Hebrew word · H1606

גְּעָרָה

ge'arah

rebuke

From gāʿar, 'to rebuke, shout at, roar against'. It can mean a verbal reprimand (Prov 13:1), but with God and the waters it is a warrior's roar, a blast that makes the enemy retreat.

Appears 15 times in 14 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

a rebuke, reproof

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 Isaiah 50:2

Range of meaning

From gāʿar, 'to rebuke, shout at, roar against'. It can mean a verbal reprimand (Prov 13:1), but with God and the waters it is a warrior's roar, a blast that makes the enemy retreat.

Against the English

All the main versions say 'rebuke'. To a modern reader that suggests a stern verbal correction. The Hebrew picture is a battle cry that sends the sea running.

How it drifted

English 'rebuke' has narrowed to scolding. The Hebrew word, in its divine-warrior use, belongs to the language of combat.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 104:7: 'At your rebuke they [the waters] fled'. Ps 106:9: 'He rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up'. Ps 18:15: the channels of the sea exposed 'at your rebuke'. Nah 1:4: 'He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; he dries up all the rivers' (very close to this verse). Ugaritic texts describe the storm god Baal defeating 'Prince Sea' (Yam) and 'Judge River' (Nahar), the same pair named here.

From the study of Isaiah 51:20

Range of meaning

A rebuke, a threatening shout, a roar. When God is the subject, it is a voice with real force that does things: it dries up seas, makes the foundations of the world shake, and drives off enemies.

Against the English

Every major version says 'rebuke'. In modern English that sounds like a verbal telling-off. In Hebrew, God's geʿārâ is the blast that knocks things down.

How it drifted

English 'rebuke' has narrowed to mean a verbal reprimand. When used of God in Hebrew, the word keeps the force of a storm or a war cry.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isa 50:2, 'by my rebuke I dry up the sea'; Ps 18:15 (= 2 Sam 22:16), the channels of the sea are laid bare 'at your rebuke, O LORD'; Ps 104:7, the waters flee 'at your rebuke'; Isa 17:13 and 66:15, rebuke paired with fire.

From the study of Isaiah 30:17

Range of meaning

A loud, threatening outburst: a rebuke, roar, snort or war-cry. In poetry it is often a force that drives back an enemy or a power of nature. It can also mean a verbal reproof (Proverbs 13:1, 17:10), but in battle and creation scenes it is a sound that makes things flee.

Against the English

KJV has 'rebuke'. BSB, WEB and most modern versions have 'threat'. Modern 'rebuke' means a scolding, which is far too mild for a battlefield. 'Threat' is closer, but it loses the sense of a sound that is actually heard: a shout or bellow.

How it drifted

When the KJV was made, English 'rebuke' (from Anglo-Norman rebuker, 'to beat back, repulse') could still mean driving an enemy back. Since then the word has narrowed to verbal correction.

Used elsewhere in the period

God's gaʿărâ dries up the sea and makes the waters flee (Psalm 104:7; Isaiah 50:2). It is paired with 'the blast of the breath of your nostrils' (Psalm 18:15). At it, 'horse and chariot' lie stunned (Psalm 76:6). Isaiah 17:13 is especially close: God 'rebukes' (gāʿar) the roaring nations 'and they flee (nās) far away'. The same two words appear there as here.

Where it appears

2 Samuel · 1

  1. 2 Samuel 22:16 בְּגַעֲרַ֣ת at [the] rebuke of

    The channels of the sea appeared, and the foundations of the world were exposed at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

Job · 1

  1. Job 26:11 מִגַּעֲרָתֽוֹ׃ from rebuke his

    The foundations of heaven quake, astounded at His rebuke.

Psalms · 4

  1. Psalm 18:15 מִגַּעֲרָ֣תְךָ֣ from rebuke your

    The channels of the sea appeared, and the foundations of the world were exposed, at Your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

    Here: 'From your rebuke,' meaning because of it. This is not a scolding. It is God's roaring shout against the waters, the cry that drives them back.

  2. Psalm 76:6 מִ֭גַּעֲרָ֣תְךָ from rebuke your

    At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both horse and rider lie stunned.

    Here: The prefix mi(n) means 'from', in the sense of cause: 'because of, at'. The noun is God's war-shout, the overwhelming blast of his voice that stops enemies or the sea. Here it is not a scolding. It is the sound that knocks an army flat. The suffix -kha means 'your', addressed straight to God.

  3. Psalm 80:16 מִגַּעֲרַ֖ת from [the] rebuke of

    Your vine has been cut down and burned; they perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.

  4. Psalm 104:7 גַּעֲרָ֣תְךָ֣ rebuke your

    At Your rebuke the waters fled; at the sound of Your thunder they hurried away—

Proverbs · 3

  1. Proverbs 13:1 גְּעָרָֽה׃ a rebuke

    A wise son heeds his father’s discipline, but a mocker does not listen to rebuke.

    Here: A strong, loud rebuke, harsher than 'instruction'. It is singular with no article, 'a rebuke': not even a sharp word gets through to him.

  2. Proverbs 13:8 גְּעָרָֽה׃ a threat

    Riches may ransom a man’s life, but a poor man hears no threat.

    Here: A sharp, menacing shout: a rebuke backed by force. Paired with 'ransom', it most naturally means a threat or demand made on someone's life or property.

  3. Proverbs 17:10 גְּעָרָ֣ה a rebuke

    A rebuke cuts into a man of discernment deeper than a hundred lashes cut into a fool.

    Here: A spoken correction with real force behind it. It is a sharp word, not a gentle suggestion. In this proverb it stands for words alone, set against the physical blows in the second half.

Ecclesiastes · 1

  1. Ecclesiastes 7:5 גַּעֲרַ֣ת [the] rebuke of

    It is better to heed a wise man’s rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.

Isaiah · 5

  1. Isaiah 30:17 גַּעֲרַ֣ת גַּעֲרַ֥ת [the] threat of

    A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee, until you are left alone like a pole on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill.

    Here: The roar or war-shout of one enemy soldier. No blow is struck. The noise alone is enough to set a thousand running.

  2. Isaiah 50:2 בְּגַעֲרָתִ֞י by rebuke my

    Why was no one there when I arrived? Why did no one answer when I called? Is My hand too short to redeem you? Or do I lack the strength to deliver you? Behold, My rebuke dries up the sea; I turn the rivers into a desert; the fish rot for lack of water and die of thirst.

    Here: 'By my rebuke'. Not a scolding but a thunderous battle shout that drives back the waters, as at the Red Sea (Ps 106:9) and in the poetry of God fighting the sea (Ps 104:7; Nah 1:4).

  3. Isaiah 51:20 גַּעֲרַ֥ת [the] rebuke of

    Your sons have fainted; they lie at the head of every street, like an antelope in a net. They are full of the wrath of the LORD, the rebuke of your God.

    Here: 'The rebuke of.' This is not just a scolding. It is the powerful blast of God's voice that drives back the sea and scatters enemies. It parallels 'wrath' and names the same force from another angle.

  4. Isaiah 66:15 וְגַעֲרָת֖וֹ and rebuke his

    For behold, the LORD will come with fire—His chariots are like a whirlwind—to execute His anger with fury and His rebuke with flames of fire.

    Here: Not a lecture. In God-as-warrior passages it is the overpowering shout or blast that drives back the sea and routs enemies (Ps 18:15; Isa 50:2; Ps 104:7). Here that blast is delivered 'in flames of fire'.

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