Original Word: גָּבַהּ
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: gabahh
Pronunciation: gah-VAH
Phonetic Spelling: (gaw-bah')
KJV: exalt, be haughty, be (make) high(-er), lift up, mount up, be proud, raise up great height, upward
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to soar
2. be lofty
3. (figuratively) to be haughty

exalt, be haughty, be make higher, lift up, mount up, be proud, raise up great height, upward

A primitive root; to soar, i.e. Be lofty; figuratively, to be haughty -- exalt, be haughty, be (make) high(-er), lift up, mount up, be proud, raise up great height, upward.

גָּבַהּ verb be high, exalted (Late Hebrew id. (Hiph`il), Aramaic גְּבַהּ, compare Arabic forehead, prominence of forehead; compare perhaps also Assyrian gabâni, heights (?) Lotz^{TP 133}) —

Qal Perfect ׳ג2Chronicles 26:16 5t.; גָָּֽבְהָא֯ Ezekiel 31:5 (א = ה); גָּבַהְתָּ Ezekiel 31:10, גָּ˜בְהוּ Job 35:5 3t.; Imperfect יִגְבַּהּ Proverbs 18:12 5t.; suffix יִגְבְּהוּ Ezekiel 31:14, יִגְבָּ֑הוּ Job 36:7, תִּגְבָּ֑הוּ Jeremiah 13:15, תִּגְבְּהֶינָה Ezekiel 16:50; Infinitive כִּגְבֹהַּ Psalm 103:11, לְגָבְהָה Zephaniah 3:11; —

1 be high, lofty, tall, e.g. tree Ezekiel 19:11; Ezekiel 31:5,10,14, heavens Job 35:5; Isaiah 55:9; Psalm 103:11, man 1 Samuel 10:23.

2 be exalted, of man in dignity and honour Job 36:7, of servant of Yahweh Isaiah 52:13, God Isaiah 5:16, God's ways Isaiah 55:9.

3 lofty גָּבַהּ לִבּוֺ: —

a. in a good sense, encouraged in the ways of Yahweh 2 Chronicles 17:6;

b. elsewhere in a bad sense, be haughty Psalm 131:1; Proverbs 18:12; 2Chronicles 26:16; 32:25; Ezekiel 28:2,5,17, and so without לב Isaiah 3:16; Jeremiah 13:15; Ezekiel 16:50; Zephaniah 3:11.

Hiph`il Perfect הִגְבַּהְתִּי Ezekiel 17:24; Imperfect יַגְבִּיהַּ Job 39:27; Jeremiah 49:16; Obadiah 4; וַיַּגְבִּיהֶהָ2Chronicles 33:14; יַגְבִּיהוּ Job 5:7; Infinitive הַגְבֵּהַּ Isaiah 7:11; Ezekiel 21:31; Participle מַגְבִּיהַּ Proverbs 17:19; Psalm 113:5; — make high, exalt, e.g. trees Ezekiel 17:24, wall 2Chronicles 33:14, gate Proverbs 17:19, nest Jeremiah 49:16; Obadiah 4, dwelling Psalm 103:5, a request Isaiah 7:11, the lowly Ezekiel 21:31; יַגְבִּיהוּ עוּף make their flight high, soar aloft Job 5:7, without עוף Job 39:27.

Semantic Range and Thematic Core

גָּבַהּ (gabah) denotes elevation—literally of terrain, structure, or flight, and figuratively of spirit, status, or thought. Within its thirty-four Old Testament appearances, the word forms a theological axis: whenever sinful humanity “lifts itself up,” the Lord brings that height low; when the Lord is the One exalted, His loftiness is celebrated as righteous and saving.

Literal Elevation

1. Physical Height
• Job 39:27 pictures the eagle that “mounts up” at God’s command, illustrating the Creator’s authority over the highest flights of nature.
• Isaiah 55:9 uses the boundless gap between heaven and earth—“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways”—to stress divine transcendence.

