Original Word: נָסַג
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: nacag
Pronunciation: naw-sag'
Phonetic Spelling: (naw-sag')
KJV: departing away, remove, take (hold), turn away
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to retreat

departing away, remove, take hold, turn away

A primitive root; to retreat -- departing away, remove, take (hold), turn away.

Word Origin
the same as sug, q.v.

I. [סוּג, seldom שׂוּג] verb move away, backslide (׳שׂ erroneous; Arabic go and come Lane¹⁴⁵⁹, abitus et adventus Frey (Kam)); —

Qal Perfect3masculine singular סָג Psalm 53:4; Imperfect1plural נָסוֺג Psalm 80:19; Participle active construct סוּג Proverbs 14:14 (Ba^{NB § 124c} Ges^{§§ 50f}, 72p); — backslide, prove recreant to ׳י, with מִן Psalm 80:19; so absolute Psalm 53:4; סוּג לֵב Proverbs 14:14 a backslider in heart.

Niph`al Perfect3masculine singular נָסוֺג Psalm 44:19, נָשׂוֺג 2 Samuel 1:20 (שׂ for ס); 1 singular נְסוּגֹּ֫תִי Isaiah 50:5; 3plural נָסֹ֫גוּ Isaiah 42:17; Jeremiah 38:22; Imperfect3masculine singular יִסַּג Micah 2:6 (Ges^{§ 72dd}, but see below); 3 masculine plural יִמֹּ֫גוּ Psalm 35:4 3t., וַיִּסֹּ֫גוּ Psalm 78:57; Infinitive absolute נָסוֺג Isaiah 59:13; Participle plural נְסוֺגִים Zephaniah 1:6; Jeremiah 46:5; —

1 reflexive turn oneself away, turn back :

a. literally of Jonathan's bow 2 Samuel 1:22, with מִן (see HPS).

b. figurative = prove faithless (as

Qal): (1) of human friends, אָחוֺר ׳נס Jeremiah 38:22 (absolute); usually (2) ׳מֵאַחֲרֵי י ׳נס Zephaniah 1:6 compare Isaiah 59:13; so absolute Psalm 78:57 (+ בָּגַד), with אָחוֺר Isaiah 50:5 ("" מָרִיתִי), Psalm 44:19 ("" נָטָה מִן). — לֹא יִסַּג כְּלִמּוֺת Micah 2:6 could mean reproaches do not depart, i.e. cease (Hi-St Che GASm Now RV); Now proposes also (emending following see) shall not disgrace depart from Jacob's house ? Buhl^{Lex 13} conjecture, plausibly, יַשִּׂיג (√ נשׂג) disgrace shall not overtake us.

2 be truned or driven back, be repulsed, of ׳נs foes: + אָחוֺד Jeremiah 46:5; Isaiah 42:17; Psalm 35:4; Psalm 40:15 = Psalm 70:3Psalm 5.

Hiph`il 1. usually of displacing, moving back a boundary mark (גְּבוּ), Imperfect2masculine singular תַּסִּיג Deuteronomy 19:14, jussive תַּסֵג Proverbs 22:10; 3masculine plural יַשִּׂיגוּ Job 24:2 (שׂ for ס); Participle ׳מַסִּיג ג Deuteronomy 27:17, ׳מַסִּיגֵי ג Hosea 5:10.

2 remove carry away, valuables, to rescue them, jussive, 2masculine singular תַּסֵּג Micah 6:14 si vera lectio (on synt.see Dr^{§§ 152, 1. 2; 155 Obs.})

Hoph`al Perfect3masculine singular וְהֻסַּג אָחוֺר מִשְׁמָּט Isaiah 59:14 and justice is driven back ("" צְדָקָה מֵרָחוֺק תַּעֲמֹד).

סוג Ezekiel 22:18 see following.

Overview of Usage

The verb נָסַג occurs nine times in the Old Testament and consistently conveys the idea of forcible displacement or withdrawal. Whether it is a boundary stone, covenant loyalty, prophetic truth, or social justice, the term marks an illicit “pushing back” of what God has set in place. Because land, law, and worship are all covenant gifts, tampering with them invites divine censure.

