Original Word: גָּרַע
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: gara`
Pronunciation: gah-rah'
Phonetic Spelling: (gaw-rah')
KJV: abate, clip, (di-)minish, do (take) away, keep back, restrain, make small, withdraw
NASB: withdrawn, reduce, take away, withdraw, cut off, cut short, deducted
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to scrape off
2. (by implication) to shave, remove, lessen, withhold

abate, clip, diminish, do take away, keep back, restrain, make small, withdraw

A primitive root; to scrape off; by implication, to shave, remove, lessen, withhold -- abate, clip, (di-)minish, do (take) away, keep back, restrain, make small, withdraw.

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to diminish, restrain, withdraw
NASB Translation
cut off (1), cut short (1), deducted (1), diminished (1), draws (1), hinder (1), limit (1), omit (1), reduce (3), reduced (1), restrained (1), take (1), take away (2), withdraw (2), withdrawn (4).

[גָּרַע] verb diminish, restrain, withdraw (Late Hebrew id., Aramaic גְּרַע shave head, etc.; compare swallow) —

Qal Imperfect יִגְרַע Job 36:7, יִגְרָ֑ע Exodus 21:10; 2masculine singular תִּגְרַע Deuteronomy 13:1 3t.; אֶגְרַע Ezekiel 5:11 (but compare below), וָאֶגְרַע Ezekiel 16:27; תִּגְרְעוּ Exodus 5:8 2t.; Infinitive לִגְרֹעַ Ecclesiastes 3:14; Participle גְּרוּעָה Isaiah 15:2 (so Baer; v. d. H. גְּדוּעָה see גדע), גְּרֻעָה Jeremiah 48:37; —

1 diminish, usually followed by מִן Exodus 5:8,19 (the tale of bricks), Deuteronomy 4:2; Deuteronomy 13:1 (in both, word of ׳י; opposed to הוסיף) compare Ecclesiastes 3:14, and also Jeremiah 26:2 (with accusative); with accusative also Exodus 21:10 (food etc.) compare Ezekiel 16:27; Passive participle diminished, clipped, of beard, Jeremiah 48:37 and Isaiah 15:2 (so Baer, rightly, compare his note and see גדע).

2 restrain Job 15:4 (with accusative שִׂיחָה meditation, devotion), Job 15:8 (with accusative חָכְמָה, followed by אֵלֶיךָ, i.e. unto, for thyself, monopolize; De Di Da render draw unto thyself, appropriate; Schult. compare Arabic swallow, compare Ew saugst zu dir ein Weisheit).

3 withdraw Job 36:7 (object עַיִן, eye, followed by מִן); Ezekiel 5:11 absolute (si vera lectio); Co. reads אֶתְגָּרֶה, for אֶגְרַע, on internal grounds; others: withdraw (thy needs) Sm (compare Ezekiel 16:27); withdraw (mine eye) Ges Ke.

Niph`al Perfect וְנִגְרַע consecutive Leviticus 27:18; וְנִגְרְעָה Numbers 36:3; Imperfect יִגָּרַע Numbers 27:4; Numbers 36:4, יִגָּרֵ֑עַ Numbers 36:3; 1plural נִגָּרַע Numbers 9:7; Participle נִגְרָע Exodus 5:11; —

1 be withdrawn with מִן Numbers 36:3 (twice in verse); Numbers 36:4 (inheritance, נחלה); Numbers 27:4 a name out of a family; Exodus 5:11 (מֵעֲבֹדַתְכֶם דָּבָר); impersonal Leviticus 27:18 (abatement shall be made).

2 be restrained followed by infinitive Numbers 9:7. Pi`el Imperfect יְגָרַע Job 36:27 withdraw = draw up with accusative נִטְפֵימָֿ֑יִם compare Di (on other hand, De and others draw down, let down).

Semantic Range and Key Nuances

גָּרַע (garaʿ) conveys the idea of taking away, withholding, cutting off, reducing, or shortening. When applied to material goods it speaks of curtailment; when applied to people it signals deprivation or humiliation; when applied to the word of God it underscores the inviolability of divine revelation. Every occurrence carries the common thread of loss, whether physical, relational, or spiritual.

Covenantal Fidelity: Guarding the Word

In Deuteronomy 4:2 and 12:32 Moses warns, “You must not add to or subtract from what I command you”. Jeremiah later repeats the demand: “Do not omit a word” (Jeremiah 26:2). גָּרַע thus becomes a watchword for the sufficiency and completeness of Scripture. The Lord’s commands are perfect; any attempt to “diminish” them is rebellion. Ecclesiastes 3:14 echoes the same truth: “Nothing can be added to it or taken from it.”

Ministry Significance: Teachers and preachers are called to proclaim the whole counsel of God. Trimming uncomfortable doctrines or softening divine warnings is, by definition, garaʿ—an action Scripture explicitly forbids.

