שָׂגַב

Deuteronomy 2:36 שָׂגְבָ֖ה it was [too] high

From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the valley, even as far as Gilead, not one city had walls too high for us. The LORD our God gave us all of them.

Here: Was too high, out of reach, impossible to take. The root describes height that gives safety. A related noun, misgav, means 'high refuge' or 'stronghold'.

Job 5:11 שָׂ֣גְבוּ they are high

He sets the lowly on high, so that mourners are lifted to safety.

Here: "They are raised high" in the sense of being lifted out of reach, like people inside a hilltop fortress. The completed verb form presents their rescue as settled and reliable, the way God always acts.

Job 36:22 יַשְׂגִּ֣יב he is exalted

Behold, God is exalted in His power. Who is a teacher like Him?

Here: From a root meaning 'high out of reach', like a fortress on a crag. In this verb form it means God acts from that height or shows himself towering and out of reach. It describes how God is and how he acts. It does not describe people praising him.

Psalm 20:1 יְ֝שַׂגֶּבְךָ֗ may it set on high you

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

Here: "May it set you on high": the picture is of being lifted onto a height where enemies cannot reach you, as on a fortified crag. That is protection pictured as height, not honour or promotion.

Psalm 59:1 תְּשַׂגְּבֵֽנִי׃ may you set on high me

For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David, when Saul sent men to watch David’s house in order to kill him. Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise against me.

Here: 'You will set me high (out of reach)': not 'exalt' in the sense of honour, but lift to a height where attackers cannot get at him, like a cliff-top stronghold. The form can express a request or a confident expectation; next to the opening command it works as a plea.

Psalm 69:29 תְּשַׂגְּבֵֽנִי׃ may it set on high me

But I am in pain and distress; let Your salvation protect me, O God.

Here: 'Lift me up high out of reach', the way a high rock or fortress puts someone beyond attackers. It answers the psalm's opening picture of a man sinking in mud and deep water (vv. 1–2, 14–15): God's rescue should lift him up high and safe. The form can be read as a prayer ('let it set me high') or a confident statement ('it will set me high').

Psalm 91:14 אֲ֝שַׂגְּבֵ֗הוּ I will set on high him

“Because he loves Me, I will deliver him; because he knows My name, I will protect him.

Here: 'I will set him up high', out of the enemy's reach, like a man placed on a cliff fortress. The same root gives the psalms' word for a high refuge or stronghold.

Psalm 107:41 וַיְשַׂגֵּ֣ב and he set on high

But He lifts the needy from affliction and increases their families like flocks.

Here: To put someone high up and out of reach, the way a hilltop fortress is out of an enemy's reach. The picture is safety as much as rank: God lifts the needy to where trouble cannot get at them. The 'and' links back to v. 40 and works here as 'but': the nobles are brought down, the needy are lifted up.

Psalm 139:6 נִ֝שְׂגְּבָ֗ה it is set on high

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Here: 'It (the knowledge) stands high', lifted out of reach. This verb is used for fortified heights and walled towns that cannot be scaled (Deut 2:36; Prov 18:11), so it pictures God's knowledge as a summit or stronghold the psalmist cannot climb.

Psalm 148:13 נִשְׂגָּ֣ב [is] exalted

Let them praise the name of the LORD, for His name alone is exalted; His splendor is above the earth and the heavens.

Here: "Is set on high." The word pictures something lifted so high that nothing can reach it, like a fortress on a cliff. The form describes a lasting state, not a single event.

Proverbs 18:10 וְנִשְׂגָּֽב׃ and he is set on high

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

Here: 'And he is set high', lifted out of the enemy's reach the way someone at the top of a tower cannot be reached. 'Safe' is the result; the Hebrew word itself pictures height. The same root describes the rich man's 'high wall' in the next verse.

Proverbs 18:11 נִ֝שְׂגָּבָ֗ה high

A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city; it is like a high wall in his imagination.

Here: A passive form, 'made high, out of reach', describing the wall as too high for attackers to climb. It echoes v. 10, where the righteous 'is set safely on high' (nisgav). The same safety is promised in both verses, but only one of them actually has it.

Proverbs 29:25 יְשֻׂגָּֽב׃ he will be set on high

The fear of man is a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is set securely on high.

Here: A passive form, "will be lifted high", as if onto a height out of reach. The snare is on the ground; the one who trusts is put where it cannot reach them. The passive suggests someone else, God, does the lifting.

Isaiah 2:11 וְנִשְׂגַּ֧ב and he will be exalted

The proud look of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men brought low; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.

Here: 'And will be high, out of reach'. The root gives the noun misgāb, a high fortress or refuge too lofty to scale. Yahweh is not being raised by human praise here. His unreachable height becomes plain once every human height has collapsed.

Isaiah 2:17 וְנִשְׂגַּ֧ב and he will be exalted

So the pride of man will be brought low, and the loftiness of men will be humbled; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,

Here: "And he will be set on high": a passive or state verb meaning to be high out of reach, like a stronghold on a cliff. The point is not that people will praise him. It is that when every other height has been levelled, he alone will be left standing, unreachable.

Isaiah 9:11 וַיְשַׂגֵּ֧ב and he set on high

The LORD has raised up the foes of Rezin against him and joined his enemies together.

Here: 'And he set high', meaning he made them too high and strong to stand against. The verb usually describes God lifting his own people to a safe height. Here he lifts their enemies. The verb form normally tells a story in the past, so it reads 'and he raised up'.

Isaiah 12:4 נִשְׂגָּ֖ב [is] exalted

and on that day you will say: “Give praise to the LORD; proclaim His name! Make His works known among the peoples; declare that His name is exalted.

Here: A participle stating a fact: his name is lofty, raised beyond reach, like a stronghold on a height. It describes his standing, not something the worshipers do to him. It echoes Isaiah 2:11, 17, 'YHWH alone will be exalted in that day.'

Isaiah 26:5 נִשְׂגָּבָ֑ה set on high

For He has humbled those who dwell on high; He lays the lofty city low. He brings it down to the ground; He casts it into the dust.

Here: 'Set high,' meaning too high to be reached or attacked, and so considered safe. The same word says that 'the LORD alone will be exalted' in Isaiah 2:11, 17.

Isaiah 30:13 נִשְׂגָּבָ֑ה high

this iniquity of yours is like a breach about to fail, a bulge in a high wall, whose collapse will come suddenly—in an instant!

Here: 'Set high,' too high to be scaled, and so secure. The irony is sharp: the higher the wall, the further the bulging section has to fall. In Isaiah the same root is used of the LORD alone being 'exalted' (2:11, 17).

Isaiah 33:5 נִשְׂגָּ֣ב [is] exalted

The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.

Here: Passive-reflexive participle: Yahweh 'is set high', lifted beyond anyone's reach, like a fortress on a cliff. It describes a state Yahweh is in, not something worshippers do to him. It comes first for emphasis: high is what he is.