גָּרֹל
𐤂𐤓𐤋
gârôl
H1632 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
A term denoting someone of great stature, prominence, or harshness—in the only attested context, apparently used as an epithet designating a person of significant power or severity. The nuance can include 'mighty man' or one characterized by harsh actions or reputation.
Semantic Range
great, prominent, powerful, harsh, mighty; chief; (possible): a person of notable severity or greatness
Root / Etymology
Formed from the root גורל or possibly influenced by גדול ('gadol', 'great'); the actual derivation is uncertain due to scant attestations. The consonantal structure suggests a relationship with הַגָּדול (great), but the vocalization is irregular, possibly due to scribal confusion or dialectal variation.
Historical & Contextual Notes
The word appears only in 2 Samuel 23:8 in the phrase: יֹשֵׁב בַּשֶּׁבֶת תַּחְכְּמֹנִי רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁלִשִׁים עַל־עֲדִינוֹ הָעֶצְנִי עַל־שְׁמֹנָה עָשָׂר שָׁלַח יָדוֹ וַיַּךְ־אֶת־הַפְּלִשְׁתִּים (Yoshev Bashevet, chief of the Three; he was Adino the Eznite, who ...). The term גָּרֹל occurs in a difficult, textually uncertain context; many manuscripts and ancient versions display variant readings. Some propose emending to גָּדוֹל (gadol, 'great') on the basis of parallel passages (cf. 1 Chronicles 11:11), but the received text supports a distinct although perhaps related word. English translations usually render it according to the marginal note as 'great' or paraphrase it as 'chief.' The term did not continue into later Hebrew. There is insufficient evidence to determine whether 'harsh' ('gruff, severe') is a valid nuance beyond possible root associations.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from the same as גּוֹרָל; harsh; man of great (as in the margin which reads גָּדוֹל).
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
גדל (g-d-l) — to be great, grow, become strong
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H1419 | גָּדוֹל | in the great one |
| H1420 | גְּדוּלָה | greatness of |
| H1431 | גָּדַל | I will make great |
| H1432 | גָּדֵל | great-ones of |
| H1433 | גֹּדֶל | in your greatness |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H1632-01 |
גרל | grl | HNcmsc |
man of | mighty one of | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 total occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H1632-01 |
Proverbs 19:19 | גרל | grl | HNcmsc |
man of | mighty one of |