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false statement of greatness and power is an empty boast. So
can mean “to boast”:
“Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? or shall the saw magnify
itself against him that shaketh it?” (Isa. 10:15). In the causative stem the verb may signify
“to assume great airs”: “If indeed ye will magnify yourselves against me, and plead
against me my reproach …” (Job 19:5). A nuance appears in Job 7:17, where
is in
the intensive stem, suggesting an estimation of greatness: “What is man, that thou
shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?” (Ps. 8:4).
When man is so insignificant, why then does God esteem him so important?
B. Nouns.
$
(
$%
, 1420), “greatness; great dignity; great things.” This noun occurs 12
times. It means “greatness” in Ps. 71:21: “Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort
me on every side.”
5 $
may refer also to “great dignity” (Esth. 6:3) and to “great
things” (2 Sam. 7:21).
(
$%
, 1433), “greatness.” This noun appears 13 times.
5
means “greatness”
in terms of size (Ezek. 31:7), of divine power (Ps. 79:11), of divine dignity (Deut. 32:3),
of divine majesty (Deut. 3:24), of divine mercy (Num. 14:19), or of the false greatness of
one’s heart (insolence; Isa. 9:9).
(
(,
, 4026), “strong place; wooden podium.” This noun, which occurs 49
times, usually refers to a tower or a “strong place” (Gen. 11:4-5), but it also occurs once
to refer to a “wooden podium”: “And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood …”
(Neh. 8:4).
C. Adjectives.
(
$%
, 1419), “great.” The adjective gadol is the most frequently appearing
word related to the verb
(about 525 times).
5
is used of extended dimension
(Gen. 1:21), of number (Gen. 12:2), of power (Deut. 4:37), of punishment (Gen. 4:13),
and of value or importance (Gen. 39:9).
The verb
and the related adjective
may each be used to make distinctive
statements. In Hebrew one may say “he is great” both by using the verb alone and by
using the pronoun and the adjective
!
The first sets forth a standing and existing
condition—so Mal. 1:5 could be rendered: “The Lord is magnified beyond the borders of
Israel.” The second construction announces newly experienced information to the
recipient, as in Isa. 12:6: “… Great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.” This
information was known previously, but recent divine acts have made it to be experienced
anew. The emphasis is on the freshness of the experience.
Another adjective
means “becoming great; growing up.” This verbal adjective
occurs 4 times, once in Gen. 26:13: “And the man waxed great, and went forward, and
grew until he became very great.”
MAIDEN, VIRGIN
$
(
"
, 1330), “maiden, virgin.” Cognates of this word appear in Ugaritic
and Akkadian. Its 50 biblical occurrences are distributed throughout every period of Old
Testament literature.