Hebrew word · H1376

גְּבִיר

gevir

lord

Lord, master, one who has authority. It comes from the root g-b-r, 'to be strong, prevail'. Related words are gevirah, 'mistress, queen-mother', and gibbor, 'mighty man, warrior'.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

lord, ruler

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 Genesis 27:29

Range of meaning

Lord, master, one who has authority. It comes from the root g-b-r, 'to be strong, prevail'. Related words are gevirah, 'mistress, queen-mother', and gibbor, 'mighty man, warrior'.

Against the English

KJV, WEB: 'lord'. BSB: 'master'. YLT: 'be thou mighty', which brings out the root but loses the idea of rank. The word covers both strength and authority.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Hebrew Bible it appears only in Genesis 27:29 and 27:37. The feminine gevirah is used for Sarah as Hagar's 'mistress' (Gen 16:4, 8) and for the queen-mother (1 Kgs 15:13). Its rarity adds to the formal, poetic tone of the blessing.

From the study of Genesis 27:37

Range of meaning

Master, lord: someone who holds authority and superior strength over others. It comes from the root g-b-r, "to be strong, to prevail." That root also gives gibbor ("mighty man, warrior") and gevirah ("mistress," "lady," and in the monarchy "queen mother").

Against the English

BSB and NASB say "master." KJV and WEB say "lord" (lowercase, a human ruler). YLT's "a mighty one" keeps the root idea of strength but loses the sense of rule over Esau. NIV and ESV say "lord over you," which correctly brings out the authority implied by "to you."

Used elsewhere in the period

The masculine noun occurs only twice in the Hebrew Bible: in Isaac's blessing (Gen 27:29, "be master over your brothers") and here, where he quotes it back. The feminine gevirah is used of Sarai as Hagar's mistress (Gen 16:4, 8–9) and of royal queen mothers (1 Kgs 15:13; Jer 13:18). The Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation) translates it kyrios, "lord."

Where it appears

Genesis · 2

  1. Genesis 27:29 גְבִיר֙ lord

    May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be the master of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed, and those who bless you be blessed.”

    Here: A ruler with strength and authority. The word appears only here and in Isaac's report in 27:37 ('I have made him lord over you'). It shares a root with gibbor, 'mighty man'.

  2. Genesis 27:37 גְּבִ֞יר lord

    But Isaac answered Esau: “Look, I have made him your master and given him all his relatives as servants; I have sustained him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?”

    Here: "Master" in the sense of one who rules over others. It picks up the exact word from the blessing in v.29 ("be master over your brothers"). It comes first in its clause for emphasis: "a master is what I have made him."

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