Hebrew word · H1399
גֶּ֫בֶר
gevar
upright man
Man, especially a grown and able man. The root g-b-r means 'be strong, prevail' (compare gibbôr, 'warrior, hero'). It is used in poetry and wisdom writing, sometimes simply for 'a person', and often hints at strength or social standing.
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
man, man (of uprightness)
Another spelling of ge.ver (גֶּ֫בֶר "great man" H1397)
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
Man, especially a grown and able man. The root g-b-r means 'be strong, prevail' (compare gibbôr, 'warrior, hero'). It is used in poetry and wisdom writing, sometimes simply for 'a person', and often hints at strength or social standing.
- Against the English
English 'man' is accurate. Some versions drop the word altogether ('the blameless'), which loses the hint of a warrior. The parallel text 2 Samuel 22:26 has gibbôr, 'mighty man / warrior'.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Frequent in Job, Proverbs and Psalms ('Blessed is the geber who trusts in YHWH', Ps 40:4; Jer 17:7).
Where it appears
Psalms · 1
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Psalm 18:25 גְּבַ֥ר a man
To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;
Here: A poetic word for 'man'. It comes from a root meaning 'be strong' and often suggests a grown man able to fight. It fits a warrior-king's song. The parallel in 2 Samuel uses gibbôr, 'warrior'.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.