Hebrew word · H1413

גָּדַד

titgodedu

to cut

In this form, which turns the action back on the subject, the verb means 'to gash/cut oneself', the ritual cutting of mourners and of worshippers in a frenzy. A second verb with the same letters (some lexicons list it separately, linked to gedûd 'troop') means 'to band together, gather in troops'.

Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to penetrate, cut, attack, invade

1a) (Qal) to penetrate, cut into

1b)(Hithpoel)

1b1) to cut oneself

1b2) to gather in troops or crowds

Aramaic equivalent: ge.dad (גְּדַד "to chop" H1414)

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 Micah 5:1

Range of meaning

In this form, which turns the action back on the subject, the verb means 'to gash/cut oneself', the ritual cutting of mourners and of worshippers in a frenzy. A second verb with the same letters (some lexicons list it separately, linked to gedûd 'troop') means 'to band together, gather in troops'. The plain form can mean 'to cut down, raid'.

Against the English

KJV, WEB and YLT have 'gather thyself (in troops)'; BSB has 'mobilize your troops'. Other modern versions have 'muster/marshal'. All of these take the military sense. None of the major English versions brings out the mourning sense 'gash yourself', which is how this exact form is used everywhere else.

How it drifted

Translators were drawn by the sound-link to 'troop' (gedûd) that immediately follows, and by the siege context. That turns a lament into a call to arms.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same form means self-gashing in Deuteronomy 14:1 ('you shall not gash yourselves for the dead'), 1 Kings 18:28 (Baal's prophets 'cut themselves'), Jeremiah 16:6; 41:5; 47:5. Jeremiah 5:7 is debated ('they troop/gash themselves at the harlot's house'). In Jeremiah 48:37 the noun gedûdōt means 'gashes on all hands'. The Septuagint read a different verb (gādar, 'wall in'). The Vulgate has vastaberis, 'you will be laid waste'.

From the study of Jeremiah 5:7

Range of meaning

Two senses are attested: (1) to gash or cut oneself, a rite of mourning or of ecstatic worship; (2) to gather in bands, related to the noun gədûd, 'raiding band, troop'.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'assembled themselves by troops'; ESV 'trooped'; BSB 'assembled'; NIV 'thronged'. No major English version uses 'gashed themselves', though the supplied word data glosses it that way.

Used elsewhere in the period

Sense 'cut oneself': Deut 14:1, a prohibition; 1 Kgs 18:28, where Baal's prophets 'cut themselves'; Jer 16:6, 41:5 and 47:5, in mourning. Sense 'band together': Ps 94:21 (Qal) and probably Mic 5:1 [Heb 4:14], which plays on both senses. The Septuagint has κατέλυον, 'they lodged', probably reading the Hebrew יתגוררו.

From the study of Psalm 94:21

Range of meaning

The root gdd covers two areas. (1) To cut, gash oneself, as in mourning or ecstatic ritual (1 Kgs 18:28; Deut 14:1). (2) Connected with the noun gedud, 'raiding party, troop, band': to gather in troops, to muster, to attack as a band (Jer 5:7, 'they trooped to the house of the prostitute'; Mic 5:1 [Eng. 5:1/4:14], 'muster your troops'). A closely related root gud means 'to raid, attack' (Gen 49:19, the wordplay on Gad: 'a raiding band shall raid him'). Psalm 94:21 belongs to the second area.

Against the English

BSB, NIV, ESV and NASB give 'band together'; KJV and WEB give 'gather themselves together'. Both are accurate, but 'gather' sounds like an ordinary meeting. The Hebrew carries the feel of a war-band or gang forming up to strike. YLT's 'decree' seems to take the 'cut' sense as 'cut a decision'. No other usage supports that.

Used elsewhere in the period

Gedud is common for raiding bands, e.g. Amalekite and Aramean raiders (1 Sam 30:8; 2 Kgs 5:2). The Septuagint here reads 'they will hunt' (thēreusousin), and the Latin Vulgate follows with 'captabunt' ('they will try to catch'). Both keep the idea of predatory pursuit, whatever Hebrew word they had in front of them.

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 14:1 תִתְגֹּֽדְד֗וּ you will cut yourselves

    You are sons of the LORD your God; do not cut yourselves or shave your foreheads on behalf of the dead,

    Here: A reflexive verb form: to slash or make cuts in your own skin. It is the same verb used of Baal's prophets at Carmel who "cut themselves… until blood gushed" (1 Kings 18:28). Here it means ritual cutting in mourning.

1 Kings · 1

  1. 1 Kings 18:28 וַיִּתְגֹּֽדְדוּ֙ and they cut themselves

    So they shouted louder and cut themselves with knives and lances, as was their custom, until the blood gushed over them.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 94:21 יָ֭גוֹדּוּ they band together

    They band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.

    Here: A rare verb related to gedud, a raiding band or armed troop. It pictures the oppressors closing ranks like a gang assembling for a raid. The verb form describes ongoing or repeated action: this is what they keep doing.

Jeremiah · 4

  1. Jeremiah 5:7 יִתְגֹּדָֽדוּ׃ they cut themselves

    “Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken Me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery and assembled at the houses of prostitutes.

    Here: This word has two possible senses: 'they troop/crowd in', like a band, or 'they cut themselves', a ritual act known from the worship of Baal and from mourning. Most translations choose 'troop'. The supplied gloss chooses 'cut themselves'.

  2. Jeremiah 16:6 יִתְגֹּדַ֔ד anyone will cut himself

    “Both great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned, nor will anyone cut himself or shave his head for them.

    Here: A reflexive form: 'no one will gash himself.' This was a public mourning gesture of cutting one's own skin. The singular means 'not a single person.' The same verb is used for the Baal prophets in 1 Kgs 18:28 and in the prohibition of Deut 14:1.

  3. Jeremiah 41:5 וּמִתְגֹּֽדְדִ֑ים and having cut themselves

    eighty men who had shaved off their beards, torn their garments, and cut themselves came from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria, carrying grain offerings and frankincense for the house of the LORD.

    Here: 'Gashing themselves.' The form means they did this to their own bodies. It was a ritual cutting of the skin in mourning, the very act forbidden in Deut 14:1 and Lev 19:28. The narrator reports it without comment.

  4. Jeremiah 47:5 תִּתְגּוֹדָֽדִי׃ ס will you cut yourself

    The people of Gaza will shave their heads in mourning; Ashkelon will be silenced. O remnant of their valley, how long will you gash yourself?

Micah · 1

  1. Micah 5:1 תִּתְגֹּדְדִ֣י you will cut yourself

    Now, O daughter of troops, mobilize your troops; for a siege is laid against us! With a rod they will strike the cheek of the judge of Israel.

    Here: A verb form that turns the action back on the subject, addressed to a woman ('you'). Everywhere else this form means 'gash yourself', the mourning rite of cutting one's own skin. But it also sounds like the noun 'troop' that follows, so it can be heard as 'gather yourself in troops'. Most likely it means 'gash yourself in grief', with a pun on 'troop'.

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