to struggle
na.tsah describes people engaging in a struggle or fight, and can mark contention directed against others.
The attested use most often concerns people engaged in direct conflict: men fight, struggle, or strike one another. A Hiphil use describes contention against Moses, Aaron, and the LORD, while Psalm 60:2 places a Hiphil infinitive in a description of the earth being shaken and split, where the translation does not isolate the term's contribution.
Senses in use
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Engaging in a direct fight · dominant
The Niphal forms describe paired human conflict: in Exodus 2:13 the APB renders two Hebrew men as “fighting,” and in Deuteronomy 25:11 it portrays men who “fight with one another.” In Exodus 21:22 and Leviticus 24:10, the struggle occurs alongside striking a pregnant woman or struggling in the camp; 2 Samuel 14:6 similarly recounts two sons who fought, after which one killed the other.
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Contending against named opponents · occasional
In Numbers 26:9, two Hiphil perfect forms occur in the account of Dathan and Abiram: the APB says they “contended against Moses and Aaron” and, in the Korah episode, “contended against the LORD.” The clause presents conflict directed against specified opponents rather than the paired fighting described in the Niphal occurrences.
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Earth upheaval context · rare
Psalm 60:2 uses a Hiphil infinitive construct in an address to God concerning the earth; the APB renders the verse, “You have shaken the earth; you have split it open.” The translation does not show which English wording corresponds specifically to this form, so its precise contribution cannot be isolated from the supplied verse.
In the Anselm Project Bible: Across the Niphal occurrences, the APB presents the conflict as “fighting,” “fight with one another,” or “struggle”; in Numbers 26:9 it uses “contended.” In Psalm 60:2 it describes the earth as shaken and split and does not isolate this form's rendering.