Lexical Summary
qibbuts: Gathering, assembly, collection
Original Word:קִבּוּץ
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:qibbuwts
Pronunciation:kee-BOOTZ
Phonetic Spelling:(kib-boots')
KJV: company
NASB:collection
Word Origin:[fromH6908 (קָבַץ - gather)]
1. a throng
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
company
Fromqabats; a throng -- company.
see HEBREWqabats
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
qabatsDefinitionassemblage
NASB Translationcollection (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
[] (si vera
) ; — plural suffixIsaiah 57:13thy heaps (of idols); but read perhaps Weir in Che, CheHpt Kit-Di Marti.
Topical Lexicon
Meaning and imageryThe term denotes a “gathering” that has been deliberately amassed. While the basic sense of collecting or assembling can be morally neutral, Isaiah presents it as a picture of spiritually charged accumulation—objects or allegiances that a person gathers in place of trusting the Lord. The singular occurrence turns the notion of togetherness on its head: rather than depicting a holy convocation, it exposes an idolatrous heap.
Biblical context in Isaiah
Isaiah 57:13 speaks to a people who had surrounded themselves with tangible and intangible substitutes for the covenant God: “When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you! But the wind will carry all of them off, a breath will take them away. But he who takes refuge in Me will inherit the land and possess My holy mountain” (Berean Standard Bible). The contrast is stark. Their painstakingly curated collection is weightless before the Lord, while a solitary act of trust secures the inheritance promised to Abraham, reaffirmed through Moses, and envisioned by the prophets.
Prophetic significance
1. Exposes counterfeit security. The “gathering” becomes an indictment of misdirected faith. Under Assyrian pressure, Judah sought protection by multiplying cultic objects, political alliances, and ritual forms. Isaiah unmasks these as wind-scattered chaff (Isaiah 57:13; compareHosea 8:7).
2. Reasserts covenant hope. The verse closes with an echo ofDeuteronomy 1:8 andPsalm 37:9, reminding Israel that possession of the land is secured by refuge in God alone. Thus the singular noun points beyond itself to a collective future: a repentant remnant gathered by God rather than self-assembled idols gathered by sinners (Isaiah 11:12;Isaiah 56:8).
Historical background: idolatrous Judah
Eighth-century Judah stood at a crossroads. External threats from Assyria and internal syncretism bred anxiety. Archaeological strata from this period reveal household figurines and imported cultic ware, corroborating the prophetic charge of idolatry. The “collection” inIsaiah 57:13 likely includes these very items—amulets, carved images, treaty tokens—objects meant to placate multiple deities or guarantee political favor. Their physical accumulation mirrored the spiritual fragmentation of the nation.
Contribution to the doctrine of salvation
The fleeting “gathering” underscores the exclusivity of divine deliverance. Salvation is not additive—one does not assemble the Lord among other helps. Scripture consistently portrays God as the sole Gatherer (Genesis 49:10;John 11:52). Isaiah’s polemic anticipates the New Testament call to abandon self-crafted securities, whether moral, ritual, or material, and to look to Christ alone (Philippians 3:8–9).
Ministry application
1. Discern modern “collections.” Congregations and individuals still accumulate substitutes—technological convenience, social influence, even religious programs—that can eclipse reliance on God.
2. Preach the sufficiency of refuge in the Lord. Like Isaiah, pastors must place God’s promise of inheritance before the people, urging repentance from every rival trust.
3. Encourage corporate re-gathering around God’s presence. In contrast to the doomed “collection,” the church is called a “chosen people, a royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9), gathered by grace to proclaim His excellencies.
In the end, Strong’s Hebrew 6899 serves as a miniature parable: what humanity gathers for self-preservation scatters at a breath; what God gathers endures forever.
Forms and Transliterations
קִבּוּצַ֔יִךְ קבוציך kibbuTzayich qib·bū·ṣa·yiḵ qibbūṣayiḵ
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