Legal and Covenant Context

1. Deuteronomy 19:14 anchors נָסַג in Israel’s land-grant theology: “You must not move your neighbor’s boundary marker, set up by your predecessors, in the inheritance you will receive in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess”. Boundary stones were not merely survey points; they embodied Yahweh’s distribution of the Promised Land to the tribes. To “move back” a landmark was to steal both property and promise.
2. Deuteronomy 27:17 pronounces covenant curse on the offender, enlisting the whole nation to affirm God’s standard. This communal “Amen” signals that safeguarding boundaries is a collective, not merely personal, responsibility.

Wisdom Literature and Social Ethics

Proverbs universalizes the principle:
• Proverbs 22:28—“Do not move an ancient boundary stone which your fathers have set.”
• Proverbs 23:10—“Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless.”

The pairing of נָסַג with protection of the fatherless shows that tampering with boundaries disproportionately harms the vulnerable. Wisdom teaching thus converts a land-law into an abiding ethic: preserve the structures that protect inheritance, dignity, and generational stability.

Prophetic Condemnation

The prophets expand נָסַג from literal landmarks to moral and spiritual ones.
• Isaiah 59:13-14 catalogs national sin: “rebellion and denial of the LORD, turning away from our God… So justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far off”. Here נָסַג describes justice itself being “pushed back” from the public square. The result is societal chaos—a direct parallel to the chaos that follows stolen land.
• Hosea 5:10 targets leaders: “The princes of Judah are like those who move boundary stones; I will pour out My fury upon them like water”. Political power is judged by the same standard as individual property conduct: shifting limits for self-gain provokes divine wrath.
• Micah 2:6 indicts false prophets who silence truth, effectively “pushing back” God’s message. In Micah 6:14 the verb depicts frustrated appetite—an ironic outcome for people who pushed back God’s terms in order to satisfy themselves: “You will eat, but not be satisfied; your stomach shall still be empty…”. The prophetic usage shows that whenever God’s order is displaced, emptiness follows.

Theological Themes

1. Covenant Integrity: נָסַג confronts attempts to rewrite what God has fixed—be it land boundaries, moral law, or revealed truth.
2. Justice and Mercy: The verb links property ethics with social justice; boundary theft and judicial corruption spring from the same heart.
3. Leadership Accountability: Princes (Hosea) and prophets (Micah) are judged first when they model boundary-shifting behavior.
4. Corporate Responsibility: The communal “Amen” of Deuteronomy 27 and the societal collapse of Isaiah 59 show that whole communities reap the consequences of tolerated transgression.

Ministry Applications

• Stewardship: Churches and families are to respect God-given “boundaries” in doctrine, morality, and interpersonal relationships, guarding them for future generations.
• Advocacy: Like the fatherless in Proverbs 23:10, today’s vulnerable populations depend on believers who refuse to tolerate exploitative shifts in social or economic “landmarks.”
• Prophetic Fidelity: Micah’s warning urges ministers not to withhold hard truths. Suppressing God’s word is a form of נָסַג that brings spiritual famine.
• Leadership Ethics: Hosea 5:10 calls pastors, elders, and civic leaders to resist policies or practices that erode biblical standards for personal gain.

Redemptive Trajectory

While נָסַג highlights human unfaithfulness, it also magnifies God’s steadfastness. In Jesus Christ every rightful boundary—between God and humanity, Jew and Gentile—finds fulfillment, not by unlawful removal but by righteous reconciliation (Ephesians 2:14-16). The cross does not “push back” God’s law; it satisfies its demands and secures an eternal inheritance that no one can displace (1 Peter 1:4).

Summary

Strong’s Hebrew 5253 paints a sobering picture: whenever people push back God-ordained limits, injustice grows, truth retreats, and emptiness ensues. Faithfulness therefore means recognizing, preserving, and honoring every boundary—physical, moral, and doctrinal—that the Lord has set.

וְהֻסַּ֤ג וְנָס֖וֹג וְתַסֵּג֙ והסג ונסוג ותסג יִסַּ֖ג יסג כְּמַסִּיגֵ֖י כמסיגי מַסִּ֖יג מסיג תַּ֭סֵּג תַסִּיג֙ תסג תסיג kə·mas·sî·ḡê kəmassîḡê kemassiGei mas·sîḡ masSig massîḡ tas·sêḡ ṯas·sîḡ Tasseg tassêḡ tasSig ṯassîḡ vehusSag venaSog vetasSeg wə·hus·saḡ wə·nā·sō·wḡ wə·ṯas·sêḡ wəhussaḡ wənāsōwḡ wəṯassêḡ yis·saḡ yisSag yissaḡInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts