Hebrew word · H417

אֶלְגָּבִישׁ

'elgavish

hail

Hail, in the set phrase "stones of ʾelgābîš". The ordinary Hebrew word for hail is bārād, so this is an unusual choice. It is probably a loanword related to Akkadian algamīšu and Ugaritic ʾalgbṯ, names of a hard stone, and to Hebrew gābîš, "crystal" (Job 28:18).

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

What it means

hail (lit. -pearls of God)

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 Ezekiel 13:11

Range of meaning

Hail, in the set phrase "stones of ʾelgābîš". The ordinary Hebrew word for hail is bārād, so this is an unusual choice. It is probably a loanword related to Akkadian algamīšu and Ugaritic ʾalgbṯ, names of a hard stone, and to Hebrew gābîš, "crystal" (Job 28:18). The etymology is likely but not settled; an older proposal took the first syllable as an Arabic article.

Against the English

"Hailstones" (BSB, YLT, NASB) gives the sense. "Great hailstones" (KJV, WEB, ESV) adds a size that no separate Hebrew word states, though it may fairly reflect how heavy the phrase sounds.

Used elsewhere in the period

Found only in Ezekiel 13:11, 13:13 and 38:22. Hail as God's weapon is widespread under other words: Exodus 9:18-26, Joshua 10:11, Isaiah 30:30, and Job 38:22-23, where hail is stored up "for the day of battle".

Where it appears

Ezekiel · 3

  1. Ezekiel 13:11 אֶלְגָּבִישׁ֙ hail

    tell those whitewashing the wall that it will fall. Rain will come in torrents, I will send hailstones plunging down, and a windstorm will burst forth.

    Here: A rare word, found only in Ezekiel (13:11, 13:13, 38:22), probably borrowed from a term for a hard crystalline stone. It makes the hail sound harder and stranger than the ordinary Hebrew word would.

  2. Ezekiel 13:13 אֶלְגָּבִ֖ישׁ hail

    Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: In My wrath I will release a windstorm, and in My anger torrents of rain and hail will fall with destructive fury.

  3. Ezekiel 38:22 אֶלְגָּבִ֜ישׁ hail

    I will execute judgment upon him with plague and bloodshed. I will pour out torrents of rain, hailstones, fire, and sulfur on him and on his troops and on the many nations with him.

    Here: A rare word found only in Ezekiel (13:11, 13; here). Context and the early translations make 'hail' or 'ice' almost certain, but where the word comes from is unclear.

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