H1396 — גָּבַר (gâbar)¶
Core Data¶
- Strong's: H1396
- Original: גָּבַר
- Transliteration: gâbar
- Pronunciation: gaw-bar'
- Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
- Occurrences: 24 unique verses (31 tokens) across 13 books
- First Occurrence: Gen 7:18 — "the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth"
- Hapax Legomenon: No
Lexicon Definition¶
A primitive root; to be strong; by implication, to prevail, act insolently: — exceed, confirm, be great, be mighty, prevail, put to more (strength), strengthen, be stronger, be valiant.
Verb Stem Distribution¶
| Stem | Count | Typical Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Qal | 18 | be strong, prevail, be mightier, be greater |
| Hithpael | 3 | strengthen oneself; act insolently/defiantly |
| Piel | 3 | strengthen, make mighty (intensive/causative) |
| Hiphil | 2 | confirm, put to more strength |
Tallied from hebrew_parser.py --lemma across all 24 unique verses.
Translation Distribution (KJV)¶
| Translation | Verses | % |
|---|---|---|
| prevailed / prevail | 15 | 63% |
| great (of mercy) | 2 | 8% |
| strengthen / strengthened | 3 | 13% |
| stronger | 1 | 4% |
| confirm | 1 | 4% |
| valiant | 1 | 4% |
| exceeded | 1 | 4% |
Distribution by Book¶
| Book | Count | Per 100 Verses |
|---|---|---|
| Zechariah | 2 | 0.9 |
| Lamentations | 1 | 0.6 |
| Ecclesiastes | 1 | 0.5 |
| Genesis | 5 | 0.3 |
| 2 Samuel | 2 | 0.3 |
| Job | 3 | 0.3 |
| Daniel | 1 | 0.3 |
| Psalms | 4 | 0.2 |
| Exodus | 1 | 0.1 |
| 1 Chronicles | 1 | 0.1 |
| 1 Samuel | 1 | 0.1 |
| Isaiah | 1 | 0.1 |
| Jeremiah | 1 | 0.1 |
The word appears mainly in narrative and poetic genres. Nearly half of all Genesis occurrences cluster in the flood account (Gen 7). Psalms has the most total hits (4) but at low density, scattered across praise and lament contexts. Zechariah leads in density — both Piel uses are divine first-person promises to strengthen Israel.
Semantic Categories¶
1. Prevailing Waters / Overwhelming Natural Force¶
The four Genesis flood uses are the densest clustering — the verb conveys waters that physically overwhelm and surpass all resistance.
- Gen 7:18 — "the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth"
- Gen 7:19 — "the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills...were covered"
- Gen 7:20 — "Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered"
- Gen 7:24 — "the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days"
2. Military / Battlefield Superiority¶
In battle contexts the verb marks which side gains the upper hand — often shifting with changing conditions (Exo 17:11's alternation is the clearest example).
- Exo 17:11 — "when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed"
- 2 Sam 11:23 — "Surely the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field"
- Lam 1:16 — "the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me...because the enemy prevailed"
- 1 Sam 2:9 — "for by strength shall no man prevail" (negative — warns against self-reliance)
3. Comparative Greatness / Surpassing Measure¶
Qal uses expressing that one thing exceeds another — applied to blessings, rank, and even divine mercy.
- Gen 49:26 — "The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors"
- 1 Chr 5:2 — "Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler"
- 2 Sam 1:23 — "they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions"
- Ps 103:11 — "as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him"
- Ps 117:2 — "his merciful kindness is great toward us"
4. Arrogant Self-Strengthening / Insolent Prevailing¶
Hithpael and negative Qal uses mark human pride that asserts itself against God or suppresses truth.
- Job 15:25 — "he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty"
- Job 36:9 — "he sheweth them their work, and their transgressions that they have exceeded"
- Ps 12:4 — "Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own"
- Ps 65:3 — "Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away"
- Jer 9:3 — "they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil"
5. Divine Strengthening / Covenant Confirmation¶
Piel and Hiphil uses where God is the subject — making strong, saving, or confirming a covenant.
