A Hebrew verb meaning to deliver, rescue, snatch away, save, strip, plunder. It describes forceful extraction — pulling someone out of danger, snatching prey from a predator's mouth, or rescuing the helpless from their oppressor. In the Hiphil (causative) stem, it emphasizes deliberate, powerful deliverance.
This word captures the muscular, interventionist nature of God's salvation. God doesn't merely invite people to leave danger — He snatches them out. In Exodus 3:8, God says He has come down to deliver (natsal) His people — an active rescue mission, not passive sympathy. The Psalmist repeatedly uses this word in urgent pleas: 'Deliver me from my enemies!' The word also appears in Proverbs 24:11: 'Rescue those being led away to death' — making deliverance a human responsibility too. God's pattern of natsal-rescue anticipates the ultimate deliverance in Christ, who snatches believers from the domain of darkness (Colossians 1:13).