Hebrew word · H1421

גִּדּוּפִים

vegidufei

reviling

Revilings, taunts, abusive or blasphemous words. The verb gidda (Piel) means to revile or blaspheme, especially to mock a god or his people.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. · Updated October 31, 2026

What it means

revilings, reviling words

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Range of meaning: Revilings, taunts, abusive or blasphemous words. The verb gidda (Piel) means to revile or blaspheme, especially to mock a god or his people.
Against the English: KJV 'reproaches', BSB 'reproach' and NIV 'scorn' suggest disapproval or contempt. WEB 'an insult' is closer. The Hebrew is stronger and noisier than 'reproach': it is jeering, mocking speech.
How it drifted: English 'reproach' now often means mild disapproval ('above reproach'). The Hebrew word is about loud public taunting.
Used elsewhere in the period: In 2 Kings 19:6, 22 and Isaiah 37:6, 23 the verb is used of the Assyrian Rabshakeh blaspheming the God of Israel. Zephaniah 2:8 speaks of 'the revilings of the Ammonites' against God's people. In Isaiah 51:7 God tells his people, 'do not be dismayed at their revilings (gidufotam)'.

Range of meaning: Revilings: contemptuous, abusive, often blasphemous insults. The verb form (giddef) means to revile or blaspheme.
Against the English: 'Insults' (BSB, WEB) is accurate but a little flat. 'Revilings' (KJV) keeps more of the venom.
Used elsewhere in the period: Isa 37:6, 23 (2 Kgs 19:6, 22): the Assyrian official's taunts 'with which they have reviled me', answered by 'Do not be afraid.' Zeph 2:8. Ezek 5:15.

Range of meaning: Revilings: cutting, abusive speech. The verb from the same root (gādap, piel) means to revile or blaspheme. It is used for speaking against God (Num 15:30; 2 Kgs 19:6, 22) and for verbal abuse in general (Ps 44:16).
Against the English: BSB, NIV and WEB say 'insults'; KJV and YLT say 'revilings'. Both are fair. 'Insults' sounds lighter than the Hebrew, because the root is the language of blasphemy.
Used elsewhere in the period: The noun occurs only three times: Isa 43:28, Isa 51:7 ('do not be dismayed at their revilings', paired with ḥerpah, as here), and Zeph 2:8. The related noun giddufah occurs in Ezek 5:15. The Greek Septuagint renders it unusually as kondylismoi, 'blows with the fist'.

Isaiah · 2

Isaiah 43:28 לְגִדּוּפִֽים׃ ס to reviling words

So I will disgrace the princes of your sanctuary, and I will devote Jacob to destruction and Israel to reproach.”

Here: Insulting, mocking speech, the kind of jeering that degrades a person or even blasphemes a god. Israel is handed over to become the target of the nations' taunts.
Isaiah 51:7 וּמִגִּדֻּפֹתָ֖ם and from reviling words their

Listen to Me, you who know what is right, you people with My law in your hearts: Do not fear the scorn of men; do not be broken by their insults.

Here: 'And from their revilings': vicious, contemptuous abuse. The same root is used for the Assyrian envoy's mockery of God in Isaiah 37:6, 23. The prefix 'from' marks the insults as what could cause the shattering.

Zephaniah · 1

Zephaniah 2:8 וְגִדּוּפֵ֖י and [the] reviling words of

“I have heard the reproach of Moab and the insults of the Ammonites, who have taunted My people and threatened their borders.

Here: Abusive, cutting words. The plural points to repeated insults. This is a rare noun from the same root as the verb used for blaspheming God (2 Kgs 19:6, 22). It stands parallel to 'scorn'.

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