Aramaic word · H7236

רְבָה

revah

to grow great

Biblical Aramaic for "grow, become great". It is used of a tree growing tall (4:11, 20 Eng.) and of a king's power growing (4:22 Eng.). The form here, "cause to become great", appears only in this verse in the Bible. Its meaning is to raise someone in honour and status.

A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?

Appears 6 times in 5 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to grow great

1a) (P'al) to grow long, grow tall and large, grow great, increase

1b) (Pael) to make great

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 Daniel 2:48

Range of meaning

Biblical Aramaic for "grow, become great". It is used of a tree growing tall (4:11, 20 Eng.) and of a king's power growing (4:22 Eng.). The form here, "cause to become great", appears only in this verse in the Bible. Its meaning is to raise someone in honour and status.

Against the English

KJV "made Daniel a great man" and WEB "made Daniel great" keep the root. BSB and NASB "promoted" and the ESV's "high honors" give the idea, but they lose the echo of the same root in "great gifts" (rabrᵉbān) and "chief" (rab).

Used elsewhere in the period

The related Aramaic root rbb/rbh is common in Imperial Aramaic (the official Aramaic of the Persian period). It also gives the title rab, "chief", which later produced "rabbi" ("my great one", "my master"). In Daniel 4 the same verb describes Nebuchadnezzar's own greatness before God humbles him.

From the study of Daniel 4:20

Range of meaning

rəbāh: to become great, large, numerous, important. təqēp: to become strong, firm, hard, mighty. In Daniel 5:20 the related form describes the king's spirit "hardened" in pride.

Against the English

KJV and WEB "grew, and was strong" flatten the first verb into plain growth. BSB "grew large and strong" and YLT "become great and strong" keep the idea of becoming great.

Used elsewhere in the period

Both verbs come back word for word in v. 22: "it is you, O king, who have grown great (rəbāyt) and become strong (təqēpt); your greatness has grown and reaches to the heavens." The repetition is how the dream interprets itself.

Where it appears

Daniel · 6

  1. Daniel 2:48 רַבִּ֗י he made great

    Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.

    Here: "He made great." The verb means "grow great", and this form means "cause to be great". It covers rank, honour and standing together, not just a new job title. The same root comes back twice more in this verse.

  2. Daniel 4:11 רְבָ֥ה it grew great

    The tree grew large and strong; its top reached the sky, and it was visible to the ends of the earth.

  3. Daniel 4:20 רְבָ֖ה it grew great

    The tree you saw that grew large and strong, whose top reached the sky and was visible to all the earth,

    Here: "It grew great". This is growth in size and importance, not just existing. The same root is used for the king in v. 22: "you have grown great" (rəbāyt), so this word carries the comparison.

  4. Daniel 4:22 רְבַ֖ית רְבָת֙ you have grown great, it has grown great

    you, O king, are that tree! For you have become great and strong; your greatness has grown to reach the sky, and your dominion extends to the ends of the earth.

  5. Daniel 4:33 רְבָ֖ה it grew long

    At that moment the sentence against Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from mankind. He ate grass like an ox, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.

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