Original Word: גֵּב
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: geb
Pronunciation: ghev
Phonetic Spelling: (gabe)
KJV: beam, ditch, pit
Word Origin: [from H1461 (גּוּב - Pit)]

1. a log (as cut out)
2. also well or cistern (as dug)

beam, ditch, pit

From guwb; a log (as cut out); also well or cistern (as dug) -- beam, ditch, pit.

see HEBREW guwb

II. [גֵּב] pit, III. [גֵּב] beam, see below גוב.

II. גֵּב noun [masculine] pit, ditch, trench, (Arabic hollow, depression; Syriac cistern) — only plural גֵּבִים Jeremiah 14:3; in 2 Kings 3:16 גבים גבים, i.e. full of ditches; further, cisterns (according to Klo 2 Kings 25:12) Jeremiah 39:10 וִּיגֵבִים (read וְגֵבִים); compare also "" 2 Kings 25:12 (ולגבים Kt, וּלְיוֺגְבִים Qr) = Jeremiah 52:16 (וּלְֹיגְבִים; both with כֹּרְמִים); Klo propose to emend these, so as to read in all וַיִּתֵּן לָהֶם כְּרָמִים וְגֵבִים and gave to them vineyards and cisterns; another view in Th; compare further גוב, יגב. — I. גֵּב see below גבה.

III. [גֵּב] noun [masculine] beam, rafter? (Thes below גוב, but meaning & √ dubious), גֵּבִים 1 Kings 6:9; but Lag^{Armen. Stud. § 499, M i. 212; BN 155} reads גֻּבְּדִים (Persian , Armenian γμβεθ) vaulted roofs.

Definition in Daily Life of Ancient Israel

גֵּב denotes an excavated pit, trench, or cistern—any hollowed space intended either to collect water or to receive structural timbers. In the semi-arid landscape of the Levant, such cavities were indispensable for survival and construction alike.

Occurrences and Immediate Contexts

• 1 Kings 6:9 depicts Solomon’s craftsmen fitting cedar “גֵּבִים,” recesses in the roofing framework that received the massive beams supporting the Temple’s upper courses.
• 2 Kings 3:16 records Elisha’s instruction, “Make this valley full of ditches”. The plural form, גֵּבִים, points to trenches quickly hewn in the desert wadi to capture the flash-flood provided by God.
• Jeremiah 14:3 laments the drought: “They go to the cisterns but find no water”. Here גֵּבִים is a silent testimony to divine judgment when the covenant community forsakes the Lord.

Architectural and Hydrological Significance

Cisterns were normally bell-shaped shafts chiseled into limestone and lined with plaster. They preserved runoff during the long dry season and were so vital that cities were often planned around them (compare 2 Chronicles 26:10). Solomon’s Temple required recesses (גֵּבִים) to anchor beams securely; without such sockets the costly cedar would shift under earthquake or wind load. Thus גֵּב bridges both water management and monumental architecture.

Theological Themes

1. Divine Provision: Elisha’s command to dig גֵּבִים precedes a miraculous supply of water for Israel, Judah, and Edom. Human obedience prepared the receptacles; God alone filled them (2 Kings 3:17).
2. Divine Judgment: Empty גֵּבִים in Jeremiah 14:3 dramatize covenant curses (Deuteronomy 28:23-24). The same structure that once sustained life now magnifies thirst, underscoring that true refreshment flows from the LORD (Jeremiah 2:13).
3. Worship and Stability: In 1 Kings 6:9 the Temple’s גֵּבִים secure the beams that shelter worshipers. Stability in worship arises from meticulous obedience to God’s blueprint (1 Kings 6:12-13).

Practical Ministry Applications

• Encourage believers to “dig their own גֵּב” by cultivating spiritual disciplines that become receptacles for grace.
• Warn that neglect of the Word leaves cisterns cracked and empty, as illustrated by Jeremiah.
• Illustrate teamwork in church projects: laborers dig the trenches, but only God supplies the living water.

Typological Insights

The hollowness of the גֵּב anticipates the tomb hewn for Jesus Christ—a vacant cavity later filled with life-giving news of resurrection. Just as Elisha’s ditches overflowed, the empty tomb overflows with salvation.

Summary

גֵּב threads through Scripture as socket, trench, and cistern—places of reception. Whether housing cedar beams, harnessing sudden torrents, or standing embarrassingly dry, each occurrence invites God’s people to prepare space for His abiding provision and to rely on Him rather than on broken cisterns of their own making.

גֵּבִ֔ים גֵּבִ֞ים גֵּבִ֥ים ׀ גֵּבִֽים׃ גבים גבים׃ gê·ḇîm gêḇîm geVimInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts