גָּזַל
ga.zal
to plunder
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe word "Gazal" (H1497) is a Hebrew verb that primarily means "to plunder". Its core meaning revolves around the act of taking or seizing something, often in the context of warfare or conflict. This verb is used extensively in the Bible, appearing 30 times, which suggests its significance in ancient Hebrew culture and literature. The range of usage for "Gazal" encompasses various scenarios, including military conquests, raids, and acts of theft. In these contexts, the verb often connotes a sense of seizure or appropriation, where one party takes something from another without their consent. This usage highlights the intense and sometimes violent nature of ancient wars and conflicts. The frequency and ubiquity of "Gazal" throughout the Bible underscore its importance as a descriptive term for conflict and warfare. Its repetitive use serves as a testament to the prevalence and impact of war in ancient societies. By understanding "Gazal" in its linguistic and cultural context, we gain insight into the dynamics of conflict and the human experience in the ancient world.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
30 total occurrences across the text
For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor. He has violently taken away a house, and he will not build it up.
Job 24:2There are people who remove the landmarks. They violently take away flocks, and feed them.
Job 24:9There are those who pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor,
Job 24:19Drought and heat consume the snow waters, so does Sheol those who have sinned.
Psalms 35:10All my bones shall say, “Yahweh, who is like you, who delivers the poor from him who is too strong for him; yes, the poor and the needy from him who robs him?”
Psalms 69:4Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head. Those who want to cut me off, being my enemies wrongfully, are mighty. I have to restore what I didn’t take away.
Proverbs 4:16For they don’t sleep unless they do evil. Their sleep is taken away, unless they make someone fall.
Proverbs 22:22Don’t exploit the poor, because he is poor; and don’t crush the needy in court;
Proverbs 28:24Whoever robs his father or his mother and says, “It’s not wrong,” is a partner with a destroyer.
Isaiah 10:2to deprive the needy from justice, and to rob the poor among my people of their rights, that widows may be their plunder, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
Jeremiah 21:12House of David, Yahweh says, ‘Execute justice in the morning, and deliver him who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my wrath go out like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
Jeremiah 22:3Yahweh says: “Execute justice and righteousness, and deliver him who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong. Do no violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Don’t shed innocent blood in this place.
Ezekiel 18:7and has not wronged any, but has restored to the debtor his pledge, has taken nothing by robbery, has given his bread to the hungry, and has covered the naked with a garment;
Ezekiel 18:12has wronged the poor and needy, has taken by robbery, has not restored the pledge, and has lifted up his eyes to the idols, has committed abomination,
Ezekiel 18:16hasn’t wronged any, hasn’t taken anything to pledge, hasn’t taken by robbery, but has given his bread to the hungry, and has covered the naked with a garment;
Ezekiel 18:18As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, robbed his brother, and did that which is not good among his people, behold, he will die in his iniquity.
Ezekiel 22:29The people of the land have used oppression and exercised robbery. Yes, they have troubled the poor and needy, and have oppressed the foreigner wrongfully.
Micah 2:2They covet fields, and seize them; and houses, and take them away: and they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
Micah 3:2You who hate the good, and love the evil; who tear off their skin, and their flesh from off their bones;
Malachi 1:13You say also, ‘Behold, what a weariness it is!’ and you have sniffed at it”, says Yahweh of Armies; “and you have brought that which was taken by violence, the lame, and the sick; thus you bring the offering. Should I accept this at your hand?” says Yahweh.
Genesis 21:25Abraham complained to Abimelech because of a water well, which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away.
Genesis 31:31Jacob answered Laban, “Because I was afraid, for I said, ‘Lest you should take your daughters from me by force.’
Leviticus 6:4then it shall be, if he has sinned, and is guilty, he shall restore that which he took by robbery, or the thing which he has gotten by oppression, or the deposit which was committed to him, or the lost thing which he found,
Leviticus 19:13“ ‘You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. “ ‘The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning.
Deuteronomy 28:29You will grope at noonday, as the blind gropes in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways. You will only be oppressed and robbed always, and there will be no one to save you.
Deuteronomy 28:31Your ox will be slain before your eyes, and you will not eat any of it. Your donkey will be violently taken away from before your face, and will not be restored to you. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and you will have no one to save you.
Judges 9:25The men of Shechem set an ambush for him on the tops of the mountains, and they robbed all who came along that way by them; and Abimelech was told about it.
Judges 21:23The children of Benjamin did so, and took wives for themselves according to their number, of those who danced, whom they carried off. They went and returned to their inheritance, built the cities, and lived in them.
2 Samuel 23:21He killed a huge Egyptian, and the Egyptian had a spear in his hand; but he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear.
1 Chronicles 11:23He killed an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits high. In the Egyptian’s hand was a spear like a weaver’s beam; and he went down to him with a staff, plucked the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand, and killed him with his own spear.