גְּבִיר
ge.vir
lord
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# The Hebrew Word גְּבִיר (gevir): "Lord" The Hebrew word gevir carries the meaning of "lord" and appears only twice in the biblical text. While its limited occurrence prevents extensive analysis of usage patterns, its presence in Scripture indicates it was employed as a title of authority or superiority. The word represents one of several Hebrew terms available for expressing hierarchical relationships, though its rarity suggests it may have been less common than other lordship terms in everyday biblical Hebrew. The scarcity of this word—appearing in just two instances—raises questions about its specific function or connotations that the available data cannot fully answer. Whether gevir carried specialized significance, represented an archaic or formal variant, or appeared primarily in particular literary contexts remains unclear from frequency data alone. What can be confirmed is that biblical authors recognized and used this term when designating someone as a "lord," indicating it held a legitimate place in the Hebrew lexicon for expressing authority relationships, despite being less frequently deployed than alternative expressions.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
2 total occurrences across the text
Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers. Let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you. Blessed be everyone who blesses you.”
Genesis 27:37Isaac answered Esau, “Behold, I have made him your lord, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants. I have sustained him with grain and new wine. What then will I do for you, my son?”