Hebrew word · H1420

גְּדוּלָּה

hagedulah

greatness

Greatness, majesty. Sometimes concretely 'great things, great deeds' (2 Samuel 7:21, 23; 1 Chronicles 17:19).

Appears 12 times in 11 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) greatness

1a) of man

1b) of God's greatness (as an attribute)

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 145:6

Range of meaning

Greatness, majesty. Sometimes concretely 'great things, great deeds' (2 Samuel 7:21, 23; 1 Chronicles 17:19).

Against the English

Most versions have 'greatness.' Versions that follow the written plural give 'great deeds,' which makes the word more concrete and keeps it in step with 'awesome deeds' in the first line.

Used elsewhere in the period

1 Chronicles 29:11: 'Yours, O LORD, is the greatness (ha-gedullah) and the power and the glory.' Psalm 145:3: 'his greatness (gedullato) is unsearchable.'

From the study of Psalm 71:21

Range of meaning

From the root "to be great". It means greatness in the sense of rank, dignity, honor and importance, and sometimes the great deeds that display that greatness. It is used of royal or high-court standing (Esther 1:4; 6:3; 10:2), of the greatness of God (1 Chr 29:11; Ps 145:3, 6), and of God's great acts (2 Sam 7:21, 23; 1 Chr 17:19). (BDB, HALOT s.v.)

Against the English

KJV, ESV and NASB keep "greatness". BSB, NIV and WEB say "honor". NLT says "greater honor". "Honor" is closer to how the word lands socially. "Greatness" keeps the verbal link to v. 19, where God has done "great things".

How it drifted

In modern English "my greatness" can sound like personal fame or self-promotion. The Hebrew word is about the standing and dignity a person has in the community. Here the speaker is an old man whose honor had been stripped away.

Used elsewhere in the period

Esther 6:3 pairs it with "honor" (yəqār): "What honor and gedullāh has been done for Mordecai?" The word is clearly about public rank there. 1 Chr 29:11 applies it to God: "Yours, O LORD, is the gedullāh." The Septuagint usually translates it megalōsynē ("majesty, greatness"), and here it reads "your greatness".

From the study of 2 Samuel 7:21

Range of meaning

Greatness, dignity, honour; a great deed or great thing. It comes from the root gdl, "to be or become great."

Against the English

KJV turns it into a plural, "all these great things." BSB says "this great thing." WEB, YLT and NASB keep the abstract "all this greatness." The singular abstract treats the whole promise as one act of exalting David.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same root runs through the chapter. In v. 9 God says "I will make for you a great name" (shem gadol). In v. 22 David says "therefore you are great" (gadalta). In v. 26 he prays "may your name be great" (yigdal shimkha). In Esther 6:3 the word means the honour given to Mordecai. In Psalm 145:3 and 145:6 it is used of God's greatness and great deeds. 1 Chronicles 17:19 uses it twice, the second time in the plural ("great things").

Where it appears

2 Samuel · 2

  1. 2 Samuel 7:21 הַגְּדוּלָּ֖ה the greatness

    For the sake of Your word and according to Your own heart, You have accomplished this great thing and revealed it to Your servant.

    Here: "The greatness": a singular abstract noun for the great act or great honour God has given, meaning the everlasting dynasty and the "great name" (v. 9). It shares a root with "You are great" in the next verse.

  2. 2 Samuel 7:23 הַגְּדוּלָּ֤ה <the> greatness

    And who is like Your people Israel—the one nation on earth whom God went out to redeem as a people for Himself and to make a name for Himself? You performed great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before Your people, whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt.

    Here: 'The great thing', meaning the grand deed of the Exodus and the conquest. It echoes verse 22, 'you are great' (gadalta).

1 Chronicles · 4

  1. 1 Chronicles 17:19 הַגְּדוּלָּ֖ה הַגְּדֻלּֽוֹת׃ the greatness, the greatness<es>

    O LORD. For the sake of Your servant and according to Your own heart, You have accomplished this great thing and made known all these great promises.

  2. 1 Chronicles 17:21 גְּדֻלּ֣וֹת great things

    And who is like Your people Israel—the one nation on earth whom God went out to redeem as a people for Himself? You made a name for Yourself through great and awesome wonders by driving out nations from before Your people, whom You redeemed from Egypt.

  3. 1 Chronicles 29:11 הַגְּדֻלָּ֨ה the greatness

    Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in heaven and on earth belongs to You. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all.

    Here: Greatness of rank and of deeds: the standing that makes someone 'great' and the great acts that show it. It is picked up in v. 12, where God is the one who can 'make great' (legaddel) anyone he chooses.

Esther · 3

  1. Esther 1:4 גְּדוּלָּת֑וֹ greatness his

    And for a full 180 days he displayed the glorious riches of his kingdom and the magnificent splendor of his greatness.

  2. Esther 6:3 וּגְדוּלָּ֛ה and greatness

    The king inquired, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this act?” “Nothing has been done for him,” replied the king’s attendants.

    Here: Rank or high standing: promotion and elevation in status. Paired with yeqar, it means “honour and advancement,” the two kinds of payment a king owed a man who had served him well.

  3. Esther 10:2 גְּדֻלַּ֣ת [the] greatness of

    And all of Mordecai’s powerful and magnificent accomplishments, together with the full account of the greatness to which the king had raised him, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia?

Psalms · 3

  1. Psalm 71:21 גְּֽדֻלָּתִ֗י greatness my

    You will increase my honor and comfort me once again.

    Here: "My greatness": the speaker's public standing and dignity. The enemies had read his troubles as proof that God had dropped him (v. 11). It echoes v. 19, where God is the one who "has done great things" (gedōlôt).

  2. Psalm 145:3 וְ֝לִגְדֻלָּת֗וֹ and to greatness his

    Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; His greatness is unsearchable.

    Here: "And" + "to/with respect to" + "greatness" + "his". The noun comes from the same root as the line's first word, so the line opens and closes on greatness. The preposition marks what is being talked about: "as for his greatness…".

  3. Psalm 145:6 וּגְדוּלָּתְךָ֥ and greatness your

    They will proclaim the power of Your awesome deeds, and I will declare Your greatness.

    Here: God's greatness. It echoes verse 3, where 'his greatness' cannot be searched out. The written consonants point to a plural, 'your great deeds,' but the traditional reading is the singular.

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