WG: Greatness / Magnify¶
Words in the Hebrew semantic field of greatness, magnitude, growth, and numerical increase.
Members¶
| Strong's | Word | Transliteration | POS | Occurrences | Primary KJV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H1431 | גָּדַל | gadal | verb | 111 | magnify, grow, great |
| H1419 | גָּדוֹל | gadol | adjective | 499 | great, greater |
| H1420 | גְּדוּלָה | gedullah | f. noun | 11 | great things, greatness |
| H7227 | רַב | rab | adjective/noun | 443 | many, great, much |
| H7235 | רָבָה | rabah | verb | 214 | increase, multiply, much |
Relationship Map¶
gadal (H1431) ←—derives→ gadol (H1419) — adjective form
gadal (H1431) ←—derives→ gedullah (H1420) — noun form
gadol (H1419) ←—overlaps→ rab (H7227) — both = "great" in KJV
rab (H7227) ←—derives→ rabah (H7235) — verbal form of rab
Key Distinctions¶
| Word | Core Idea | What It Is NOT |
|---|---|---|
| gadal | to grow tall, to be elevated in honor | not about quantity |
| gadol | large in scale, great in importance | not a process — stative |
| gedullah | the quality of greatness, majesty | not action |
| rab | many, abundant, much in number | not about height/honor |
| rabah | to multiply, to become many | not about stature or magnification |
gadal vs. gadol: Same root. gadal is the verbal process (growing, becoming, making great); gadol is the resulting state (the adjective: large, great). They often appear together: Gen 26:13 — "Isaac grew (gadal) until he became very great (gadol meod)."
gadal vs. rab: The KJV translates both as "great" in some contexts, causing overlap. rab/rabah focus on multiplicity and abundance (many nations, much silver, great number), while gadal focuses on elevation, honor, stature, and magnification. Jon 4:11 uses all three together: "that great (gadol) city... more than sixscore thousand persons (rabbim)... also much (rabbah) cattle."
gedullah: The noun of gadal's Hiphil. It specifically denotes the quality of royal or divine greatness — used 11 times, mostly of God's majesty, Solomon's splendor, or Mordecai's honor.
Pairwise Co-occurrence¶
| Pair | Shared Verses | Sample |
|---|---|---|
| H1419 + H7227 | 29v | Deut 2:10 — "a people great (gadol), and many (rabbim)" |
| H7227 + H7235 | 11v | Num 26:54 — "To many (rabbim) give more inheritance" |
| H1431 + H7235 | 4v | Ezr 9:6 — "our iniquities are increased (rabah)... for it is grown up (gadal)" |
| H1431 + H1419 | 4v | Gen 12:2 — "make thy name great (gadal)... a great (gadol) nation" |
Shared Greek Target (LXX Bridge)¶
| Greek | Strong's | Bridges |
|---|---|---|
| G3173 μέγας (megas) | great (243 NT vv) | gadol (415 LXX co-occ), rab (50 LXX co-occ) |
| G4183 πολύς (polys) | many, much | rab (317 LXX co-occ), rabah (78 LXX co-occ) |
| G837 αὐξάνω (auxano) | grow, increase | rabah (15 LXX co-occ), gadal (5 LXX co-occ) |
| G3170 μεγαλύνω (megalynō) | magnify | gadal (56 LXX co-occ) — see TR-gadal-megaluno.md |
In the NT, the gadal/gadol family → megas/megalynō, while the rab/rabah family → polys/plethyno. These two Hebrew semantic streams maintain their distinctions in Greek.
Representative Passages Showing Contrasts¶
God's greatness (gadal/gadol) ≠ numerical vastness (rab/rabah): - Ps 48:1 — "Great (gadol) is the LORD, and greatly to be praised" — elevation, honor - Deut 7:1 — "seven nations greater (rabbim) and mightier than thou" — size/number contrast
Magnification in praise: - Ps 34:3 — "O magnify (gadal) the LORD with me" — verbal action of declaring God great - Luke 1:46 — "My soul doth magnify (megalynei) the Lord" — direct LXX echo
Self-magnification (arrogance): - Dan 8:4, 11 — the ram, then little horn "magnified (gadal) himself" — Hithpael/Hiphil - Isa 10:15 — "shall the axe magnify itself (yithgaddel) against him that heweth therewith?"
Library Status¶
| Strong's | File |
|---|---|
| H1431 gadal | H1431-gadal.md ✓ |
| H1419 gadol | TODO(need H1419 study) |
| H1420 gedullah | TODO(need H1420 study) |
| H7227 rab | H7227-rab.md |
| H7235 rabah | TODO(need H7235 study) |
Generated from: gather_word_group_data.py H1431 H1419 H1420 H7227 H7235 Date: 2026-04-01