יָנָה H3238
To oppress, wrong, or mistreat; also used as a participle meaning 'oppressor.'
Yanah describes the act of wronging or oppressing another person, particularly in contexts of social and economic vulnerability. The Torah uses it emphatically in laws protecting the stranger: 'You shall not oppress a stranger' (Exod 22:21; Lev 19:33), and in commercial fairness: 'You shall not wrong one another' in business dealings (Lev 25:14, 17). Spanish 'oprimirás' and French 'opprimer' both capture this sense of unjust pressure on the powerless. In the prophets, the participial form becomes a noun — 'the oppressor' — naming the agent of injustice: the oppressing city in Zephaniah 3:1, the sword of the oppressor in Jeremiah 46:16 and 50:16, and God's promise to make Israel's oppressors consume their own flesh (Isa 49:26).
1. oppress, wrong, mistreat — The verbal action of oppressing, wronging, or mistreating someone — primarily in Hifil finite forms and Qal cohortative. This sense dominates the legal material: the repeated prohibition against oppressing the stranger (Exod 22:21; Lev 19:33; Deut 23:16) and the laws against wronging a neighbor in commerce (Lev 25:14, 17). Spanish 'lo oprimirás' and 'lo oprimiréis' consistently render the active, relational dimension of injustice — one person exerting unjust power over another. The Psalm 74:8 usage ('let us destroy them') intensifies this to collective violence. 14×
AR["تَظلِمُ","تَظْلِمُهُ","تَظْلِمُوا","تَظْلِمُونَهُ","تَغْبِنُوا","ظَلَمَ","ظَلَمُوا","لِـ-يَظْلِمَهُمْ","نُبيدُهُمْ","يَظْلِمُونَ","يَظْلِمْ"]·ben["অত্যাচার-করতে-তাদের","অত্যাচার-করবে","অত্যাচার-করে","অত্যাচার-করেছে","আমরা-তাদের-গ্রাস-করি","ঠকাবে","তোমরা-নির্যাতন-কর","নিপীড়ন-করবে-তাকে","পীড়ন-করবে","প্রতারণা-করেছে-তারা"]·DE["[הונה]","[הונו]","[יונה]","[יונו]","[להונתם]","[תנו]","du-soll-unterdruecken","du-soll-unterdruecken-ihn","du-soll-wrong","lass-uns-vernichten-ihnen","mistreat"]·EN["does-he-oppress","he-oppresses","let-us-destroy-them","mistreat","oppress","shall-oppress","they-oppress","they-oppressed","to-oppress-them","you-shall-oppress","you-shall-oppress-him","you-shall-wrong"]·FR["Jonas","mistreat","opprimer","tu---wrong","tu-devra-oppress","tu-devra-oppress-lui"]·heb["הונה","הונו","יונה","יונו","ל-הונותם","נינם","תונה","תונו","תוננו"]·HI["अत्याचार-करता-है","अत्याचार-करेंगे","अन्याय-से-उन्हें-हटाने","ठगा","ठगा-उन्होंने","तुम दबाओ","तुम दबाओगे","सताएगा-उसे","सताओ","सताओगे"]·ID["akan-menindas","engkau peras","ia-menindas","kamu-aniaya","kamu-menindas","kamu-menindasnya","kita-menindas-mereka","mereka-peras","mereka-tindas","untuk-menindas-mereka"]·IT["Giona","[נינם]","mistreat","opprimere","tu-dovra-opprimere","tu-dovra-opprimere-lui","tu-shall-wrong"]·jav["dipun-apusi","kangge-nindas","kawula-sedaya-badhé-meremuk-tiyang-tiyang","memeras","nindas","nindhes","panjenengan-meres","panjenengan-nindhes","piyambakipun-nindas","sami-ngapusi","sami-nindas"]·KO["괴롭히지","그것들이-압제할-것이다","너희는-압제하라","압제하려고-그들을","압제하리라-그를","압제하였다","압제하자","압제한다","압제했다","학대하지","학대할-것이다-너희는"]·PT["destruamos-os","maltrataram","o-oprimirás","oprimais","oprime","oprimiram","oprimireis","oprimiriam","oprimirás","oprimiu","para-oprimi-los"]·RU["будут-притеснять","и-вдову","поработим-их","притесняй","притесняй-его","притесняйте","притеснял","угнетали","чтобы-притеснять-их"]·ES["lo-oprimirás","lo-oprimiréis","los-oprimiremos","opriman","oprimieron","oprimirán","oprimirás","oprimiréis","oprimió","para-despojarles"]·SW["amewadhulumu","kuwakandamiza","mdhulumu","mtamdhulumu","tuwaharibu","utamdanganya","utamdhulumu","wadanganye","wameonea","wameonewa","watakandamiza"]·TR["aldatacaksınız","aldatırsınız","ezdiler","ezelim-onları","eziyet-edeceksiniz","haksızlık-et","kötü-davranacaksın","sömüreceksin-onu","zorbalık-ederse","zorbalık-etti","zulmedecekler","zulmetmek-için-onlara"]·urd["تُو-ظلم-کرے","دھوکہ-دیا","دھوکہا-دو","ستاؤ","ظلم-کرتا","ظلم-کرتا-ہے","ظلم-کرو","ظلم-کریں-گے","ظلم-کرے","نکالنے-اُنہیں-کو","ہم-اُنہیں-فنا-کریں-گے"]
Exod 22:21, Lev 19:33, Lev 25:14, Lev 25:17, Deut 23:16, Ps 74:8, Jer 22:3, Ezek 18:7, Ezek 18:12, Ezek 18:16, Ezek 22:7, Ezek 22:29 (+2 more)
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. oppressor (substantival participle) — The participial form functioning as a substantive noun: the oppressor, the one who oppresses. Used in prophetic literature to name agents of systemic injustice. Zephaniah 3:1 calls Jerusalem 'the oppressing city' (ha-yonah), while Jeremiah uses the phrase 'the sword of the oppressor' (Jer 46:16; 50:16). In Isaiah 49:26, God turns the tables: 'I will make your oppressors (monayikh) eat their own flesh.' Spanish 'la opresora' and English 'the oppressing' both show the shift from verb to fixed label — oppression as defining identity. 5×
AR["الظَّالِمِ","الْظَالِمَةِ","الْمُضْطَهِدِ","ظَالِمِيكِ"]·ben["-অত্যাচারীর","-তোমার-উৎপীড়নকারীদের","অত্যাচারীর","কপোতিনী"]·DE["[היונה]","[מוניך]","der-Jona"]·EN["oppressing","the-oppressing","the-oppressor","the-sword","your-oppressors"]·FR["le-Jonas","opprimer"]·heb["ה-יונה","מוניך"]·HI["अत्याचारी-की","अत्याचारी-के","कबूतर।","तेरे-सताने-वालों-को","दलनेवाली"]·ID["penindas","penindas-penindas-mu","sang-penindas","yang-menindas"]·IT["il-Giona","opprimere"]·jav["ingkang-nindakaken","ingkang-nindhes","kang-nindhes","para-ingkang-nganiaya-panjenengan"]·KO["그-압제하는-자의","너를-학대하는-자들에게","압박하는","학대하는","학대하는의"]·PT["a-opressora","a-violenta","teus-opressores"]·RU["губящего","притеснителя","притесняющему","притесняющих-тебя"]·ES["a-tus-opresores","la-espada","la-opresora","opresora"]·SW["mdhalimu","unaoonea","wanaokukandamiza"]·TR["zalimin","zorba","zulmedenlerine"]·urd["-ظالمانہ","تیرے-ظالموں-کو","ظالم","ظالم-کی"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
[יָנָה] vb. suppress (?) oppress, maltreat (NH Hiph. vex with words; so Aramaic Aph. אוֹנִי, but also 𝔗 for Heb. הוֹנָה maltreat; Arabic وَنَى is laxus, debilis fuit, iv. debilitavit, defaligavit, but connex. dub.)— Qal Impf. 1 pl. sf. נִינָם ψ 74:8; Pt. יוֹנָה Je 25:38 + 3 times + ψ 123:4 (v. infr.); suppress (?), sq. acc. ψ 74:8 (dub.; Ges§ 76f); elsewhere oppress; Pt. abs. as adj. הָעִיר…