dak דַּךְ
crushed; oppressed
Read Psalm 9:9 and Psalm 10:17-18. The righteous Judge does not overlook those whom earthly power has crushed.
The Heart of This Word Dak names a person brought low under oppression. The word is rare, but its four settings are clear. Three occur in prayers concerning the afflicted, and one describes the victim wounded by a lying tongue (Ps 9:9; Ps 10:18; Ps 74:21; Prov 26:28). Scripture does not romanticize this condition. The crushed need vindication, shelter, and the intervention of the righteous Lord.
Linguistic Nuances The local WLC corpus records four occurrences of H1790 in four verses. Dak functions adjectivally or substantivally, describing the oppressed or crushed person. Psalm 9:9, Psalm 10:18, and Psalm 74:21 use it for vulnerable people who suffer under human injustice. Proverbs 26:28 uses it for the one harmed by deceit.
Dak is related to the verbal root daka, "to crush," used in Isaiah 53:5 and Isaiah 53:10. This is a lexical-family connection, not the same lemma. The shared field permits careful comparison, but doctrine must come from the passages themselves.
Through Scripture's Story **The Judge and refuge:** Psalm 9 moves directly from God's righteous judgment to His refuge for the oppressed (Ps 9:7-10). His protection is not sentimental indifference to evil. The same King who judges uprightly becomes a stronghold for those crushed by it.
**The prayer of the afflicted:** Psalm 10 asks God to hear the desire of the humble, defend the fatherless and the oppressed, and end the terror of mortal man (Ps 10:17-18). Psalm 74 pleads that the oppressed not return ashamed but praise God's name (Ps 74:19-21). The Psalms teach the afflicted to bring suffering into the covenant court of the Lord.
**The violence of falsehood:** Proverbs 26:28 reminds us that crushing can come through words. God sees injuries that leave no visible wound.
How This Points to Christ Isaiah says the Servant was crushed for our iniquities and that it was the Lord's will to crush Him as He made His life an offering for sin (Isa 53:5; Isa 53:10). Because Isaiah uses the related verb daka rather than the adjective dak, this is a lexical-family and canonical connection. The Gospel identifies Jesus as the Servant who bore sins in the place of His people (1 Pet 2:24).
Christ is Savior before He is comforter by example. At the cross, He did not merely share the pain of the oppressed. He bore the judicial curse due to sinners, satisfied divine justice, and brought us to God (Gal 3:13; 1 Pet 3:18). The risen Christ is therefore both the righteous Judge who will end oppression and the refuge of everyone who comes to Him by faith (Acts 17:31; Heb 6:18).
For the Reader If others have crushed you, the Lord neither mistakes their power for innocence nor your weakness for worthlessness. Bring the truth before Him. The Psalms give you words for lament and teach you to wait for righteous judgment.
For Your Soul If your own sin has brought you low, do not turn your pain into a claim of innocence. Flee to Christ. The refuge of the gospel is not that God ignores guilt, but that the guilt of His people was judged in their Substitute. In Him the condemned receive pardon, the oppressed receive an Advocate, and those bowed down will finally be raised when the King makes all things right.
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