StrongerBible

ga'ar

גָּעַר

HebrewH1605“rebuke”

Appears 14 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Gen 37:10Rut 2:16Psa 9:5(6)Psa 68:30(31)Psa 106:9Psa 119:21Isa 17:13Isa 54:9Jer 29:27Nam 1:4Zec 3:2 (2×)Mal 2:3Mal 3:11
Root family
Word studyResearch-gradegah-AHRverb

What ga'ar means

to rebuke: to check, silence, or drive something back with a forceful, commanding word.

TranslatabilityPartialCertaintyStrong

This verb covers a wide range, from an everyday scolding to a shout that shakes the world, and one thread runs through all of it: a voice with real authority forces its target to back down. What matters is not only the anger in the words but that they get results. When this word is used, the thing rebuked actually gives way.

Between people it is a sharp reprimand from someone with the standing to give it, such as:

  • a father correcting a son
  • an employer restraining his workers
  • an official silencing a troublemaker

It is stern, and it can be harsh enough to shame a person into stopping.

When God is the one who speaks, the word becomes a display of power. He:

  • rebukes the sea and it dries up
  • rebukes the flood and it flees
  • rebukes the nations and they scatter
  • rebukes the accuser in the heavenly courtroom and the charge falls silent

The rebuke is not a scolding that the sea chooses to obey; the shout itself does the work, driving back whatever stands against him.

This is the background to the New Testament scenes where Jesus rebukes the wind and the waves and they fall still, and rebukes unclean spirits and they come out. The Greek word used there (ἐπιτιμάω) is the one the older Greek Old Testament had already chosen to translate this Hebrew verb, so those moments echo the picture of God shouting down the chaos.

Nuances

1aa sharp verbal reprimand between people: a stern scolding from someone with the standing to correct or restrain another.
TranslatabilityApproximateCertaintySettled
Gen 37:10Rut 2:16Jer 29:27
1bGod's subduing shout against chaos and enemies: the effective, warlike utterance that dries up seas and scatters hostile nations.
Psa 9:5(6)Psa 68:30(31)Psa 106:9Isa 17:13Isa 54:9Nam 1:4
1cGod's authoritative rebuke that silences or restrains a hostile power: the courtroom countercharge against an accuser and the restraining word that holds off a threat.
Psa 119:21Zec 3:2 (2×)Mal 2:3Mal 3:11

What scholars say about ga'ar

The traditional gloss "rebuke" has been widely judged too weak since A. A. Macintosh's 1969 study, which argued that the root denotes the physical expression of anger and, with God as subject, the effective working out of that anger rather than a mere verbal reproof. James M. Kennedy (JBL 1987) secured the point through semantic-field analysis while rejecting Macintosh's etymological method, treating the whole distribution as one authoritative, powerful speech-act by a superior that constrains, silences, or drives back an adversary, with the cosmic occurrences being that same act applied to non-human foes. The cognate evidence is central to the debate: Ugaritic g'r for a divine adversary's efficacious rebuke in the Baal and Yamm combat, and Arabic ja'ara "to bellow, roar," point to an originally powerful cry. Caquot (TDOT) and Michael Brown (NIDOTTE) lean toward this effective, subduing reading, while BDB, HALOT, and DCH more conservatively retain "rebuke" as the primary gloss. The Septuagint rendered the word predominantly with epitimao, and Howard Clark Kee (NTS 1968) showed that this Greek verb lacks exorcistic force in wider Greek usage, so its power over demons, wind, and sea in the Gospels derives from this Hebrew background. Jan Joosten (DSD 2014) explained the later Aramaic exorcistic use of the root as a delocutive formation from the recitation of Zechariah 3:2.

Where scholars disagree about ga'ar

Whether the verb denotes an ordinary verbal reprimand or a powerful, effective utterance that actually subdues its target. The traditional lexical gloss is simply "rebuke," but since 1969 many scholars have argued that, especially with God as subject, the word describes an efficacious, subduing shout, closer to a warrior's battle cry that dries up the sea and routs enemies than to a scolding.

  • majorityThe word denotes an effective, subduing utterance, and "rebuke" is too weak, especially in divine and cosmic contexts.; A. A. Macintosh, "A Consideration of Hebrew גער," Vetus Testamentum 19 (1969): 471-479; James M. Kennedy, "The Root G'R in the Light of Semantic Analysis," Journal of Biblical Literature 106 (1987): 47-64; André Caquot, "גָּעַר gāʿar," in Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament 3:49-53
  • minorityThe primary sense remains an authoritative verbal reproof, and the traditional gloss "rebuke" is retained.; BDB, s.v. גָּעַר, 172; HALOT, s.v. גער (headword "to rebuke, reproach")
In-depth research

This is a research paper, so it may be hard to read without scholarly background. It is useful if you want to dig even deeper into this word.

Sources

  • HALOT, s.v. גערlexicon
  • BDB, s.v. גָּעַר, 172lexicon
  • André Caquot, "גָּעַר gāʿar," in Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament 3:49-53theological-dictionary
  • Michael L. Brown, "גער," in New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis 1:884-86theological-dictionary
  • A. A. Macintosh, "A Consideration of Hebrew גער," Vetus Testamentum 19 (1969): 471-479article
  • James M. Kennedy, "The Root G'R in the Light of Semantic Analysis," Journal of Biblical Literature 106 (1987): 47-64article
  • Howard Clark Kee, "The Terminology of Mark's Exorcism Stories," New Testament Studies 14 (1968): 232-246article
  • Jan Joosten, "The Verb גער 'to Exorcize' in Qumran Aramaic and Beyond," Dead Sea Discoveries 21 (2014): 347-355article
  • John Day, God's Conflict with the Dragon and the Sea (Cambridge University Press, 1985), 28-29, 57-61monograph

AI-generated word study · claude-opus-4-8

All attested forms of גָּעַר

qal perfect 2ms

גָּעַרְתָּ

Psa 9:5, Psa 119:21, Jer 29:27

qal consecutive-imperfect 3ms

וַיִּגְעַר

Gen 37:10, Psa 106:9

qal participle m s absolute

גּוֹעֵר, גֹעֵר

Nam 1:4, Mal 2:3

qal conjunctive-imperfect 3ms

וְיִגְעַר

Zec 3:2

qal consecutive-perfect 1cs

וְגָעַרְתִּי

Mal 3:11

qal consecutive-perfect 3ms

וְגָעַר

Isa 17:13

qal imperative 2ms

גְּעַר

Psa 68:30

qal imperfect 2mp

תִגְעֲרוּ

Rut 2:16

qal imperfect 3ms

יִגְעַר

Zec 3:2

qal infinitive-construct construct

גְּעָר

Isa 54:9