Hebrew word · H1447

גָּדֵר

gader

wall

A wall, usually built of stacked fieldstones, around a vineyard, a field or a path (Numbers 22:24; Isaiah 5:5; Proverbs 24:31; Ecclesiastes 10:8). The verb means to build such a wall, or to wall something up or off (Hosea 2:6; Amos 9:11, 'repair its breaches').

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

What it means

fence, wall

Also means: ge.der (גֶּדֶר "wall" H1444)

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 Ezekiel 13:5

Range of meaning

A wall, usually built of stacked fieldstones, around a vineyard, a field or a path (Numbers 22:24; Isaiah 5:5; Proverbs 24:31; Ecclesiastes 10:8). The verb means to build such a wall, or to wall something up or off (Hosea 2:6; Amos 9:11, 'repair its breaches'). A related form, gederah, can mean a stone sheep-pen (Numbers 32:16).

Against the English

KJV "made up the hedge". Modern versions say "wall" (BSB 'restore the wall', WEB 'built up the wall', YLT 'fence').

How it drifted

In 1611 'hedge' could mean any fence or barrier. Today it means a row of bushes, which suggests something soft and decorative rather than stone defences.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 5:5 sets the plant hedge (mesukkah) beside the stone wall (gader) of the vineyard as two different things. Micah 7:11 promises 'a day for building your walls (gederayikh)'. In Ezekiel 42:7 a gader is an outer stone wall of the temple complex.

From the study of Isaiah 5:5

Range of meaning

A wall or fence, typically of loose-laid fieldstones, around a vineyard, sheepfold or road. A related form gederah means 'sheepfold, enclosure'.

Against the English

'Wall' is right. The point is that this is a second and more solid barrier in addition to the hedge, so the owner removes both layers of protection.

Used elsewhere in the period

Num 22:24 (a narrow path between vineyards 'with a wall on this side and a wall on that side'); Prov 24:31 (the sluggard's vineyard with its 'stone wall broken down'); Ps 80:12; Ezek 13:5.

From the study of Ezra 9:9

Range of meaning

A wall or fence of stones, especially around a vineyard, field or path (Num 22:24; Prov 24:31; Isa 5:5; Ps 80:12). Its main idea is enclosure and protection. The usual word for a fortified city wall is ḥômâ, which Nehemiah uses throughout. Micah 7:11 may use gādēr for Jerusalem's walls, but that is unusual.

Against the English

KJV, WEB, YLT and NASB say "a wall". NIV and BSB say "a wall of protection". ESV gives the sense as "protection". A bare "wall" invites readers to picture Jerusalem's city wall, which was not rebuilt until Nehemiah, about 13 years after this prayer.

How it drifted

Readers naturally merge Ezra's prayer with the wall-building story in the book of Nehemiah that follows.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 5:5: God threatens to "break down its gādēr" around his vineyard, Israel. Psalm 80:12: "Why have you broken down its walls (gədērêhā)?" The Septuagint translates Ezra's word as phragmos, "fence, hedge", and the Vulgate (the Latin Bible) has saepes, "hedge".

Where it appears

Numbers · 2

  1. Numbers 22:24 גָּדֵ֥ר וְגָדֵ֥ר a wall, and a wall

    Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow passage between two vineyards, with walls on either side.

Ezra · 1

  1. Ezra 9:9 גָדֵ֔ר a wall

    Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but He has extended to us grace in the sight of the kings of Persia, giving us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and giving us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.

    Here: Usually the low stone wall around a vineyard or field. Here it is a picture of protected, enclosed space under God's care through Persian authority, not Jerusalem's city wall.

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 62:3 גָּ֝דֵ֗ר a fence

    How long will you threaten a man? Will all of you throw him down like a leaning wall or a tottering fence?

    Here: A dry-stone boundary wall around a field or vineyard (Num 22:24; Isa 5:5). It is held up only by the stones balancing on each other, so it is easy to topple.

  2. Psalm 80:12 גְדֵרֶ֑יהָ walls its

    Why have You broken down its walls, so that all who pass by pick its fruit?

Ecclesiastes · 1

  1. Ecclesiastes 10:8 גָּדֵ֖ר a wall

    He who digs a pit may fall into it, and he who breaches a wall may be bitten by a snake.

    Here: A wall, usually a dry-stone wall around a field, vineyard or terrace. Its loose stones and crevices are exactly where snakes shelter.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 5:5 גְּדֵר֖וֹ wall its

    Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will tear down its wall, and it will be trampled.

    Here: 'Its wall': a dry-stone wall, probably built from the stones cleared from the field in v. 2. It is a second, sturdier layer of protection beyond the thorn hedge.

Ezekiel · 3

  1. Ezekiel 13:5 גָדֵ֖ר a wall

    You did not go up to the gaps or restore the wall around the house of Israel so that it would stand in the battle on the Day of the LORD.

    Here: "A wall". The noun repeats the verb's root, as in "you didn't wall a wall". A gader is a solid stone wall like the walls around vineyards and fields, not a hedge of plants.

  2. Ezekiel 22:30 גָּדֵר֩ a wall

    I searched for a man among them to repair the wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, so that I should not destroy it. But I found no one.

    Here: The noun comes from the same root as the verb before it, so the phrase reads like "a wall-waller of a wall." A gādēr is usually a dry-stone wall around a vineyard, field or path, not the great city rampart. It is a modest, practical wall that someone has to rebuild by hand.

  3. Ezekiel 42:7 וְגָדֵ֤ר and [the] wall

    An outer wall in front of the chambers was fifty cubits long and ran parallel to the chambers and the outer court.

Hosea · 1

  1. Hosea 2:6 גְּדֵרָ֔הּ wall her

    Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her path with thorns; I will enclose her with a wall, so she cannot find her way.

Micah · 1

  1. Micah 7:11 גְּדֵרָ֑יִךְ walls your

    The day for rebuilding your walls will come—the day for extending your boundary.

    Here: "Your walls": the 'your' is feminine and speaks to Lady Zion, the city pictured as a woman, as in 7:8–10. A gader is the stone wall around a vineyard or sheepfold, not mainly a city's defensive rampart.

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