H1431 — גָּדַל (gâdal)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H1431
Original: גָּדַל
Transliteration: gâdal
Pronunciation: gaw-dal
Part of Speech: Verb (primitive root)
Root: Primitive root; related noun form גָּדוֹל (H1419)
Occurrences: 111 unique verses (153 tokens) across 31 books
First Occurrence: Gen 12:2 — "I will make thy name great"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; properly, to twist, i.e. to be (causatively make) large (in various senses, as in body, mind, estate or honor, also in pride): advance, boast, bring up, exceed, excellent, be(-come, do, give, make, wax), great(-er, come to... estate, things), grow(up), increase, lift up, magnify(-ifical), be much set by, nourish(up), pass, promote, proudly (spoken), tower.

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Qal	54	grow, become great (intransitive)
Hiphil	33	make great, magnify, cause to grow (causative)
Piel	25	make great, bring up, nourish (intensive/factive)
Hithpael	4	magnify oneself, boast (reflexive)
Pual	1	be brought up (passive)

Tallied from hebrew_parser.py --lemma gadal

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation Cluster	Verses	%
magnify / be magnified / magnify himself	~26	~23%
grew / grown / wax great (physical growth)	~22	~20%
great / be great / great things	~18	~16%
nourish / bring up (child-rearing)	~9	~8%
exceed / pass / surpass	~5	~5%
promote / advance / lift up	~4	~4%
boast / proudly	~2	~2%
Other	~25	~22%

The KJV renders this single verb with exceptional variety reflecting its broad semantic range.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Obadiah	1	4.8
Zephaniah	2	3.8
Joel	2	2.7
Daniel	9	2.5
Jonah	1	2.1
Esther	3	1.8
Malachi	1	1.8
Ecclesiastes	3	1.4
Lamentations	2	1.3
Micah	1	1.0
Zechariah	2	0.9
Genesis	12	0.8
Psalms	16	0.7
Amos	1	0.7
Isaiah	9	0.7
1 Kings	5	0.6
1 Samuel	5	0.6
2 Chronicles	4	0.5
Hosea	1	0.5
Job	4	0.4
Ezekiel	5	0.4
1 Chronicles	4	0.4
2 Samuel	3	0.4
Ezra	1	0.4
Judges	2	0.3
2 Kings	2	0.3
Joshua	2	0.3
Exodus	2	0.2
Numbers	2	0.2
Jeremiah	3	0.2
Ruth	1	—

Patterns: Daniel shows striking concentration (9 occurrences at 2.5/100v), driven by the horn vision passages in Dan 8–11. Minor prophets (Obad, Zeph, Joel, Jonah, Mal) use the word densely for national pride and divine intervention. Genesis leads in raw count (12) through life-cycle narratives. Psalms (16) carries most of the doxological magnification.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Divine Magnification — God's Name or Acts Declared Great¶

God's deeds and name are the object of magnification; often liturgical or prophetic doxology. - 2 Sam 7:22 — "Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee" - Joel 2:21 — "Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things" - Mal 1:5 — "The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel" - Ps 34:3 — "O magnify the LORD with me" (cf. Ps 18:50; 35:26)

2. Human Physical Growth — Children, Animals, Plants¶

Biological/developmental growth of persons or creatures; predominantly Qal stem. - Gen 21:8 — "the child grew, and was weaned" (Isaac) - Judg 13:24 — "the child grew, and the LORD blessed him" (Samson) - 2 Ki 4:18 — "when the child was grown, it fell on a day..." - Ezek 31:4 — "The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high" (cedar/Assyria)

3. Making Someone Great — Divine or Royal Promotion¶

Granting greatness, honor, or status to another; predominantly Hiphil/Piel. - Gen 12:2 — "I will bless thee, and make thy name great" - Josh 3:7 — "This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel" (Joshua) - 1 Ki 1:47 — "God make the name of Solomon better than thy name" - Esth 3:1 — "Ahasuerus promote Haman... and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes"

