Aramaic word · H1467
גֵּוָה
begevah
pride
Pride, haughtiness, lifting oneself up. It is related to Hebrew gaʾavah/geʾah ('rising up, arrogance'), whose root means 'to rise high.'
A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?
Appears once in the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·
What it means
pride
Aramaic of ge.vah (גֵּוָה "pride" H1466)
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
Pride, haughtiness, lifting oneself up. It is related to Hebrew gaʾavah/geʾah ('rising up, arrogance'), whose root means 'to rise high.'
- Against the English
Every major version says 'pride', and that is accurate. But modern 'pride' often means healthy self-respect or satisfaction ('proud of my kids'), which this word does not include.
- How it drifted
Since the 20th century, English 'pride' has picked up positive meanings, such as dignity and self-respect, that the biblical word never has.
- Used elsewhere in the period
In biblical Aramaic it appears only in Daniel (4:37; compare Job 22:29 and 33:17 for the Hebrew geʾah/gevah). Theodotion has hyperēphania ('arrogance, haughtiness'). The Hebrew relatives describe things that rise up, like the sea's swelling (Ps 89:9), and then human arrogance.
Where it appears
Daniel · 1
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Daniel 4:37 בְּגֵוָ֔ה in pride
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride.
Here: 'In pride': haughtiness, raising oneself up and taking credit that belongs to God, as in 4:30.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.