Original Word: לָחַץ
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: lachats
Pronunciation: lah-khats
Phonetic Spelling: (law-khats')
KJV: afflict, crush, force, hold fast, oppress(-or), thrust self
NASB: oppressed, oppressors, oppress, oppressing, pressed, afflict, forced
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. (properly) to press, i.e. (figuratively) to distress

afflict, crush, force, hold fast, oppressor, thrust self

A primitive root; properly, to press, i.e. (figuratively) to distress -- afflict, crush, force, hold fast, oppress(-or), thrust self.

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to squeeze, press, oppress
NASB Translation
afflict (1), forced (1), hold the shut (1), oppress (2), oppressed (6), oppresses (1), oppressing (2), oppressors (3), pressed (2).

לָחַץ verb squeeze, press, figurative oppress (Arabic ; Christian-Palestinian Aramaic Schw^{Idioticon 48} (with which Nö^M74 compare Mandean הלאצא, torture, NS. press together, urge, exert oneself); see also rare derivatives in Syriac PS¹⁹³²); —

Qal Perfect ׳ל Judges 4:3 2t. etc.; Imperfect suffixיִלְחָצֵנִי Psalm 56:2; 3feminine singular וַתִּלְחַץ Numbers 22:25, etc.; Participle pluralלֹחֲצִים Exodus 3:9 2t., etc. —

1 squeeze, press: followed by accusative + אֶל Judges 1:34; Numbers 22:25b (J); followed by accusative + בְּ instrumental 2 Kings 6:32 shut the door and press him (back, out) with the door.

2 oppress: followed by accusative of person Exodus 22:20 (ׅ "" (הוֺנָה, Exodus 23:29 (both E), Psalm 56:2; of people Exodus 3:9 (E; + accusative of congnate meaning with verb), Judges 2:18; Judges 4:3; Judges 6:9; Judges 10:12; 1 Samuel 10:18; Amos 6:14; 2 Kings 13:4,22; Jeremiah 30:20; Psalm 106:42; absolute Isaiah 19:20

Niph`al Imperfect3feminine singular וַתִּלָּחֵץ Numbers 22:25a (J) squeeze oneself, of Balaam's ass, followed byאלהַֿקִּיר.

Overview

The verb describes being pressed, squeezed, or crushed, whether physically or socially, and almost every biblical occurrence contrasts human tyranny with divine compassion. Each context shows that the God who “sees” the pressure (Exodus 3:9) both judges those who inflict it and rescues those who suffer it.

Torah foundation: call to compassion

Israel’s own bondage in Egypt becomes the moral baseline. “You must not exploit or oppress a foreign resident, for you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 22:21; cf. 23:9). Law, worship, and social ethics are thereby welded together: a redeemed people must not reproduce the cruelty from which they were redeemed.

Wilderness illustration: Balaam and the donkey

Numbers 22:25 uses the verb in its concrete sense when the donkey “pressed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot.” The physical squeeze anticipates spiritual reality: Balaam and Moab intend to squeeze Israel, but the unseen Angel stands guard. Temporary pain can be the very means God employs to avert greater disaster.

Conquest and Judges: cycles of discipline

Judges 1:34, 2:18, 4:3, 6:9, and 10:12 trace a repeated pattern. Foreigners “forced” or “harshly oppressed” Israel; Israel “groaned”; the Lord raised deliverers. Oppression exposes covenant breach; deliverance exhibits covenant fidelity. The verb therefore frames the theological spine of the book: grace responding to repentance.

Early monarchy: national pressure and prophetic resistance

In 1 Samuel 10:18 the Lord reminds the people, “I rescued you from the power of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.” During the divided kingdom the Syrian king Hazael returned that pressure: “Hazael king of Aram oppressed Israel throughout the reign of Jehoahaz” (2 Kings 13:22; cf. 13:4). Yet “the LORD listened… for He saw the oppression of Israel.” Even an interior scene (2 Kings 6:32) employs the verb for holding the door shut against a royal assassin, revealing that physical action and spiritual warfare often converge.

Poetic reflection: individual lament and national confession

David personalizes the term: “Men are hounding me—all day they press their attack” (Psalm 56:1). Psalm 106:42 employs it retrospectively: “Their enemies oppressed them, and subdued them under their hand.” Both psalms confess sin but climax in praise, teaching worshipers to translate national history into personal trust.

Prophetic outlook: judgment and hope

Isaiah 19:20 pictures even Egypt crying out; the Lord responds with “a Savior and a Defender.” Jeremiah 30:20 promises, “I will punish all their oppressors,” while Amos 6:14 warns complacent Samaria that a foreign power will “oppress you from Lebo-Hamath to the Brook of the Arabah.” Prophets thus assure victims and confront victimizers, grounding both in the certainty of future justice.

Ministry significance

1. Memory fuels mercy. The Exodus ethic still guides Christian hospitality toward immigrants, refugees, and the marginalized.
2. Pressure can be purifying. Scripture never ascribes evil to God, yet He may allow external squeezing to expose hidden idolatry and summon repentance.
3. Prayer moves the Deliverer. In every passage where sufferers cry out, rescue follows. “The effective prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16).
4. Final justice is certain. From Egypt to the eschaton, the Lord punishes oppressors and defends the oppressed, climaxing in the reign of the Messiah who “proclaimed liberty to the captives” (Luke 4:18).

Across its nineteen occurrences, לָחַץ weaves a consistent message: God hears, God delivers, and God calls His people to reflect His righteous compassion until the day all oppression ceases under His eternal rule.

הַלֹּחֲצִ֖ים הלחצים וְלָחֲצ֥וּ וַיִּלְחֲצ֧וּ וַיִּלְחָצ֥וּם וַתִּלְחַ֛ץ וַתִּלָּחֵץ֙ וּלְחַצְתֶּ֤ם וילחצו וילחצום ולחצו ולחצתם ותלחץ יִלְחָצֵֽנִי׃ ילחצני׃ לָחֲצ֖וּ לָחַ֖ץ לָחַ֞ץ לָחַ֥ץ לֹֽחֲצִ֔ים לֹחֲצִ֥ים לֹחֲצֵיהֶ֖ם לֹחֲצֵיכֶ֑ם לֹחֲצָֽיו׃ לחץ לחצו לחציהם לחציו׃ לחציכם לחצים תִלְחָ֑ץ תִלְחָצֶ֑נּוּ תלחץ תלחצנו hal·lō·ḥă·ṣîm hallochaTzim hallōḥăṣîm lā·ḥă·ṣū lā·ḥaṣ laChatz lachaTzu lāḥaṣ lāḥăṣū lō·ḥă·ṣāw lō·ḥă·ṣê·hem lō·ḥă·ṣê·ḵem lō·ḥă·ṣîm lochaTzav lochatzeiChem lochatzeiHem lochaTzim lōḥăṣāw lōḥăṣêhem lōḥăṣêḵem lōḥăṣîm ṯil·ḥā·ṣen·nū ṯil·ḥāṣ tilChatz tilchaTzennu ṯilḥāṣ ṯilḥāṣennū ū·lə·ḥaṣ·tem ulechatzTem ūləḥaṣtem vaiyilchaTzu vaiyilchaTzum vattilChatz vattillaChetz velachaTzu wat·til·ḥaṣ wat·til·lā·ḥêṣ wattilḥaṣ wattillāḥêṣ way·yil·ḥă·ṣū way·yil·ḥā·ṣūm wayyilḥăṣū wayyilḥāṣūm wə·lā·ḥă·ṣū wəlāḥăṣū yil·ḥā·ṣê·nî yilchaTzeni yilḥāṣênîInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts