Hebrew word · H1583

גַּמְלִיאֵל

gamli'el

Gamaliel

A name made of a sentence: the verb or noun gamal, "to deal out fully, repay, do good to" (also "to wean," the idea of bringing something to completion), plus -i ("my" or a linking vowel) and El ("God").

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man living at the time of Egypt and Wilderness, first mentioned at Num.1.10;

son of: Pedahzur (H6301)

§ Gamaliel = "reward of God"

son of Pedahzur and the leader of the tribe of Manasseh in the wilderness

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 Numbers 7:54

Range of meaning

A name made of a sentence: the verb or noun gamal, "to deal out fully, repay, do good to" (also "to wean," the idea of bringing something to completion), plus -i ("my" or a linking vowel) and El ("God"). Common explanations are "God is my reward/recompense" and "God has dealt bountifully with me" (BDB; HALOT).

Against the English

English versions just transliterate the name, so readers lose the meaning it would have had for Hebrew speakers.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Bible this man is the only Gamaliel (Num 1:10; 2:20; 7:54, 59; 10:23). The name came back into use in the Second Temple period. The best-known bearer is Rabban Gamaliel the Elder, a Pharisee in the Sanhedrin (Acts 5:34) and Paul's teacher (Acts 22:3).

Where it appears

Numbers · 5

  1. Numbers 1:10 גַּמְלִיאֵ֖ל Gamaliel

    from the sons of Joseph: from Ephraim, Elishama son of Ammihud, and from Manasseh, Gamaliel son of Pedahzur;

  2. Numbers 2:20 גַּמְלִיאֵ֖ל [was] Gamaliel

    The tribe of Manasseh will be next to it. The leader of the Manassites is Gamaliel son of Pedahzur,

  3. Numbers 7:54 גַּמְלִיאֵ֖ל Gamaliel

    On the eighth day Gamaliel son of Pedahzur, the leader of the Manassites, drew near.

    Here: The leader's personal name, roughly "God is my reward" or "God has dealt fully with me." He is the same man named as Manasseh's chief in Num 1:10, 2:20 and 10:23.

  4. Numbers 7:59 גַּמְלִיאֵ֖ל Gamaliel

    and a peace offering of two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs a year old. This was the offering of Gamaliel son of Pedahzur.

  5. Numbers 10:23 גַּמְלִיאֵ֖ל Gamaliel

    Gamaliel son of Pedahzur was over the division of the tribe of Manasseh,

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