the Week of Proper 26 / Ordinary 31
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Bible Dictionaries
Hero
Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words
or A. Nouns.
Gibbôr (גִּבֹּר, Strong's #1368), “hero.” This word appears 159 times in the Old Testament. The first occurrence of gibbôr is in Gen. 6:4: “There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.”
In the context of battle, the word is better understood to refer to the category of warriors. The gibbôr is the proven warrior; especially is this true when gibbôr is used in combination with chayil (“strength”). The KJV gives a literal translation, “mighty men [gibbôr] of valor [chayil],” whereas the NIV renders the phrase idiomatically, “fighting men” (cf. Josh. 1:14). David, who had proven himself as a warrior, attracted “heroes” to his band while he was being pursued by Saul (2 Sam. 23). When David was enthroned as king, these men became a part of the elite military corps. The phrase gibbôr chayil may also refer to a man of a high social class, the landed man who had military responsibilities. Saul came from such a family (1 Sam. 9:1); so also Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:28).
The king symbolized the strength of his kingdom. He had to lead his troops in battle, and as commander he was expected to be a “hero.” Early in David’s life, he was recognized as a “hero” (1 Sam. 18:7). The king is described as a “hero”: “Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most Mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty” (Ps. 45:3). The messianic expectation included the hope that the Messiah would be “mighty”: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6).
Israel’s God was a mighty God (Isa. 10:21). He had the power to deliver: “The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing” (Zeph. 3:17). Jeremiah’s moving confession (32:17ff.) bears out the might of God in creation (v. 17) and in redemption (vv. 18ff.). The answer to the emphatic question, “Who is this King of glory?” in Psalm 24 is: “The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle” (v. 8).
The Septuagint gives the following translations: dunatos (“powerful; strong; mighty; able ruler”) and ischuros (“strong; mighty; powerful”). The KJV gives these senses: “mighty men; mighty one; strong; violent.”
Geber (גֶּבֶר, Strong's #1397), “man.” This word occurs 66 times in the Old Testament, once in 1 Chron. 23:3: “Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand.”
B. Verb.
Gâbar (גָּבַר, Strong's #1396), “to be strong.” The root meaning “to be strong” appears in all Semitic languages as a verb or a noun, but the verb occurs only 25 times in the Old Testament. Job 21:7 contains an occurrence of gâbar: “Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power?”
C. Adjective.
Gibbôr (גִּבֹּר, Strong's #1368), “strong.” Gibbôr may be translated by the adjective “strong” in the following contexts: a “strong” man (1 Sam. 14:52), a “strong” lion (Prov. 30:30), a mighty hunter (Gen. 10:9), and the mighty ones (Gen. 6:1-4).
These files are public domain.
Vines, W. E., M. A. Entry for 'Hero'. Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/vot/h/hero.html. 1940.
