גָּבַר
gâbar · H1396 · Hebrew · 25 occurrences
Meanings
-
to become powerful, to grow mighty, to prevail
Process by which humans gain strength, power, and authority, which enables them to do things that others are unable to accomplish
ExamplesExodus 17:11 So it came about, when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed; but when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.
1 Samuel 2:9 “He watches over the feet of His godly ones, But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; For not by might shall a person prevail.
2 Samuel 1:23 “Saul and Jonathan, beloved and delightful in life, And in their deaths they were not separated; They were swifter than eagles, They were mightier than lions.
-
to make oneself strong, to defy
Literally: to make oneself strong; hence: action by which humans or deities present themselves with boldness to other humans and deities, which may be good or bad depending on whether this boldness is justified
ExamplesJob 15:25 Because he has reached out with his hand against God, And is arrogant toward the Almighty.
Job 36:9 Then He declares to them their work And their wrongdoings, that they have been arrogant.
Isaiah 42:13 The LORD will go out like a warrior, He will stir His zeal like a man of war. He will shout, indeed, He will raise a war cry. He will prevail against His enemies.
How it’s used In 5 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Who or what does itSubject
25 occurrences in 13 groups
- מַיִםwater 4
- Not stated: they 4
- Not stated: he, she or it 4
- Other words · 10 groups that occur once or twice (13) 13
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
4 occurrences in 4 groups
- בַּיִתhouse, household 1
- בְּרִיתcovenant, treaty 1
- חַיִלarmy, wealth, strength 1
- הֶםthem 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
16 occurrences in 17 groups
- Other words · 17 groups that occur once or twice (19) 19
With adverbsAdverbs
3 occurrences in 2 groups
- לֹאnot 2
- מְאֹדvery 1
What is done to itIt is the object
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- אָמַרto say 1
When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.
MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
In the other Testament 1 word
- κραταιόω krataióō · G2901 · to become strong, to become powerful
- Both terms denote the intensification of strength or power, with גָּבַר (gâbar, H1396) גָּבַר encompassing a broader semantic range (prevailing, confirming, exceeding) while κραταιόω (krataióō, G2901) κραταιόω focuses specifically on empowerment and increase in vigor; the Greek term translates the Hebrew when the context emphasizes strengthening or becoming mighty.
Semantic domains 4 entries
- Strong002001001063
- גָּבַר denotes being or becoming strong, prevailing with force, as in the floodwaters prevailing and increasing greatly in Genesis 7:18-20.
- Confident002001002003
- This code is inherited from a figurative usage of this lexeme (confidence or assurance arising from strength); it does not independently apply to the physical-prevailing sense in the flood citations here.
- Quantity002001001046
- The word also carries a quantitative nuance of increasing or exceeding a measure, closely tied to the floodwaters' rising described in these same citations.
- Intense002001003011
- The word further conveys intensity or forcefulness, reinforcing the sense of overwhelming strength attested in the flood narrative.
Word family 12 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon H1396. gabar גָּבַר verb be strong, mighty (Late Hebrew id. Aramaic גְּבַר; Arabic…
גָּבַר verb be strong, mighty (Late Hebrew id. Aramaic גְּבַר; Arabic (conjugation I. dialect; usually in derived conjugation) compel, force; overbearing behaviour, constraint; Ethiopic : I, 1, subigere; II, 2, cogere; Syriac play the man, is denominative from man) —
Qal Perfect ׳ג Psa 103:11 Psa 103:5t.; גָּבְרוּ Gen 7:19 Gen 7:6t.; גָּבֵ֑רוּ 2Sa 1:23; Imperfect יִגְבַּר 1Sa 2:9; וַיִּגְבְּרוּ Gen 7:18, Gen 7:24; —
1 be strong, mighty, absolute חַיִל גָּבְרוּ mighty in power Job 21:7; with מִן stronger than 2Sa 1:24; Psa 65:4; with בְּ mighty among 1Ch 5:2.
2 prevail: —
a absolute e.g. enemies Exo 17:11 (twice in verse) (E) 1Sa 2:9; Lam 1:16, waters Gen 7:18-19, Gen 7:20, Gen 7:24 (P), power Jer 9:2;
b. with עַל prevail over, subject enemies 2Sa 11:23, blessings Gen 49:26(J), mercy of God Psa 103:11; Psa 117:2.
Pi`el Perfect גִּבַּרְתִּי Zec 10:6; suffix גִּבַּרְתִּים Zec 10:12; Imperfect יְגַבֵּר Ecc 10:10 make strong, strengthen.
Hiph`il Perfect לְ בְּרִית הִגְבִּיר confirm a covenant Dan 9:27; Imperfect לִלְשֹׁנֵנוּ נַגְבִּיר we will confirm covenant with our tongue Ew Ol Che (or, to our tongue will we give strength Hi De) Psa 12:5.
Hithpa`el Imperfect יִתְגַּבָּ֑ר Job 15:25; Isa 42:13; יִתְגַּבָּ֑רוּ Job 36:9: — of ׳י, shew himself a mighty one against (עַל) Isa 42:13; of wicked, behave proudly toward (אֶל) Job 15:25; of erring righteous (aba.) Job 36:9.
גִּבַר see following.
גבר (√ of following; be strong, so ᵑ7; Biblical Hebrew גָּבַר).
Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain
Topical studies with this word 4 entries
Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Sources
eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0
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