- Zech 10:6 — "I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph"
- Zech 10:12 — "I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name"
- Isa 42:13 — "The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man...he shall prevail against his enemies"
- Dan 9:27 — "he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week" (Hiphil: make strong/firm)
Common Collocations¶
| Word | Strong's | Co-occ | Typical Pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| עַל (al) | H5921 | 10x | "prevail over / against" — marks the object dominated |
| מַיִם (mayim) | H4325 | 5x | "the waters prevailed" — flood narrative cluster |
| יְהֹוָה (YHWH) | H3068 | 5x | "strengthen in / by the LORD" |
| אֶרֶץ (erets) | H776 | 5x | "prevailed upon the earth" |
| חֶסֶד (chesed) | H2617 | 2x | "his mercy is great" — Ps 103:11, 117:2 |
| חַיִל (chayil) | H2428 | 2x | valor/might context |
Related Words¶
Word Family (same גבר root)¶
- H1368 גִּבּוֹר (gibbor) — mighty man, warrior, champion (noun)
- H1369 גְּבוּרָה (geburah) — might, strength, mighty deed (abstract noun)
- H1397 גֶּבֶר (geber) — man (as vigorous/valorous person; noun)
- H1404 גְּבִרָה (gebirah) — mistress, queen, lady (fem. noun; also via this root)
Synonyms¶
- רבה — lemma returned by
search_relationships.pyas a near-neighbor to gâbar in the field of prevailing / exceeding.
Antonyms¶
No antonyms returned by search_relationships.py for H1396.
Easily Confused Words¶
| Word | Strong's | Shared Translation | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| חָזַק (chazaq) | H2388 | "prevailed" (6x) | chazaq = seize, hold fast, grip; gâbar = actually surpass or be stronger |
| יָכֹל (yakol) | H3201 | "prevail" (10x) | yakol = be able to, have capability; gâbar = actively overpower or exceed |
| עָזַז (azaz) | H5810 | "prevailed" (2x), "prevail" (1x) | azaz = be stout/hard (impersonal quality of strength); gâbar = relational superiority |
Semantic Domains¶
UBS / Relationship Domains¶
- [002001001059] Strong —
search_relationships.pyplaces gâbar in the core strength field alongside neighbors such as H47 אַבִּיר, H83 אֵבֶר, A153 אֶדְרָע, and H202/H203/H204 אֹון. - [002001002003] Confident — the same data groups gâbar with confidence / firmness vocabulary, including H47 אַבִּיר, H68 אֶבֶן, H441 אַלּוּף, H533 אַמִּיץ, and H539 אמן.
- [002001001042] Quantity — this domain reflects gâbar in the sense of exceeding or growing stronger in measure, with neighbors such as H96 אֵגֶל, H259 אֶחָד, H430 אֱלֹהִים, and H502/H503 אלף.
- [002001003012] Intense —
search_relationships.pyalso associates gâbar with intensified force, alongside H247 אזר, H430 אֱלֹהִים, H533 אַמִּיץ, H605 אָנוּשׁ, and H1419 גָּדוֹל.
LXX Mapping¶
| Greek Equivalent | Strong's | Co-occ | PMI | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| κραταιόω (krataioō) | G2901 | 5 | 6.42 | Primary — to empower, increase in vigor; used for Piel/Hiphil strengthening uses |
| κατισχύω (katischyō) | G2729 | 3 | 5.22 | To overpower, prevail against; used for military/conflict uses |
No dominant single Greek equivalent (no bridge co-occurrence ≥ 20); the LXX distributes across several Greek strength-words depending on context.
Generated from: gather_word_data.py, hebrew_parser.py, search_strongs.py, search_relationships.py Last updated: 2026-04-27