Original Word: נָשַׁל
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: nashal
Pronunciation: naw-shal'
Phonetic Spelling: (naw-shal')
KJV: cast (out), drive, loose, put off (out), slip
NASB: remove, clear away, cleared, clears away, drop off, slips off
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to pluck off, i.e. divest, eject or drop

cast out, drive, loose, put off out, slip

A primitive root; to pluck off, i.e. Divest, eject or drop -- cast (out), drive, loose, put off (out), slip.

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to slip or drop off, draw off, clear away
NASB Translation
clear away (1), cleared (1), clears away (1), drop off (1), remove (2), slips off (1).

נָשַׁל verb 1. intransitive slip or drop off; also transitive:

2 draw off.

3 clear away (Late Hebrew נָשַׁל probably intransitive, Qal not used, but noun נְשִׁילָה a falling off, etc.; Pi`el, Hiph`il cast off, let fall off, Niph`al be cast off, fall off; ᵑ7 Aph`el אַשֵּׁיל cast out (from house); Arabic excidit pluma, etc.; but also transitive, avis mutavit rejecitque plumas (Frey); — celeriter extraxit, etc., is denominative from loan-word according to Frä⁸⁸); —

Qal Perfect וְנָשַׁל consecutive Deuteronomy 7:1 2t.; Imperfect3masculine singular יִשַּׁל Deuteronomy 28:40; Imperative masculine singular שַׁל Exodus 3:5; Joshua 5:15; —

1 slip or drop off, וְנָשַׁל הַבַּרְזֶל מִןהָֿעֵץ Deuteronomy 19:5 and the iron slippeth off from the wood (i.e. axe-head from helve); יִשַּׁל זֵיתֶ֑ךָ Deuteronomy 28:40 thine olives shall drop off (absolute).

2 draw off sandal from (מֵעַל) foot Exodus 3:5 (E), Joshua 5:15 (JE).

3 clear away nations מִמָּנֶיךָ Deuteronomy 7:1,22.

Pi`el Imperfect3masculine singular וַיְנַשֵּׁל 2 Kings 16:6 he cleared the Jews entirely out of (מִן) Elath.

Overview

נָשַׁל (Strong’s Hebrew 5394) depicts an action of being made to come off, drop off, or be driven off. The contexts cluster around four thematic fields: reverent approach to God, divine displacement of hostile forces, unforeseen tragedy, and covenantal loss of blessing.

Reverent Removal before the Holy (Exodus 3:5; Joshua 5:15)

• Exodus 3:5: “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
• Joshua 5:15 repeats the same command to Joshua.

In both calls, נָשַׁל dramatizes the necessity of shedding what is ordinary when standing on consecrated ground. The removal of sandals symbolizes renunciation of self-reliance and reception of God’s commission. These two moments—at the burning bush and at the outskirts of Jericho—frame Israel’s national story: deliverance from Egypt and entrance into the Promised Land. Together they teach that covenant history begins and succeeds only on God’s terms of holiness.

Divine Dispossession of Nations (Deuteronomy 7:1; Deuteronomy 7:22; 2 Kings 16:6)

• Deuteronomy 7:1: “When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations…”
• Deuteronomy 7:22: “The LORD your God will drive out these nations before you little by little…”
• 2 Kings 16:6: “At that time Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram and drove the men of Judah from it.”

Here נָשַׁל moves from personal removal to territorial expulsion. The verb underscores God’s sovereign right to disinherit the wicked and plant His people. The gradual process in Deuteronomy 7:22 guards Israel from presumption—victory arrives at God’s pace, not theirs. Conversely, 2 Kings 16:6 shows the word in reverse: Judah, now covenant-breakers, experiences the same expulsion once used against Canaanites. Scripture’s consistency is evident—obedience secures the land; disobedience forfeits it.

Unforeseen Calamity (Deuteronomy 19:5)

“If a man goes into the forest with his neighbor… the iron head may come loose from the handle and strike his neighbor and kill him.”

In accidental manslaughter legislation, נָשַׁל portrays the sudden slip of an axe head. The law provides asylum yet also reminds Israel that negligence carries grave consequences. Human life, created in God’s image, deserves careful protection; even an unintended “slip-off” requires divinely mandated justice.

Loss of Fruitfulness under Curse (Deuteronomy 28:40)

“You will have olive trees throughout your territory, but you will not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives will drop off.”

Here נָשַׁל addresses agricultural judgment. Olives that prematurely fall mirror a people who have spiritually fallen away. The withheld oil pleads for covenant faithfulness; otherwise, what God once granted for healing and worship is lost before it reaches the press.

Theological Reflections

1. Holiness precedes mission. Sandals come off before assignments begin.
2. God alone grants or removes inheritance. He dispossesses nations and can just as readily dispossess His own.
3. Sin’s ripple effects range from tragic accidents to national exile; Scripture refuses to trivialize any breach of God’s standards.
4. The verb’s range—from sandals to axe heads to nations—illustrates that no sphere (personal, social, geopolitical) lies outside God’s oversight.

Ministry Application

• Personal devotion: Regularly “remove the sandals” of pride and routine when approaching prayer and Scripture.
• Leadership: Expect victories “little by little,” nurturing patience and dependence rather than triumphalism.
• Community safety: Uphold practical safeguards, recognizing that love for neighbor includes preventing avoidable harm.
• Discipleship: Teach that unrepented sin leads to forfeiture—be it peace, fruitfulness, or inheritance—while repentance restores what was cast off (Joel 2:25).

The seven occurrences of נָשַׁל thus weave a single, coherent testimony: God calls His people to holy proximity, grants them territory and blessing, warns of careless harm, and disciplines unfaithfulness—all by the same decisive act of removal.

וְנָשַׁ֣ל וְנָשַׁ֤ל וְנָשַׁל֩ וַיְנַשֵּׁ֥ל וינשל ונשל יִשַּׁ֖ל ישל שַׁל־ של־ šal- shal vaynashShel venaShal way·naš·šêl waynaššêl wə·nā·šal wənāšal yiš·šal yishShal yiššalInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts