Original Word: גַבּ
Part of Speech: Noun
Transliteration: gab
Pronunciation: gab
Phonetic Spelling: (gab)
KJV: back, body, boss, eminent (higher) place, (eye)brows, nave, ring
NASB: rims, defenses, shrine, back, backs, base, shrines
Word Origin: [from an unused root meaning to hollow or curve]

1. the back (as rounded)
2. by analogy, the top or rim, a boss, a vault, arch of eye, bulwarks, etc

the top or rim, a boss, a vault

From an unused root meaning to hollow or curve; the back (as rounded (compare gev and guwph); by analogy, the top or rim, a boss, a vault, arch of eye, bulwarks, etc. -- back, body, boss, eminent (higher) place, (eye)brows, nave, ring.

see HEBREW gev

see HEBREW guwph

Word Origin
from an unused word
Definition
a back
NASB Translation
back (1), backs (1), base (1), defenses (2), eyebrows* (1), massive* (1), rims (3), shrine (2), shrines (1).

גַּב back, etc., see below גבב

[גָּב], גָּבִים see גוב.

גַּב noun masculine:? compare Ezekiel 43:13 (feminine^{Ezekiel 1:18}) anything convex, curved, gibbous, e.g. back, chiefly late; — absolute גָּ֑ב Ezekiel 16:24; construct גַּב Ezekiel 43:13 (read גֹּבַהּ ᵐ5 Ew Sm Co); suffix גַּבִּי Psalm 129:3, גַּבֵךְ Ezekiel 16:31,39; plural construct גַּבֹּת Leviticus 14:9, גַּבֵּי Job 13:12; Job 15:26; suffix גַּבֵּיהֶם 1 Kings 7:33, גַּבֵּהֶם Ezekiel 10:12, גַּבֵּיהֶן Ezekiel 1:18, גַֹּבֹּתָם Ezekiel 1:18; —

1 back, of man (figurative of Israel) Psalm 129:3; apparently of cherubim Ezekiel 10:12, but Hi Sm emend v. so that ׳גּ refers to wheels, rim see 6 below

2 mound, for illicit worship Ezekiel 16:24,31,39 (all "" רמה); ᵐ5 ᵑ9 lupanar, brothel, after analogy of fornix, but this without sufficient proof, & needless.

3 boss, or convex projection, of shield Job 15:26 (figurative) he runneth against him... with the stout bosses of his shields (i.e. wicked against ׳י); so in Arabic in similar phrase; compare also Arabic , shield; also French bouclier from boucle.

4 bulwarks, breastworks, figurative for arguments לְגַבֵּיחֹֿמֶר גַּבֵּיכֶם Job 13:12 breastworks of clay are your breastworks.

5 brow, only גַּבֹּת עֵינָיו Leviticus 14:9 his eyebrows.

6 rim of wheel, felloe 1 Kings 7:33; Ezekiel 1:18 (twice in verse); so perhaps Ezekiel 10:12 see 1 above — Ezekiel 43:13; elevation, i.e. basement of altar, Da after MT., but see גֹּבַהּ, compare above

Physical Anatomy and Purification

Gab first appears in the legislation for the cleansing of a leper: “his head, his beard, his eyebrows” (Leviticus 14:9). Here the term identifies the arch of the eyebrow, an elevated strip of flesh crowning the eye. By placing the eyebrow in the same list as head and beard, the law underscores that holiness extends to every visible feature. Once shaved, the cleansed Israelite bathes and dons fresh garments—an outward enactment of the inward renewal God provides. This usage teaches that no area of life is too small for divine scrutiny or grace.

Psalm 129:3 personalizes the word: “The plowmen plowed over my back; they made their furrows long.” The sufferer’s “back” (gab) is arched beneath cruel oppression, yet the psalm ends with confidence that Zion’s Redeemer will cut free the cords of the wicked (verse 4). In prophetic foreshadowing, the Messiah’s scourged back (Isaiah 50:6; John 19:1) bears away the iniquity of His people.

Military and Defensive Imagery

Job employs gab twice in a military context. His friends’ “defenses” (Job 13:12) are mile-high arguments easily toppled by truth. Eliphaz describes the wicked man who “rushes headlong at Him with his thick, studded shield” (Job 15:26). The raised boss in the center of the shield is the gab—symbolizing strength that dares to charge against the Almighty. In both cases human self-reliance, whether intellectual or martial, proves hollow before God.

Craftsmanship: Wheels, Rims, and Hubs

When Solomon’s craftsmen cast the stands for the temple lavers, “their axles, rims, spokes, and hubs were all of cast metal” (1 Kings 7:33). The convex hub (gab) guaranteed stability as the water carts moved across the courts. In Ezekiel’s inaugural vision the prophet sees wheels of heavenly glory: “Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around” (Ezekiel 1:18; cf. 10:12). The colossal gabs, alive with watchful eyes, declare God’s omniscience and the unstoppable movement of His throne. What human artistry served in Solomon’s day, angelic engineering magnifies on a cosmic scale.

Elevated Platforms and Idolatrous Mounds

Ezekiel turns the word against Jerusalem’s spiritual adultery. “You built yourself a mound and made yourself an elevated place in every public square” (Ezekiel 16:24; cf. 16:31, 39). The city’s gabs were literal stages for illicit worship, copy-cat ziggurats that mocked the Lord’s exclusive claim. Their destruction illustrates the biblical axiom that every counterfeit exaltation must be torn down so that the true altar may stand.

Liturgical Significance of the Altar

In the restored temple vision, “The gutter shall be a cubit deep and a cubit wide, with a rim of one span around its edge” (Ezekiel 43:13). Here gab designates the raised border encircling the altar hearth. The rim prevented sacrificial blood from spilling, ensuring it gathered where God prescribed. The same root that once named idolatrous mounds now crowns the place where atonement blood speaks of reconciliation—a striking reversal that proclaims grace triumphant over sin.

Theological Reflections

1. Elevation belongs to the Lord. Whether eyebrow, shield boss, wheel hub, or altar rim, gab portrays that which stands out or rises above. Scripture warns against self-exalting gabs (Job 13:12; Ezekiel 16) while affirming God-ordained ones (Solomon’s craftsmanship; Ezekiel 43).
2. True security is found not in man-made defenses but in the covenant God whose throne-wheels are full of eyes.
3. The cleansing of the leper and the marring of the psalmist’s back both anticipate Christ, whose lifted-up body fulfills the ultimate purpose of every holy elevation.

גֶּ֑ב גַּ֥ב גַּ֭בִּי גַּבֵּ֥י גַּבֵּיכֶֽם׃ גַּבֵּךְ֙ גַּבֹּ֣ת גַבֵּךְ֙ גב גבי גביכם׃ גבך גבת וְגַ֨בֵּיהֶ֔ן וְגַבֵּהֶ֔ם וְגַבֵּיהֶ֗ם וְגַבֹּתָ֗ם וגבהם וגביהם וגביהן וגבתם לְגַבֵּי־ לגבי־ gaḇ gab·bê gab·bê·ḵem gab·bêḵ ḡab·bêḵ gab·bî gab·bōṯ gabbê gabbeCh gabBei gabbeiChem gabbêḵ ḡabbêḵ gabbêḵem Gabbi gabbî gabBot gabbōṯ gav geḇ Gev lə·ḡab·bê- ləḡabbê- legabbei vegabbeHem vegabbeiHem veGabbeiHen vegabboTam wə·ḡab·bê·hem wə·ḡab·bê·hen wə·ḡab·bō·ṯām wəḡabbêhem wəḡabbêhen wəḡabbōṯāmInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts