Hebrew word · H1624

גָּרָה

yegareh

to stir up

In its basic active form, to stir up or provoke strife (Prov 15:18; 28:25; 29:22). In the reflexive form used here, to stir oneself up against someone, take them on, or engage them in conflict. It is often used of war.

Appears 14 times in 13 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to cause strife, stir up, contend, meddle, strive, be stirred up

1a) (Piel) to stir up strife, excite strife

1b)(Hithpael)

1b1) to excite oneself against, engage in strife

1b2) to excite oneself (against foe), wage war

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 28:4

Range of meaning

In its basic active form, to stir up or provoke strife (Prov 15:18; 28:25; 29:22). In the reflexive form used here, to stir oneself up against someone, take them on, or engage them in conflict. It is often used of war.

Against the English

KJV/WEB: "contend with them". BSB/NIV: "resist them". ESV/NASB: "strive". NLT: "fight them". YLT: "plead against them". YLT's rendering sounds like legal argument and is the weakest. "Resist" can sound defensive. The Hebrew describes taking the initiative to engage.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deut 2:5, 9, 19, 24 ("do not provoke them to battle"); 2 Kgs 14:10 ("why provoke trouble?"); Jer 50:24 (Babylon "strove against the LORD"); Dan 11:10, 25 (kings mobilising for war).

From the study of Proverbs 15:18

Range of meaning

To stir up, provoke, incite. In its reflexive form it means 'to engage in strife or war with': Deuteronomy 2:5, 9, 19 tell Israel not to provoke Edom, Moab and Ammon, and Daniel 11:10 uses it of armies preparing for war.

Against the English

'Stirs up' (BSB, KJV, ESV, NASB) is accurate. NLT's 'starts fights' is fair but misses the sense of keeping a quarrel going.

Used elsewhere in the period

The same intensive form appears with the same object in Proverbs 28:25 ('a greedy man stirs up strife') and 29:22 ('a man of anger stirs up strife'). It looks like a fixed proverbial phrase.

From the study of Proverbs 29:22

Range of meaning

To provoke, stir up, or start a fight. In the reflexive form it means to engage in strife or wage war (Deut 2:5, 9, 19, 'do not provoke them'; Dan 11:10, 25). The intensive form used here appears only in Proverbs, always with 'strife' as its object (15:18; 28:25; 29:22).

Against the English

'Stirs up' (KJV, BSB, WEB) is good. The verb is active and on purpose: he does not just end up in fights, he starts them. NLT's 'starts fights' catches this.

Used elsewhere in the period

Prov 15:18 is almost the same line: 'A man of heat stirs up strife, but one long of nostrils quiets a dispute.' Prov 28:25 says 'the greedy man stirs up strife.' Deuteronomy uses the verb for military provocation.

Similar words

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 4

  1. Deuteronomy 2:5 תִּתְגָּר֣וּ you engage in strife

    Do not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even a footprint, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as his possession.

  2. Deuteronomy 2:9 תִּתְגָּ֥ר you engage in strife

    Then the LORD said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their possession.”

    Here: The verb form is reflexive ('get yourself worked up against'). It means starting or joining a fight, picking a quarrel. With 'battle' it means 'go to war with'.

  3. Deuteronomy 2:19 תִּתְגָּ֣ר you engage in strife

    But when you get close to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them, for I will not give you any of the land of the Ammonites. I have given it to the descendants of Lot as their possession.”

  4. Deuteronomy 2:24 וְהִתְגָּ֥ר and engage in strife

    “Arise, set out, and cross the Arnon Valley. See, I have delivered into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in battle.

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 14:10 תִתְגָּרֶה֙ will you engage in strife

    You have indeed defeated Edom, and your heart has become proud. Glory in that and stay at home. Why should you stir up trouble so that you fall—you and Judah with you?”

    Here: In this reflexive form (Hitpael) the verb means to work oneself up into a fight, or to provoke an opponent into battle. It is the technical language of starting a war. It does not mean minor interference.

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 25:19 תִתְגָּרֶה֙ will you engage in strife

    You have said, ‘Look, I have defeated Edom,’ and your heart has become proud and boastful. Now stay at home. Why should you stir up trouble so that you fall—you and Judah with you?”

Proverbs · 4

  1. Proverbs 15:18 יְגָרֶ֣ה he stirs up

    A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger calms dispute.

    Here: An intensive form describing what this person habitually does: he whips up and provokes conflict. He doesn't just get caught in fights; he starts them and stokes them.

  2. Proverbs 28:4 יִתְגָּ֥רוּ they engage in strife

    Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law resist them.

    Here: This reflexive form means "to stir oneself up for a fight" or "to take someone on". Elsewhere it is used of going to war. It describes active, open opposition, not just quiet disapproval.

  3. Proverbs 28:25 יְגָרֶ֣ה he stirs up

    A greedy man stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper.

    Here: "He stirs up" or "he provokes". The verb form describes what he habitually does: wherever he goes he keeps setting off conflict. Proverbs uses the same phrase for the hot-tempered man (15:18; 29:22).

  4. Proverbs 29:22 יְגָרֶ֣ה he stirs up

    An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered man abounds in transgression.

    Here: An intensive verb form: he actively stirs strife up, poking at it until it flares. The ongoing tense marks what he habitually does.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 50:24 הִתְגָּרִֽית׃ you engaged in strife

    I laid a snare for you, O Babylon, and you were caught before you knew it. You were found and captured because you challenged the LORD.

Daniel · 3

  1. Daniel 11:10 יִתְגָּר֗וּ וְיִתְגָּרֶ֖ה they will wage war, so it may wage war

    But his sons will stir up strife and assemble a great army, which will advance forcefully, sweeping through like a flood, and will again carry the battle as far as his fortress.

  2. Daniel 11:25 יִתְגָּרֶה֙ he will get ready

    And with a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South, who will mobilize a very large and powerful army but will not withstand the plots devised against him.

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