jer 12:7 · Jer 15:65×
Imperfect1Sam 12:22 · Hos 12:15 · Ps 94:143×
Participle passive1Sam 30:16 · Isa 21:152×
JussiveProv 1:8 · Prov 6:202×
Sequential imperfectProv 17:141×
Niphalpassive or reflexive — the subject receives or experiences the action3×
PerfectIsa 16:8 · Isa 33:23 · Amos 5:23×
Pualintensive passive — intensive action received by the subject1×
PerfectIsa 32:141×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
God abandons or rejects His own house and inheritance in judgment
releasing or permitting water to flow, metaphor for releasing conflict or strife
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 40 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
נָטַשׁ is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
First Samuel 17:20 is easy to pass over on the way to the battle, but its detail matters: David leaves the flock with a keeper and follows his father's instruction. Eliab later challenges him about the sheep and claims to know his motives. Responsible teaching should not let the more forceful accusation erase what the narrator has already supplied. Leaving a task in another person's care is different from leaving it uncared for.
The verb also carries weight in promises and warnings concerning God and His people. Psalm 94's assurance of faithfulness must be read alongside its acknowledgment of trouble, while Jeremiah's judgment declaration should not be emptied of seriousness. Hebrews 13:5 gives Christian hearers confidence in God's presence without promising a life free from loss. Application should encourage trustworthy care and reliance on God while resisting the use of abandonment language to force a person to remain exposed to harm.
Anchor passage
1Sam.17.20
Doctrinal connections
- First Samuel 17:18-22 places David's departure within Jesse's instruction and explicit arrangements for care.
- First Samuel 17:28-30 distinguishes Eliab's angry accusation from David's response and the preceding narrative.
- Proverbs 1:7-10 connects receiving parental teaching with the fear of the Lord and refusal of sinful enticement.
- Psalm 94:12-16 joins divine discipline and the promise of faithfulness with the hope of righteous judgment.
- Jeremiah 12:6-9 gives betrayal and judgment their named narrative and covenant setting.
- Hebrews 13:3-6 joins remembrance of mistreated people with confidence in God's abiding help.
Leaving can describe a responsible transfer of care, the rejection of instruction or a grave relational action. The bare verb does not decide among these. Its subject, object, circumstances and speaker must be read before assigning praise or blame.
From Old to New Testament
Hebrews 13:5 cites God's promise not to leave or forsake His people within teaching about contentment and trust. Romans 11:1-2 explicitly rejects the claim that God has rejected His people. These canonical witnesses support confidence in divine faithfulness without erasing prophetic judgment passages or turning every human departure into covenant betrayal.
Book contextPastoral applicationCanonical parallel