Lexical Summary
gabahh: To be high, exalted, lofty, proud
Original Word:גָּבַהּ
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:gabahh
Pronunciation:gah-VAH
Phonetic Spelling:(gaw-bah')
KJV: exalt, be haughty, be (make) high(-er), lift up, mount up, be proud, raise up great height, upward
Word Origin:[a primitive root]
1. to soar
2. be lofty
3. (figuratively) to be haughty
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
exalt, be haughty, be make higher, lift up, mount up, be proud, raise up great height, upward
A primitive root; to soar, i.e. Be lofty; figuratively, to be haughty -- exalt, be haughty, be (make) high(-er), lift up, mount up, be proud, raise up great height, upward.
Brown-Driver-Briggs
(Late Hebrew
id. (Hiph`il), Aramaic , compare Arabic
forehead,
prominence of forehead; compare perhaps also Assyrian
gabâni,
heights (?) Lotz
TP 133) —
Perfect 2Chronicles 26:16 5t.;Ezekiel 31:5 ( = );Ezekiel 31:10,Job 35:5 3t.;ImperfectProverbs 18:12 5t.; suffixEzekiel 31:14,Job 36:7,Jeremiah 13:15,Ezekiel 16:50;InfinitivePsalm 103:11,Zephaniah 3:11; —
be high, lofty, tall, e.g. treeEzekiel 19:11;Ezekiel 31:5,10,14, heavensJob 35:5;Isaiah 55:9;Psalm 103:11, man1 Samuel 10:23.
be exalted, of man in dignity and honourJob 36:7, of servant of YahwehIsaiah 52:13, GodIsaiah 5:16, God's waysIsaiah 55:9.
lofty : —
,encouraged in the ways of Yahweh 2 Chronicles 17:6;
,be haughtyPsalm 131:1;Proverbs 18:12; 2Chronicles 26:16; 32:25;Ezekiel 28:2,5,17, and so withoutIsaiah 3:16;Jeremiah 13:15;Ezekiel 16:50;Zephaniah 3:11.
PerfectEzekiel 17:24;ImperfectJob 39:27;Jeremiah 49:16; Obadiah 4; 2Chronicles 33:14;Job 5:7;InfinitiveIsaiah 7:11;Ezekiel 21:31;ParticipleProverbs 17:19;Psalm 113:5; —make high, exalt, e.g. treesEzekiel 17:24, wall 2Chronicles 33:14, gateProverbs 17:19, nestJeremiah 49:16; Obadiah 4, dwellingPsalm 103:5, a requestIsaiah 7:11, the lowlyEzekiel 21:31;make their flight high, soar aloftJob 5:7, withoutJob 39:27.
Topical Lexicon
Semantic Range and Thematic Coreגָּבַהּ (gabah) denotes elevation—literally of terrain, structure, or flight, and figuratively of spirit, status, or thought. Within its thirty-four Old Testament appearances, the word forms a theological axis: whenever sinful humanity “lifts itself up,” the Lord brings that height low; when the Lord is the One exalted, His loftiness is celebrated as righteous and saving.
Literal Elevation
1. Physical Height
•Job 39:27 pictures the eagle that “mounts up” at God’s command, illustrating the Creator’s authority over the highest flights of nature.
•Isaiah 55:9 uses the boundless gap between heaven and earth—“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways”—to stress divine transcendence.
2. Military and Architectural Contexts
Israel’s fortified cities are occasionally called “lofty,” but the prophets remind the people that even the most elevated walls fall before the Lord (Isaiah 26:5).
Metaphorical Elevation—Pride in the Human Heart
1. Personal Pride
•Proverbs 16:18–19: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly with the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.”
•Psalm 131:1 contrasts the psalmist’s humility with gabah-type pride: “O LORD, my heart is not proud, my eyes are not haughty.”
2. Royal Pride
The Chronicler twice applies gabah to monarchs whose success bred self-exaltation:
• Uzziah: “But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction” (2 Chronicles 26:16).
• Hezekiah: “Hezekiah did not repay according to the favor shown him, for his heart became proud” (2 Chronicles 32:25). Both narratives end with judgment or threat and the clear warning that covenant blessing never legitimizes arrogance.
3. National Pride
•Jeremiah 48:29–30 indicts Moab: “We have heard of the pride of Moab—his exceeding pride and conceit, his arrogance and haughtiness.”
• Obadiah 4 delivers a near-poetic reversal: “Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the LORD.”
Divine Exaltation
While gabah regularly exposes human arrogance, it is also used to magnify God’s legitimate supremacy.Psalm 138:6 celebrates, “Though the LORD is on high, He attends to the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar.” The same vocabulary that condemns human self-promotion extols God’s inherent majesty, underscoring the moral difference between Creator and creature.
Wisdom Literature’s Pedagogy
Proverbs clusters gabah terms to create a pedagogical rhythm: human elevation invites a corresponding collapse, whereas humility attracts favor (Proverbs 18:12). This didactic use furnishes pastoral counselors with concise, memorable warnings against self-reliance.
