Hebrew word · H117

אַדִּיר

'adir

great

Mighty, majestic, glorious, noble.

Appears 27 times in 25 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) great, majestic

1a) of waters of sea

1b) of a tree

1c) of kings, nations, gods

2) great one, majestic one

2a) of nobles, chieftains, servants

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Psalm 16:3

Range of meaning

Mighty, majestic, glorious, noble. Used of human nobles and leaders (Judg 5:13; Jer 14:3; 25:34–36, 'the lords of the flock'; Neh 3:5; 2 Chr 23:20), of kings (Ps 136:18), of mighty waters (Exod 15:10; Ps 93:4), of a ship or a tree, of YHWH and his name ('how majestic is your name', Ps 8:1, 9), and of gods ('these mighty gods', 1 Sam 4:8).

Against the English

KJV and BSB say 'the excellent' or 'the excellence'. ESV says 'excellent ones'. NASB says 'majestic ones'. NIV and NRSV say 'noble'. NLT says 'my true heroes'. 'Excellent' sounds like moral quality. The Hebrew word is about stature, power and glory.

How it drifted

In 1611 'excellent' still kept its root sense of 'surpassing, eminent'. Today readers hear 'very good', which makes the phrase a moral compliment rather than a statement of rank and power.

Used elsewhere in the period

BDB and HALOT give 'mighty, majestic, noble'. The use for gods in 1 Sam 4:8 (ha'elohim ha'addirim) is the main support for the 'divine beings' reading of this verse. The use for chieftains in Judges and Jeremiah supports the 'nobles / faithful leaders' reading. The Septuagint did not treat the word as a noun at all and read a verb, 'made wonderful'.

From the study of Psalm 8:9

Range of meaning

Mighty, majestic, noble, glorious. From a root meaning 'to be wide, great, glorious' (compare ʾadderet, a grand cloak, and the verb in Exod 15:6, 11, 'majestic in power', 'majestic in holiness'). Used of the breakers of the sea (Ps 93:4), a lofty cedar (Ezek 17:23), powerful nobles and chiefs (Judg 5:13; Jer 14:3), mighty kings (Ps 136:18), and the 'mighty gods' the Philistines feared (1 Sam 4:8).

Against the English

'Majestic' (BSB, WEB, NIV, ESV, NASB) catches the splendor but can sound merely stately. KJV's 'excellent' meant 'surpassing, pre-eminent' in 1611 but now sounds like 'very good'. YLT's 'honourable' is too mild. The Hebrew holds raw power and royal grandeur together, like sea waves crashing.

How it drifted

The English adjectives each pick one side of the word. 'Excellent' has also weakened since the 17th century.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ugaritic ʾdr ('mighty, noble') and Phoenician ʾdr ('great, mighty', used in titles and divine epithets) show it was a standard word for exalted power in the region. LXX: thaumaston ('wonderful, astonishing'). Vulgate: admirabile ('to be wondered at').

From the study of Jeremiah 30:21

Range of meaning

Mighty, majestic, splendid, noble. As an adjective it describes powerful waters (Exod 15:10), a stately ship (Isa 33:21), great trees (Ezek 17:23) and God's own majesty (Ps 8:1, 'how majestic is your name'; Ps 93:4). As a noun it means a noble or chief, someone with power and standing (Judg 5:13; 2 Chr 23:20; Neh 3:5).

Against the English

KJV has the plural 'nobles', but the Hebrew is singular ('his majestic one'). BSB has 'leader' and WEB 'prince'. These modern words are accurate in role but lose the sense of splendour and might in addir.

Used elsewhere in the period

Jeremiah himself calls Judah's rulers 'the majestic ones of the flock' (addirei hatso'n, Jer 25:34–36), alongside 'shepherds', in an oracle of judgment. Jer 14:3 uses it of nobles who send servants for water.

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 15:10 אַדִּירִֽים׃ mighty

    But You blew with Your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

Judges · 2

  1. Judges 5:13 לְאַדִּירִ֖ים of [the] nobles

    Then the survivors came down to the nobles; the people of the LORD came down to me against the mighty.

  2. Judges 5:25 אַדִּירִ֖ים nobles

    He asked for water, and she gave him milk. In a magnificent bowl she brought him curds.

1 Samuel · 1

  1. 1 Samuel 4:8 הָאַדִּירִ֖ים <the> mighty

    Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 23:20 הָֽאַדִּירִים֩ the nobles

    And he took with him the commanders of hundreds, the nobles, the rulers of the people, and all the people of the land, and they brought the king down from the house of the LORD and entered the royal palace through the Upper Gate. They seated King Joash on the royal throne,

Nehemiah · 2

  1. Nehemiah 3:5 וְאַדִּֽירֵיהֶם֙ and nobles their

    Next to him, the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles did not put their shoulders to the work under their supervisors.

  2. Nehemiah 10:29 אַדִּירֵיהֶם֒ noble [ones] their

    hereby join with their noble brothers and commit themselves with a sworn oath to follow the Law of God given through His servant Moses and to obey carefully all the commandments, ordinances, and statutes of the LORD our Lord.