4. Self-Exaltation / Arrogant Pride — Nations or Rulers¶

Hithpael and Hiphil reflexive uses; magnifying oneself against God or a neighbor; always condemned. - Isa 10:15 — "shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it?" - Jer 48:26, 42 — "Moab magnified himself against the LORD" - Dan 8:4 — the ram "magnified himself" (cf. 8:8, 11, 25; 11:36–37) - Zeph 2:8, 10 — Ammon "magnified themselves against the people of the LORD"

5. Nourishing / Raising Children¶

Caring for children through rearing; Piel stem ("bring up, nourish up"). - Isa 1:2 — "I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled" - Lam 2:22 — "those that I have swaddled and brought up hath mine enemy consumed" - 2 Ki 10:6 — "the king's sons... which brought them up"

6. Worldly Achievement / Accumulation¶

Human accumulation of power, wealth, or reputation; Qal or Hiphil. - Ecc 1:16 — "I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all" - Ecc 2:9 — "So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me" - 1 Ki 10:23 — "Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and wisdom" - Gen 26:13 — "the man waxed great... and grew until he became very great"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
YHWH	H3068	37x (33%)	divine name as subject or object of magnification
al (upon/against)	H5921	34x (31%)	"magnified himself against / over"
kol (all)	H3605	27x (24%)	"exceeded all", "great in all"
ben (son)	H1121	19x (17%)	growing up of sons; nourishing children
panim (face)	H6440	15x (14%)	"in the sight of" — public elevation
Elohim	H430	12x (11%)	God as subject or addressee
melek (king)	H4428	12x (11%)	royal greatness; kings made great
shem (name)	H8034	11x (10%)	"make the name great" — reputation, fame
erets (land)	H776	10x (9%)	"great in the land", surpassing all kings

Word Family / Cognates¶

H1419 gadowl — adjective: great, large, elder; 330 occurrences; adjectival form from H1431
H1420 geduwlah — noun: greatness, majesty
H1433 godel — noun: greatness, magnitude, pride
H4026 migdal — noun: tower (something made tall/great); place name Migdol

Synonyms¶

רבה — near-neighbor in the field of becoming many / increasing.
H3205 ילד — bear, beget, bring forth; overlaps with the growth and child-rearing side of gâdal.
H7311 רום — be high, exalt; overlaps with exaltation / magnification uses.
H1935 הֹוד — splendor, majesty; adjacent to declarative magnification and honor language.
H1926 הָדָר — honor, majesty; another exaltation / glory neighbor.
H6286 פאר — beautify, glorify; overlaps where gâdal means magnify or make great in honor.
H2388 חזק — strengthen, be strong; related in increase / empowerment contexts.
H6009 עמק — a broader size/intensity-field neighbor returned by search_relationships.py.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms returned by search_relationships.py for H1431.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared KJV Translation	Key Difference
gadowl	H1419	"great", "great things", "greater"	H1419 = adjective state ("a great nation"); H1431 = verbal process ("become/make great")
rab	H7227	"great"	rab = abundance in quantity or multitude; gadal = greatness in scope, rank, or prestige
meod	H3966	"great" (as intensifier)	meod is an adverb of degree ("very"); gadal expresses ontological or relational greatness

Semantic Domains¶

UBS / Relationship Domains¶

[002001001034] Large — core growth / size field behind "become great."
[002001002012] Great — central greatness/magnification field; the clearest lexical domain for H1431.
[002004001009009] Praise — reflects the doxological uses ("magnify the LORD") already documented in Psalms and prophecy.
[002004001009008] Speak — secondary verbal domain, fitting how magnification is often expressed in proclamation and praise speech.
[002001001056] Stage — aligns with the verb's "grow up / bring up" life-stage usage.
[002001003012] Intense — broader overlap where H1431 carries an overflowing or surpassing sense.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
megaluno	G3170	56	7.20	Primary; "make/declare great, increase" — used in Magnificat (Lk 1:46)
ektrepho	G1625	11	6.89	Nourish/bring up senses
hupsoo	G5312	16	4.41	Exalt/elevate; promote senses
auxano	G837	5	4.91	Grow/increase; biological growth contexts

G3170 megaluno is the dominant LXX equivalent (56 co-occurrences, PMI 7.20). See cross-testament trace.