Lexical Summary
rebu: Multitude, abundance, greatness
Original Word:רְבוּ
Part of Speech:Noun Feminine
Transliteration:rbuw
Pronunciation:reh-BOO
Phonetic Spelling:(reb-oo')
KJV: greatness, majesty
NASB:grandeur, greatness, majesty
Word Origin:[(Aramaic) from a root corresponding toH7235 (רָבָה - To increase)]
1. increase (of dignity)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
greatness, majesty
(Aramaic) from a root corresponding torabah; increase (of dignity) -- greatness, majesty.
see HEBREWrabah
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin(Aramaic) from
rebahDefinitiongreatness
NASB Translationgrandeur (2), greatness (2), majesty (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
( Syriac); — absolute
Daniel 4:33, emphatic
Daniel 5:18 +, suffix -
Daniel 4:19; —
greatness of king
Daniel 4:19;
Daniel 4:33;
Daniel 5:18,19; of kingdom
Daniel 7:27.
Topical Lexicon
Overview of Usage in ScriptureStrong’s Hebrew 7238 appears five times, all in the Aramaic sections of Daniel, and every occurrence is linked to the idea of royal majesty that God either bestows, removes, or transfers.
•Daniel 4:22 – Daniel identifies Nebuchadnezzar as the tree whose “greatness has grown to reach the sky.”
•Daniel 4:36 – After the king’s humbling, “even more greatness was added” to him.
•Daniel 5:18 – Daniel reminds Belshazzar that the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar “a kingdom and greatness and glory and splendor.”
•Daniel 5:19 – The fear of all nations flowed “because of the greatness that He gave him.”
•Daniel 7:27 – In the climactic vision, “the kingdom, dominion, and greatness of the kingdoms under all of heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Most High.”
Contrast Between Human and Divine Greatness
The narrative arc in Daniel reveals the fragile, derivative quality of human greatness when contrasted with God’s immutable supremacy.
1. Granted greatness (Daniel 4:22, 5:18). Nebuchadnezzar’s rise is explicitly attributed to divine gift. No earthly power is self-generated.
2. Withdrawn greatness (Daniel 4:31-33). The king’s sanity and splendor vanish the moment God judges pride, proving that greatness can be revoked instantly.
3. Restored greatness (Daniel 4:36). Restoration follows repentance, highlighting mercy yet again anchored in God’s sovereignty.
4. Misappropriated greatness (Daniel 5:1-30). Belshazzar inherits a greatness he neither values nor respects; his sacrilege leads to immediate loss of kingdom.
5. Transferred greatness (Daniel 7:27). The final, enduring greatness belongs to “the saints of the Most High,” yet even here it is still God’s kingdom shared by grace, not seized by merit.
Historical Setting and Theological Implications
Daniel wrote to exiles living under pagan rule. The recurring emphasis on רְבוּ reassures the faithful that Babylonian magnificence, however dazzling, is temporary and subordinate to divine purpose. Every earthly empire is portrayed as a steward—willing or unwilling—of an authority that ultimately reverts to its rightful Owner. The pattern confronts the exiles’ temptation to either despair under oppression or compromise with it.
Prophetic and Eschatological Significance
Daniel 7:27 widens the lens from Israel’s immediate captors to the consummation of history. The verse foreshadows the universal reign of the Messiah and participation of His people in that reign, anticipating passages such asRevelation 11:15 and2 Timothy 2:12. The movement of greatness—from a single Gentile monarch, to a succession of empires, to the saints—encapsulates the entire sweep of redemptive history: creation mandate, fall-marred dominion, provisional Gentile rule, and final restoration under the Son of Man.
Lessons for Personal and Corporate Ministry
1. Humility before honor. Ministers and leaders must view every platform, resource, or following as a temporary trust (James 4:6).
2. Accountability for greatness. Like Nebuchadnezzar, any steward of influence will answer to the God who bestowed it (Luke 12:48).
3. Hope for the oppressed. Believers under hostile regimes can rest in the certainty that kingdoms rise and fall under God’s hand (Psalm 75:6-7).
4. Anticipation of inheritance. The church’s present trials prepare her to inherit a greatness that can never be lost (1 Peter 1:4-7).
Suggested Homiletical Themes
• “When God Grants Greatness: Stewardship, Pride, and Restoration” (Daniel 4:22-37)
• “Borrowed Crowns: The Rise and Fall of Empires” (Daniel 5:18-31)
• “A Greatness Yet to Come: Encouragement fromDaniel 7:27”
Connections with New Testament Revelation
The principle that all greatness is from God finds echo inPhilippians 2:9-11, where the Father exalts the humbled Son, and in1 Timothy 6:15-16, where Christ is called “the blessed and only Sovereign.” The final inheritance of greatness promised in Daniel is fulfilled inRevelation 20:4-6 and consummated inRevelation 22:5, uniting the testimony of both Testaments that true greatness belongs to God and is graciously shared with His redeemed people.
Forms and Transliterations
וּרְב֥וּ וּרְבוּתָ֗א וּרְבוּתָ֤ךְ וּרְבוּתָא֙ ורבו ורבותא ורבותך רְבוּתָא֙ רבותא rə·ḇū·ṯā rəḇūṯā revuTa ū·rə·ḇū ū·rə·ḇū·ṯā ū·rə·ḇū·ṯāḵ ūrəḇū ūrəḇūṯā ūrəḇūṯāḵ ureVu urevuTa urevuTach
Links
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Englishman's Greek Concordance •
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