Hebrew word · H1610

גַּף

begapo

single|height

Very rare. In Exod 21:3–4 the phrase be-gappo means 'by himself, alone' (literally something like 'with his body/back'). In Prov 9:3 it seems to mean 'top, back, raised part' of something. Some link it to Ugaritic gp, 'edge, shore' (as in gp ym, 'the shore of the sea').

Appears 4 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) body, self (only in phrase, eg by himself)

2) height, elevation

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 Proverbs 9:3

Range of meaning

Very rare. In Exod 21:3–4 the phrase be-gappo means 'by himself, alone' (literally something like 'with his body/back'). In Prov 9:3 it seems to mean 'top, back, raised part' of something. Some link it to Ugaritic gp, 'edge, shore' (as in gp ym, 'the shore of the sea').

Against the English

YLT and NASB keep it as 'the tops of'. KJV, BSB and WEB merge it with the next word into 'highest places' or 'heights'. NIV and ESV say 'highest point/places'. Merging the two words is acceptable, since the doubled phrase is a way of saying 'highest'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Elsewhere in the Bible only in Exod 21:3–4. Lexicons (BDB, HALOT) list the meanings 'body, self' and 'height, elevation' and admit the link between them is unclear.

From the study of Exodus 21:4

Range of meaning

The noun gaf is rare. Outside this passage it appears in Proverbs 9:3, 14, in the phrase 'the heights (or high places) of the city'. In Exodus 21:3–4 the set phrase begappo plainly means 'by himself, alone'. What the word literally pictures is uncertain. Options include 'body/person' (with his body only), 'edge/wing' (the edge of a garment, linked by some to kanaf, 'wing, hem'), or simply 'alone, single'.

Against the English

Every major English version gives the sense correctly ('by himself', 'alone'). 'Only the man shall go free' (BSB) keeps the meaning but loses how the phrase echoes v. 3, where the same word appears twice: 'if he came in begappo, he goes out begappo.'

Used elsewhere in the period

The Greek translation of the Old Testament (Septuagint) renders it monos, 'alone', in both verses. Jerome's Latin Vulgate reads the phrase as clothing: 'with such clothing as he entered, with such let him go out' (v. 3) and 'he shall go out with his clothing' (v. 4). Rashi, following earlier rabbinic tradition, took it as 'in the hem of his garment', meaning he came with nothing but what he wore. HALOT and BDB both list 'by himself' as the sense, while noting the literal meaning is unsure.

Where it appears

Exodus · 3

  1. Exodus 21:3 בְּגַפּ֥וֹ בְּגַפּ֣וֹ with body his

    If he arrived alone, he is to leave alone; if he arrived with a wife, she is to leave with him.

  2. Exodus 21:4 בְגַפּֽוֹ׃ with body his

    If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and only the man shall go free.

    Here: An unusual phrase, literally something like 'with his body/person'. It means 'by himself, alone', as he arrived in v. 3: he leaves with nothing and no one.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 9:3 גַּ֝פֵּ֗י [the] elevations of

    She has sent out her maidservants; she calls out from the heights of the city.

    Here: The tops of, or the upper edges of. A rare word whose exact sense is uncertain. Together with the next word it builds up height upon height: the very highest, most visible spots in town.

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