Social Ethics: Protection of the Vulnerable

Exodus 21:10 legislates marital faithfulness: “If he takes another wife, he must not diminish the first wife’s food, clothing, or marital rights.” Pharaoh’s directives in Exodus 5:8, 11, 19—refusing to reduce the Israelite quota while removing their straw—expose oppressive leadership that “diminishes” livelihood. In both settings the verb highlights God’s concern that no one be deprived of necessities.

Pastoral Application: Whether in the home, marketplace, or government, exploiting others by withholding what is due violates the character of God.

Inheritance and Family Continuity

In Numbers 27:4 and 36:3–4 the daughters of Zelophehad fear their father’s name will be “removed” from his clan. The legislation that follows ensures no line in Israel will be diminished. Leviticus 27:18 uses the verb in monetary valuations: land values are “reduced” proportionally. Together these verses reveal that God preserves inheritances—both familial and spiritual—so that His promises stand intact.

Divine Judgment and National Humiliation

Isaiah 15:2, Jeremiah 48:37, and Ezekiel 5:11 depict heads shaved, beards “cut off,” and sanctuary provisions “diminished.” What people refuse to surrender in repentance God removes in judgment. Ezekiel 16:27 records the Lord’s verdict on Jerusalem: “I diminished your portion and gave you over to the greed of your enemies.” Nations that diminish God’s honor find their own glory diminished in return.

Wisdom Literature: Reverence that Cannot Be Diminished

Job complains that Eliphaz “undermines the fear of God” (Job 15:4), yet celebrates a God who “does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous” (Job 36:7). Even the hydrological cycle is explained with the verb: “He draws up drops of water” (Job 36:27). The lesson is two-fold: human counsel can erode devotion, but the Creator’s vigilance and provision are never reduced.

Ritual Access and Purity

Numbers 9:7 shows worshippers lamenting, “Why should we be kept from presenting the LORD’s offering?” Ceremonial uncleanness temporarily “diminished” their participation, illustrating that sin always restricts fellowship. Yet God’s provision of a second Passover (Numbers 9:10–11) demonstrates His desire to restore what impurity has curtailed.

Prophetic Assurance: God’s Watchful Eye

Although Ezekiel’s contemporaries experienced diminished blessings, Job reminds us that the righteous never lose God’s gaze. Even when discipline comes, His promises are not reduced. The cross ultimately guarantees that believers’ eternal inheritance is “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” (1 Peter 1:4), the antithesis of garaʿ.

Pastoral Counsel and Homiletical Themes

• Preach the whole Word—neither adding nor subtracting.
• Guard marriages and family inheritances from neglect.
• Oppose systems that diminish human dignity or provision.
• Warn that unrepentant sin invites divine diminution, yet repentance restores full blessing.
• Encourage believers that God will never diminish His watchful care or covenant love.

Messianic and Eschatological Reflection

In Christ nothing essential is withheld: “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells bodily” (Colossians 2:9). At the consummation, every reduction caused by sin—poverty, injustice, broken inheritance, spiritual exclusion—will be reversed. The New Jerusalem is a realm where nothing is diminished and nothing of God’s Word has failed.

אֶגְרַע֙ אגרע גְּרֻעָ֑ה גְּרוּעָֽה׃ גרועה׃ גרעה וְנִגְרְעָ֤ה וְנִגְרַ֖ע וְתִגְרַ֖ע וְתִגְרַ֥ע וָאֶגְרַ֖ע ואגרע ונגרע ונגרעה ותגרע יְגָרַ֣ע יִגְרַ֥ע יִגְרָֽע׃ יִגָּרֵֽעַ׃ יִגָּרַ֖ע יִגָּרַ֤ע יגרע יגרע׃ לִגְרֹ֑עַ לגרע נִגְרָ֛ע נִגָּרַ֗ע נגרע תִּגְרַ֖ע תִגְרְע֖וּ תִגְרְע֥וּ תִגְרַ֖ע תגרע תגרעו ’eḡ·ra‘ ’eḡra‘ egRa gə·ru·‘āh gə·rū·‘āh gəru‘āh gərū‘āh geruAh liḡ·rō·a‘ ligRoa liḡrōa‘ nig·gā·ra‘ niḡ·rā‘ niggaRa niggāra‘ nigRa niḡrā‘ tiḡ·ra‘ ṯiḡ·ra‘ ṯiḡ·rə·‘ū tigRa tiḡra‘ ṯiḡra‘ ṯiḡrə‘ū tigreU vaegRa venigRa venigreAh vetigRa wā’eḡra‘ wā·’eḡ·ra‘ wə·niḡ·ra‘ wə·niḡ·rə·‘āh wə·ṯiḡ·ra‘ wəniḡra‘ wəniḡrə‘āh wəṯiḡra‘ yə·ḡā·ra‘ yegaRa yəḡāra‘ yig·gā·ra‘ yig·gā·rê·a‘ yiḡ·ra‘ yiḡ·rā‘ yiggaRa yiggāra‘ yiggaRea yiggārêa‘ yigRa yiḡra‘ yiḡrā‘Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts