Bible Word Study
גִּבְעָא
Gibʻâʼ · Giba, a place in Palestine
גִּבְעָא
Giba, a place in Palestine
Definition
Gibʻâʼ is a proper noun referring to a specific place in ancient Palestine, identified as a town or settlement. The name itself means 'hill' or 'hill country,' derived from its geographical setting. In the Bible, it appears only once in 1 Chronicles 2:49, where it is listed as a place associated with the descendants of Caleb. This Giba is distinct from the more frequently mentioned Gibeah (also from the root for 'hill'), which is associated with significant events involving Saul and the tribe of Benjamin.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only once in the Old Testament, in 1 Chronicles 2:49. It functions solely as a geographical proper name within a genealogical list, specifying a location connected to Caleb's family. There are no patterns of usage across different books or contexts, as it is a single-occurrence toponym.
Etymology
Gibʻâʼ is a by-form or permutation of the Hebrew word גִּבְעָה (gibʻâh, H1389), which means 'hill' or 'hill country.' It shares the root ג־ב־ע (g-b-ʻ), relating to heights or mounds. The variation in ending likely reflects a local or dialectical form used for this specific place name, maintaining the core meaning of a elevated settlement.
Semantic Range
In the ancient Near Eastern context, place names often described physical features. A town named 'hill' would typically be situated on elevated terrain, which offered defensive advantages and visibility. This reflects the practical and descriptive nature of naming settlements in ancient Israelite culture. גִּבְעָה (gibʻâh, H1389) — The more common Hebrew word for 'hill' or 'hill country,' used for various locations, including the prominent city of Gibeah of Benjamin and Gibeah of God.
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]