2. Military and Architectural Contexts

Israel’s fortified cities are occasionally called “lofty,” but the prophets remind the people that even the most elevated walls fall before the Lord (Isaiah 26:5).

Metaphorical Elevation—Pride in the Human Heart

1. Personal Pride
• Proverbs 16:18–19: “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly with the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.”
• Psalm 131:1 contrasts the psalmist’s humility with gabah-type pride: “O LORD, my heart is not proud, my eyes are not haughty.”

2. Royal Pride

The Chronicler twice applies gabah to monarchs whose success bred self-exaltation:
• Uzziah: “But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction” (2 Chronicles 26:16).
• Hezekiah: “Hezekiah did not repay according to the favor shown him, for his heart became proud” (2 Chronicles 32:25). Both narratives end with judgment or threat and the clear warning that covenant blessing never legitimizes arrogance.

3. National Pride
• Jeremiah 48:29–30 indicts Moab: “We have heard of the pride of Moab—his exceeding pride and conceit, his arrogance and haughtiness.”
• Obadiah 4 delivers a near-poetic reversal: “Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the LORD.”

Divine Exaltation

While gabah regularly exposes human arrogance, it is also used to magnify God’s legitimate supremacy. Psalm 138:6 celebrates, “Though the LORD is on high, He attends to the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar.” The same vocabulary that condemns human self-promotion extols God’s inherent majesty, underscoring the moral difference between Creator and creature.

Wisdom Literature’s Pedagogy

Proverbs clusters gabah terms to create a pedagogical rhythm: human elevation invites a corresponding collapse, whereas humility attracts favor (Proverbs 18:12). This didactic use furnishes pastoral counselors with concise, memorable warnings against self-reliance.

Prophetic Oracles of Reversal

Isaiah’s early oracles (Isaiah 2:11–17) catalogue everything “lofty” that the Day of the LORD will humble, ranging from cedars of Lebanon to trading fleets. The repetitive cadence—“The pride of men will be humbled and the loftiness of men brought low”—weaves gabah into eschatological hope: universal righteousness cannot dawn until pride is judged.

Historical Theology

1. Pre-Exilic Lesson

Judah’s kings illustrate the misuse of covenant privilege. Uzziah’s and Hezekiah’s failures embed gabah in Israel’s communal memory: success apart from submission breeds downfall.

2. Post-Exilic Perspective

The Chronicler, writing to a restored community, wields these narratives as exhortation: national survival depends upon humility before a “high” yet accessible God.

Christological Trajectory

Though gabah itself is absent from the New Testament, its concept finds fulfillment in the kenosis of Christ. Philippians 2:8-9 records that He “humbled Himself… therefore God exalted Him.” The pattern mirrors Old Testament reversals: genuine humility leads to God-ordained exaltation, whereas self-exaltation meets divine resistance (James 4:6).

Pastoral and Ministry Implications

1. Spiritual Formation

Gabah texts encourage regular heart-examination. Leaders are warned by Uzziah; worshipers are invited to Psalm 131’s quiet trust. Prayer that asks “Search me, O God” (Psalm 139:23) seeks to uproot nascent pride before it matures into destruction.

2. Preaching and Discipleship
• Use Proverbs 16:18 and Isaiah 2 to confront cultural messages of self-promotion.
• Contrast God’s “high” ways (Isaiah 55:9) with the downward path of Christ’s incarnation to model servant leadership.

3. Community Ethics

Ecclesial decision-making must guard against corporate pride—church growth, resources, or history can subtly “lift up” a congregation. Gabah warns that shared arrogance is no safer than individual.

Summary

Gabah threads through Scripture as a moral barometer: height is blessed when ascribed to God or granted by Him; the same height becomes toxic when self-sought. The thirty-four verses that employ the verb invite every generation to bow low, trust high, and await the day when the Lord alone “will be exalted” (Isaiah 2:17).

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