    Here: "Their mighty ones": the leading men, standing alongside "their brothers" as a second description of the same group. These are the notables whose names were set on the sealed document (10:1–27).

Psalms · 7

  1. Psalm 8:1 אַדִּ֣יר majestic

    For the choirmaster. According to Gittith. A Psalm of David. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens.

    Here: Towering, powerful greatness. The same word describes roaring waters, great cedars, mighty ships and noble chieftains. God's name is not merely "very good". It is imposing and commanding.

  2. Psalm 8:9 אַדִּ֥יר majestic

    O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!

    Here: Power and grandeur together: the word is used of crashing sea-waves, towering cedars, nobles and mighty kings. God's name is overwhelming in both strength and splendor.

  3. Psalm 16:3 וְ֝אַדִּירֵ֗י and [the] majestic [ones]

    As for the saints in the land, they are the excellence in whom all my delight resides.

    Here: 'And the majestic ones of...' The word is used for nobles and chieftains, for mighty waters, for God's majestic name, and for 'mighty gods' (1 Sam 4:8). Its grammatical form ties it tightly to the clause that follows: 'the majestic ones in whom...'. It is the hardest word in the verse.

  4. Psalm 76:4 אַדִּ֗יר [are] majestic

    You are resplendent with light, more majestic than mountains filled with game.

  5. Psalm 93:4 אַדִּירִ֣ים אַדִּ֖יר majestic, [is] majestic

    Above the roar of many waters—the mighty breakers of the sea—the LORD on high is majestic.

  6. Psalm 136:18 אַדִּירִ֑ים mighty

    and slaughtered mighty kings—His loving devotion endures forever.

Isaiah · 3

  1. Isaiah 10:34 בְּאַדִּ֥יר by a mighty [one]

    He will clear the forest thickets with an axe, and Lebanon will fall before the Mighty One.

  2. Isaiah 33:21 אַדִּ֤יר אַדִּ֖יר [will be] majestic, majestic

    But there the Majestic One, our LORD, will be for us a place of rivers and wide canals, where no galley with oars will row, and no majestic vessel will pass.

Jeremiah · 5

  1. Jeremiah 14:3 וְאַדִּ֣רֵיהֶ֔ם and noble [ones] their

    The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns, but find no water; their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads.

    Here: 'And their mighty ones': the powerful, wealthy upper class of Judah. Starting with them makes the point that the drought reaches even the people who normally never go without.

  2. Jeremiah 25:34 אַדִּירֵ֣י O noble [ones] of

    Wail, you shepherds, and cry out; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock. For the days of your slaughter have come; you will fall and be shattered like fine pottery.

    Here: 'Mighty ones of', a word for nobles and powerful men. Applied to a flock it suggests the big lead rams. The finest, fattest animals are also the first to be butchered.

  3. Jeremiah 25:35 מֵאַדִּירֵ֥י from [the] noble [ones] of

    Flight will evade the shepherds, and escape will elude the leaders of the flock.

  4. Jeremiah 25:36 אַדִּירֵ֣י [the] noble [ones] of

    Hear the cry of the shepherds, the wailing of the leaders of the flock, for the LORD is destroying their pasture.

  5. Jeremiah 30:21 אַדִּיר֜וֹ noble [one] its

    Their leader will be one of their own, and their ruler will arise from their midst. And I will bring him near, and he will approach Me, for who would dare on his own to approach Me?” declares the LORD.

    Here: A singular 'his mighty, splendid one', meaning Jacob's leading figure or prince. 'His' refers to Jacob/Israel, spoken of as one person in v. 18. The word carries a sense of grandeur and is sometimes used of God himself.

Ezekiel · 2

  1. Ezekiel 17:23 אַדִּ֑יר majestic

    I will plant it on the mountain heights of Israel so that it will bear branches; it will yield fruit and become a majestic cedar. Birds of every kind will nest under it, taking shelter in the shade of its branches.

    Here: A word for lordly might, used of nobles, of mighty waters and of God's own name. The vine was meant to become a 'majestic' vine (same root, 17:8) and failed. The sprig becomes a majestic cedar.

  2. Ezekiel 32:18 אַדִּרִ֛ם mighty

    “Son of man, wail for the multitudes of Egypt, and consign her and the daughters of the mighty nations to the depths of the earth with those who descend to the Pit:

    Here: Majestic, glorious, lordly. It describes the nations, and probably carries irony: the grand ones too go down.

Nahum · 2

  1. Nahum 2:5 אַדִּירָ֔יו nobles his

    He summons his nobles; they stumble as they advance. They race to its wall; the protective shield is set in place.

    Here: 'His mighty ones': his elite officers, nobles or picked troops, the top ranks of a fighting force. The word also carries the glory and prestige of rank.

  2. Nahum 3:18 אַדִּירֶ֑יךָ nobles your

    O king of Assyria, your shepherds slumber; your officers sleep. Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them.

Zechariah · 1

  1. Zechariah 11:2 אַדִּרִ֖ים majestic [trees]

    Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen; the majestic trees are ruined! Wail, O oaks of Bashan, for the dense forest has been cut down!

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.