Original Word: גֶּבֶא
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: gebe
Pronunciation: gheh'-beh
Phonetic Spelling: (geh'-beh)
KJV: marish, pit
NASB: cistern
Word Origin: [from an unused root meaning probably to collect]

1. a reservoir
2. by analogy, a marsh

marish, pit

From an unused root meaning probably to collect; a reservoir; by analogy, a marsh -- marish, pit.

Word Origin
from an unused word
Definition
a cistern, pool
NASB Translation
cistern (1).

גֶּ֫בֶא noun masculine^{Ezekiel 47:11} cistern, pool (compare Arabic watering-trough) —

1 cistern מַיִם מִגֶּ֑בֶא Isaiah 30:14.

2 pool, marsh גְּבָיָאו Ezekiel 47:11 ("" כִּצּאֹתָ֯ו).

גבב (probably be curved, convex, elevated, Aramaic גִּבְּבָא hill; be or make hollow, dig, Arabic cut off or out, , Aramaic גֹּב, Ethiopic , Assyrian gubbu, — all = cistern; compare e.g. Assyrian gubbâni ša mê, cisterns of water, Asrb^{Annals Col. viii. 102}, KB^{ii. 220}; see proper name גֹּב below)

Overview

גֶּבֶא denotes a natural or man-made depression that collects water—anything from a small household basin to a larger marshy pocket. Scripture uses the term only twice, yet each context contrasts stagnant, useless water with the life and wholeness that come from obedience to the LORD.

Scriptural Occurrences

Isaiah 30:14

Ezekiel 47:11

Contextual Profiles

Isaiah 30:14 – Judah trusts Egypt rather than the covenant God. The prophet likens Judah’s shattered confidence to pottery so thoroughly broken that not even a shard can “skim water from a cistern”. The גֶּבֶא becomes a symbol of what was meant to sustain life but now lies empty and inaccessible because of rebellion.

Ezekiel 47:11 – In the temple-river vision, life-giving waters pour from the sanctuary and transform the Dead Sea. Yet “its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt”. Here the גֶּבֶא represents pockets deliberately excluded from renewal, highlighting both the reach of divine grace and the reality of continuing judgment.

Literal Imagery and Symbolic Significance

1. Containment versus Flow
• A גֶּבֶא holds water in place; it pictures containment, limitation, or even stagnation.
• By contrast, Scripture frequently depicts God’s blessing as moving water (Psalm 46:4; John 7:38). The fixed basin therefore serves as a foil for the dynamic life God provides.

2. Judgment and Loss
• In Isaiah, the unusable basin underscores the futility of self-made security.
• In Ezekiel, the salty marshes remain as monuments to past barrenness, reminding every future pilgrim of what grace has overcome—and of what persists where repentance is absent.

3. Separation and Holiness
• The Dead Sea marshes left “for salt” preserve Israel’s historic memory of Sodom-like judgment (Genesis 19:24–26) even inside a prophetic scene of restoration. God’s holiness demands that certain boundaries remain, and the גֶּבֶא marks that line.

Historical and Cultural Background

• Water Storage in Antiquity – Household jars and sun-baked clay basins caught rainwater for daily use. Larger earthworks collected runoff in arid zones, but without active flow they quickly became brackish.
• Symbolic Reservoirs – Israel’s prophets often leveraged everyday water technology (wells, cisterns, reservoirs) to address national faithfulness (Jeremiah 2:13; Isaiah 12:3). גֶּבֶא fits this broader rhetorical pattern.

Theological Implications

Reliance on the Living God versus Human Schemes – Judah’s broken גֶּבֶא displays a covenant people bankrupt of usable resources when they trade divine counsel for political alliances. Conversely, Ezekiel’s salty גֶּבֶא proves that even in an era of universal blessing, God retains sovereign rights to distinguish holy from profane (Ezekiel 44:23).

Grace that Renews but Does Not Abolish Accountability – The healing river does not erase every witness to sin’s corrosive power. Remaining gevaʾ-marshes testify that the same God who heals also judges. Both themes converge in the cross, where living water flows freely (John 4:14) yet demands repentance (Luke 13:3).

Practical Ministry Insights

1. Examine Spiritual Containment – Churches and believers may construct “basins” of routine or tradition that once served life but now hold stagnant water. The call is to break such vessels and seek fresh flow from Christ.

2. Proclaim Both Mercy and Warning – Ezekiel’s marshes encourage preaching that celebrates regeneration while still alerting hearers to the perils of unresolved sin.

3. Foster Dependence on the Living Source – Isaiah 30 encourages counseling ministries to expose false confidences (whether political, financial, or emotional) and re-anchor trust in God’s unfailing supply.

Related Passages for Study

Jeremiah 2:13 – Broken cisterns

Proverbs 5:15 – Cisternal imagery for covenant fidelity

John 4:13-14 – Living water versus temporary sources

Revelation 22:1-2 – River of life without residue

Summary

Though גֶּבֶא appears only twice, it captures a timeless contrast: stagnant containment versus the life-giving movement of God. Whether warning Judah of shattered self-reliance or preserving a memorial of judgment beside the river of renewal, the term invites every generation to leave dry basins behind and drink freely from the waters that flow from the throne of God.

וּגְבָאָ֛יו וגבאיו מִגֶּֽבֶא׃ מגבא׃ mig·ge·ḇe miggeḇe migGeve ū·ḡə·ḇā·’āw ūḡəḇā’āw ugevaAvInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts