Bible Word Study
דָּגָה
dâgâh · to spawn, i.e. become numerous
דָּגָה
to spawn, i.e. become numerous
Definition
The Hebrew verb דָּגָה (dâgâh) means 'to multiply' or 'to increase greatly,' specifically in the context of a population growing like fish. It is a denominative verb derived from the noun for 'fish' (דָּג, H1709), picturing rapid and abundant reproduction. In its sole biblical occurrence, Genesis 48:16, Jacob blesses Joseph's sons, asking God to make them 'multiply like fish' (יִדְגּוּ לָרֹב, yidgû lārōb) in the midst of the earth. The word carries the sense of a divinely blessed, exponential increase.
Biblical Usage
This verb is used only once in the Old Testament, in Genesis 48:16. It appears in a patriarchal blessing context, where Jacob (Israel) prophetically speaks over his grandsons Ephraim and Manasseh. The usage is poetic and metaphorical, invoking the image of fish teeming in the water to describe a future, divinely orchestrated population explosion for these tribes.
Etymology
דָּגָה is a primitive root, but its usage is as a denominative verb from the noun דָּג (dâg, H1709), meaning 'fish.' The core idea is 'to act like a fish,' specifically in the characteristic of prolific spawning and rapid multiplication. This connection directly informs its metaphorical meaning of abundant increase.
Semantic Range
This word is theologically significant as it encapsulates a key theme of the Abrahamic covenant: divinely promised multiplication (Genesis 12:2, 15:5). Jacob's use of this specific metaphor in Genesis 48:16 connects the blessing on Joseph's sons to God's original creative command for fish to 'swarm' in the seas (Genesis 1:20-22). It portrays God's blessing not as a slow trickle but as a supernatural, life-filled explosion, ensuring the future nation's strength and fulfillment of promise. In ancient Near Eastern culture, fish were a potent symbol of fertility and overwhelming abundance due to their vast numbers and rapid reproduction. A blessing to 'multiply like fish' would be immediately understood as a request for extraordinary, almost uncountable increase, far beyond normal human family growth. This contrasts with a modern, more abstract understanding of 'growth.' רָבָה (râbâh, H7235) — a more general verb for 'to become many, to multiply,' used for people, animals, and things. פָּרָה (pârâh, H6509) — means 'to bear fruit, to be fruitful,' often used in agricultural and covenantal blessing contexts (e.g., Genesis 1:28).
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon (BDB, 1906, public domain). Concordance and morphology data are from the OSHB (Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible).
Full methodology & sources →References
- Abbott-Smith, G. (1921) A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Brown, F., Driver, S.R. and Briggs, C.A. (1906) A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [Public Domain]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Tyndale Brief lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (TBESG). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Tyndale House, Cambridge (n.d.) Translators Formatted full LSJ (TFLSJ). STEPBible. Available at: https://www.stepbible.org. [CC BY 4.0]
- Thayer, J.H. (1889) A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. [Public Domain]
- Gesenius, W. (1846) Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament. [Public Domain]
- Dodson, J. (2010) Greek Lexicon. Biblical Humanities. [CC0]