גְּבִנָה
curdled milk
Definition
גְּבִנָה (gᵉbinâh) refers to a dairy product made from curdled or coagulated milk, essentially a soft cheese or curds. In its single biblical occurrence in Job 10:10, it is used metaphorically in a description of human formation, comparing God's creative work to the curdling of milk into cheese. The term denotes a thickened, solid state achieved from a liquid, highlighting a process of transformation and solidification. While the KJV translates it as 'cheese,' modern lexicons often render it more broadly as 'curds' or 'curdled milk,' capturing the basic dairy product known in the ancient Near East.
Biblical Usage
This word appears only once in the Old Testament, in Job 10:10. It is used in a poetic, metaphorical context within Job's lament, where he describes God's intricate formation of his body in the womb: 'Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese?' (Job 10:10, NIV). The usage is not about dietary practice but serves as a vivid image of creation and shaping from fluid materials.
Etymology
The noun גְּבִנָה (gᵉbinâh) is a feminine form derived from the root גבן (gbn), which relates to being curved, arched, or bulging. This root is seen in the related word גִּבֵּן (gibbēn, H1384), meaning 'hunchbacked.' The semantic connection likely moves from the idea of something that is thickened, congealed, or formed into a rounded mass, hence 'curds' or 'cheese.' Cognates in other Semitic languages, like Arabic 'jubn,' also mean 'cheese,' confirming this basic meaning.
Semantic Range
Though a simple food term, its theological significance emerges from its unique metaphorical application in Job 10:10. It enriches the biblical imagery of God as a master artisan or potter, intimately involved in human formation. The analogy of curdling milk into cheese poetically illustrates God's sovereign, transformative power in creating life from basic substances, emphasizing both the wonder and the fragility of human existence as crafted by the Creator.
In the ancient Israelite and broader Near Eastern context, dairy products like curds and cheese were valuable, protein-rich foods, often made from goat's or sheep's milk. The process of curdling milk (using rennet or acidic substances) to make a preservable solid was a common household skill. The metaphor in Job would have been immediately understandable to an agrarian audience, drawing from everyday observation of a tangible transformation from liquid to solid.
חֶמְאָה (chem'âh, H2529) — butter or curdled milk, often a richer, fattier dairy product. חָלָב (chālâb, H2461) — milk, the base liquid from which גְּבִנָה is made.
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
Full methodology & sources →