Hebrew word · H1386
גַּבְנֹן
gavnunim
peak
'Hump, rounded peak'. The plural describes a mountain mass with many humped summits. It comes from the root gbn, 'to be curved, humped' (gibbēn, 'hunchback', Lev 21:20; gĕḇînāh, 'cheese', Job 10:10, perhaps from the curdled, lumpy look).
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
peak, rounded summit, a mountain peak
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
- Range of meaning
'Hump, rounded peak'. The plural describes a mountain mass with many humped summits. It comes from the root gbn, 'to be curved, humped' (gibbēn, 'hunchback', Lev 21:20; gĕḇînāh, 'cheese', Job 10:10, perhaps from the curdled, lumpy look).
- Against the English
KJV: 'high hills'. BSB: 'mountains of many peaks'. ESV: 'many-peaked'. WEB: 'rugged'. NJPS: 'jagged'. 'High' loses the picture of many humps. The others keep it.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Found only in Ps 68:15–16. The Septuagint linked it with gĕḇînāh ('cheese') and translated 'curdled / cheese-like mountains' (orē tetyrōmena), which the Vulgate copied as montes coagulatos. Some explain this as a reference to the fertile, dairy-rich pastures of Bashan, famous for its cattle (Amos 4:1; Ezek 39:18). It is more likely a misunderstanding of a rare word.
Where it appears
Psalms · 2
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Psalm 68:15 גַּ֝בְנֻנִּ֗ים peaks
A mountain of God is Mount Bashan; a mountain of many peaks is Mount Bashan.
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Psalm 68:16 גַּבְנֻ֫נִּ֥ים peaks
Why do you gaze in envy, O mountains of many peaks? This is the mountain God chose for His dwelling, where the LORD will surely dwell forever.
Here: Found only here and in v. 15. It comes from a root meaning 'hump, curve' (compare gibbēn, 'hunchbacked', Lev 21:20). The picture is a mountain mass with many humped or rounded summits, not simply a 'high' one. It stands next to 'mountains' and describes them: 'you many-humped mountains'.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.