TR: gadal → megalynō (Magnify / Greatness)¶
The Chain¶
Hebrew OT LXX (Greek OT) Greek NT
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גָּדַל (gadal) → μεγαλύνω (megalynō) → μεγαλύνω (megalynō)
H1431, 111 verses 56x as translation 8 verses in NT
"be/become great, of gadal "magnify, declare great"
magnify, grow"
OT Usage (Hebrew)¶
| Strong's | Word | Occurrences | Primary Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| H1431 | גָּדַל (gadal) | 111 | be/become great, make great, magnify, grow up |
| H1419 | גָּדוֹל (gadol) | 499 | great (adjective) |
| H1420 | גְּדוּלָה (gedullah) | 11 | greatness, majesty |
Key OT passages: - Gen 12:2 — "I will make thy name great" — gadal as God's covenant promise - 2 Sam 7:22 — "Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee" - Dan 11:36 — "the king shall magnify himself above every god" — gadal of arrogant self-exaltation
[See canonical word study: H1431-gadal.md]
LXX Bridge¶
| Hebrew | Greek Translation | Count | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| gadal (H1431) | μεγαλύνω (G3170) | 56x | Primary equivalent; PMI 7.20 |
| gadal (H1431) | ἐκτρέφω (G1625) | 11x | Nourishing/raising up sense |
| gadal (H1431) | ὑψόω (G5312) | 16x | Exaltation/elevation sense |
Semantic continuity: The LXX translators used megalynō specifically for the praise and honor senses of gadal — where God is being magnified or God magnifies someone. The physical growth senses (Qal: children growing) tended to use auxano (G837) or ektrepho (G1625). The arrogance senses (Hithpael: magnifying oneself against God) were also captured by megalynō.
NT Usage (Greek)¶
| Strong's | Word | Occurrences | Primary Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| G3170 | μεγαλύνω (megalynō) | 8 | make great, magnify, declare great |
| G3173 | μέγας (megas) | 243 | great (adjective — cognate) |
Key NT passages (all 8 verses): - Luke 1:46 — "My soul doth magnify (megalynei) the Lord" — Mary's Magnificat, directly echoing OT praise language - Acts 5:13 — "the people magnified (emegalynen) them" — apostles honored by Jerusalem crowds - Acts 10:46 — "they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify (megalynontōn) God" - Acts 19:17 — "the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified (emegalyneto)" - Matt 23:5 — "they enlarge (platynousin) their phylacteries" (note: Matt uses platynō, not megalynō, for physical enlarging) - 2 Cor 10:15 — "having hope... to be magnified (megalynthēnai) in you according to our rule" - Phil 1:20 — "Christ shall be magnified (megalynthēsetai) in my body" (not found in search output — minor data issue)
Direct OT→NT Quotations¶
| NT Verse | OT Background | Connection |
|---|---|---|
| Luke 1:46 | Ps 34:3; 1 Sam 2:1–10 | Mary's Magnificat borrows directly from Hannah's song and the Psalms — same verb gadal/megalynō |
| Acts 10:46; 19:17 | Ps 34:3; 2 Sam 7:22 | Praising God in the Spirit echoes OT magnification language |
Continuity and Shifts¶
What stays the same: - megalynō preserves gadal's core sense: to declare or make something great, especially in praise of God - The praise function (Ps 34:3; 2 Sam 7:22 → Luke 1:46; Acts 10:46) carries across unchanged - Both testaments use the word for God being magnified by human voices
What shifts: - The physical growth sense (children, plants, animals growing) largely drops out in NT — only 8 NT occurrences vs. 111 OT - The arrogance/self-magnification sense (Dan 8, 11; Jer 48) does not appear in NT megalynō uses — the NT uses are all positive - G3170 megalynō is rare in NT; the adjective megas (G3173) carries the "great" semantic load in Greek NT
Generated from: gather_word_data.py G3170, search_strongs.py --lxx-map H1431 Date: 2026-04-01