Osheq means oppression, extortion, or unjust gain through coercion. It appears about 15 times and is consistently used for the exploitation of the vulnerable — the poor, the widow, the foreigner, the laborer. The prophets used osheq as a thunderbolt against Israel's social sins.
The prophets make clear that osheq is not merely a social problem but a covenant violation. Amos, Micah, and Isaiah thunder against the oppression of the poor, connecting it directly to Israel's unfaithfulness to God. Ezekiel 22:12-29 lists osheq among Jerusalem's sins that brought the Babylonian exile. Psalm 62:10 warns against trusting in oppression or stolen goods. The counterweight to osheq is mishpat (justice) — God's desire for a society where the vulnerable are protected, not exploited. Jesus's concern for 'the least of these' (Matthew 25) directly fulfills the prophetic vision of a world freed from osheq. Liberation from oppression is woven into the gospel.