עָסַס
𐤏𐤎𐤎
ʻâçaç
H6072 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To press, squeeze out, or extract (liquid, especially juice, from fruit) by mechanical force, typically through treading, crushing, or pressing; by extension, to trample or press down, including figurative usage of subduing, overpowering, or humiliating. The verb occurs particularly in the context of extracting grape juice in wine production, but can also denote physical trampling or oppression in poetic or metaphoric texts.
Semantic Range
to squeeze out (juice), to press (especially grapes), to trample, to tread down, to oppress or overpower (figuratively)
Root / Etymology
Root: עסס. The root ע-ס-ס carries the sense of exerting pressurizing force, primarily physical, leading to extraction, compression, or crushing. The verb עָסַס likely denotes the specific act of compression or extraction, especially as related to grapes. Derivatives are rare, and the root is not widely attested outside of the biblical context. Cognates in other Semitic languages are uncertain or lacking.
Historical & Contextual Notes
Attested rarely in the Hebrew Bible, עָסַס appears in contexts involving grape pressing, reflecting typical agricultural practices of the ancient southern Levant, where grapes were trampled in presses to extract juice for wine. In poetic or prophetic materials, the verb sometimes takes on a figurative sense—referring to trampling underfoot, overpowering, or humiliating enemies, or to the experience of judgment and oppression. English translations often shift between 'press,' 'tread,' or 'trample,' sometimes reducing nuance. Related roots (e.g., דרך) are more commonly used for general treading in vineyards and as metaphors for judgment. The figurative meaning is based on the physical action's vividness in ritual and daily life, making the imagery rhetorically potent, particularly in prophecy and hope of reversal or vindication. Later translations, including those influenced by the King James Version, can blur distinctions between literal wine-making and metaphorical humiliation, which should be kept distinct for clarity of historical usage.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
a primitive root; to squeeze out juice; figuratively, to trample; tread down.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
עסס (ʿ-s-s) — to press, squeeze, trample, extract (liquid)
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H6071 | עָסִיס | fresh-pressed grape-juice |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H6072-01 |
וְ/עַסּוֹתֶ֣ם | veasotem | HC/Vqq2mp |
you shall tread down | and you pressed out | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H6072-01 |
Malachi 3:21 | וְ/עַסּוֹתֶ֣ם | veasotem | HC/Vqq2mp |
you shall tread down | and you pressed out |