Prophetic Oracles of Reversal
Isaiah’s early oracles (Isaiah 2:11–17) catalogue everything “lofty” that the Day of the LORD will humble, ranging from cedars of Lebanon to trading fleets. The repetitive cadence—“The pride of men will be humbled and the loftiness of men brought low”—weaves gabah into eschatological hope: universal righteousness cannot dawn until pride is judged.
Historical Theology
1. Pre-Exilic Lesson
Judah’s kings illustrate the misuse of covenant privilege. Uzziah’s and Hezekiah’s failures embed gabah in Israel’s communal memory: success apart from submission breeds downfall.
2. Post-Exilic Perspective
The Chronicler, writing to a restored community, wields these narratives as exhortation: national survival depends upon humility before a “high” yet accessible God.
Christological Trajectory
Though gabah itself is absent from the New Testament, its concept finds fulfillment in the kenosis of Christ.Philippians 2:8-9 records that He “humbled Himself… therefore God exalted Him.” The pattern mirrors Old Testament reversals: genuine humility leads to God-ordained exaltation, whereas self-exaltation meets divine resistance (James 4:6).
Pastoral and Ministry Implications
1. Spiritual Formation
Gabah texts encourage regular heart-examination. Leaders are warned by Uzziah; worshipers are invited toPsalm 131’s quiet trust. Prayer that asks “Search me, O God” (Psalm 139:23) seeks to uproot nascent pride before it matures into destruction.
2. Preaching and Discipleship
• UseProverbs 16:18 andIsaiah 2 to confront cultural messages of self-promotion.
• Contrast God’s “high” ways (Isaiah 55:9) with the downward path of Christ’s incarnation to model servant leadership.
3. Community Ethics
Ecclesial decision-making must guard against corporate pride—church growth, resources, or history can subtly “lift up” a congregation. Gabah warns that shared arrogance is no safer than individual.
Summary
Gabah threads through Scripture as a moral barometer: height is blessed when ascribed to God or granted by Him; the same height becomes toxic when self-sought. The thirty-four verses that employ the verb invite every generation to bow low, trust high, and await the day when the Lord alone “will be exalted” (Isaiah 2:17).
Forms and Transliterations
גָּבְה֤וּ גָּבְה֥וּ גָּבְהָ֣א גָּבַ֖הְתָּ גָּבַ֤הּ גָֽבְהוּ֙ גָבְה֥וּ גָבַ֖הּ גָבַ֣הּ גבה גבהא גבהו גבהת הִגְבַּ֙הְתִּי֙ הַֽמַּגְבִּיהִ֥י הַגְבֵּ֔הַ הַגְבֵּ֥הַּ הגבה הגבהתי המגביהי וְגָבַ֖הּ וַֽתִּגְבְּהֶ֔ינָה וַיִּגְבַּ֛ה וַיִּגְבַּ֥הּ וַיִּגְבַּהּ֙ וַיִּגְבָּֽהוּ׃ וַיַּגְבִּיהֶ֖הָ וַתִּגְבַּ֥הּ וגבה ויגבה ויגבהו׃ ויגביהה ותגבה ותגבהינה יִגְבְּה֨וּ יִגְבַּ֣הּ יַגְבִּ֣יהַּ יַגְבִּ֥יהוּ יגבה יגבהו יגביה יגביהו כִגְבֹ֣הַּ כגבה לְגָבְהָ֛ה לגבהה מַגְבִּ֥יהַּ מגביה תִּגְבָּ֑הוּ תַּגְבִּ֣יהַּ תַגְבִּ֤יהַ תגבהו תגביה chigVoah gā·ḇah ḡā·ḇah gā·ḇah·tā gā·ḇə·hā gā·ḇə·hū ḡā·ḇə·hū gāḇah ḡāḇah gāḇahtā gāḇəhā gāḇəhū ḡāḇəhū gaVah gaVahta gaveHa gaveHu haḡ·bê·ah haḡ·bê·ha hagBeah haḡbêah hagBeha haḡbêha ham·maḡ·bî·hî hammagbiHi hammaḡbîhî hiḡ·bah·tî higBahti hiḡbahtî ḵiḡ·ḇō·ah ḵiḡḇōah lə·ḡā·ḇə·hāh ləḡāḇəhāh legaveHah maḡ·bî·ah magBiah maḡbîah taḡ·bî·ah ṯaḡ·bî·ha tagBiah taḡbîah tagBiha ṯaḡbîha tiḡ·bā·hū tigBahu tiḡbāhū vaiyagbiHeha vaiyigBah vaiyigBahu vattigBah vattigbeHeinah vegaVah wat·tiḡ·bah wat·tiḡ·bə·he·nāh wattiḡbah wattiḡbəhenāh way·yaḡ·bî·he·hā way·yiḡ·bā·hū way·yiḡ·bah wayyaḡbîhehā wayyiḡbah wayyiḡbāhū wə·ḡā·ḇah wəḡāḇah yaḡ·bî·ah yaḡ·bî·hū yagBiah yaḡbîah yagBihu yaḡbîhū yiḡ·bah yiḡ·bə·hū yigBah yiḡbah yigbeHu yiḡbəhū
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