H1397 H1397
gever -- a man emphasizing strength and vigor; a mighty or warrior-aged male, distinct from ish and adam
The noun gever designates a man with emphasis on strength, vigor, and martial capability -- a 'strong man' as opposed to the more generic ish ('man, husband') or adam ('human being'). It belongs predominantly to elevated poetic registers: Job uses it 14 times, the Psalms 8 times, and Proverbs 7 times. Balaam's oracles open with it -- 'the oracle of the gever whose eye is opened' (Num 24:3, 15) -- and Deuteronomy 22:5 pairs it with ishshah ('woman') in the cross-dressing prohibition. David's last words begin with 'the oracle of the gever raised on high' (2 Sam 23:1). Spanish varon/hombre, French homme/heros, and German Mann all render it, though none fully captures the connotation of robust physical manhood that distinguishes gever from its synonyms.
Senses
1. man (strong/mighty) — A man viewed under the aspect of strength, vigor, and warrior-readiness, distinguished from ish (the socially situated individual) and adam (the generic human). Predominantly poetic, it appears in Balaam's oracles (Num 24:3, 15), David's last words (2 Sam 23:1), the Deuteronomic cross-dressing law (Deut 22:5), and heavily in Job, Psalms, and Proverbs where the gever contends with God or fate. French heros hints at the heroic overtone, while Spanish varon and German Mann, though accurate, do not fully convey the physical-strength nuance that sets this term apart from its Near Eastern cognates. 65×
AR["رَجُلاً", "رَجُلًا", "رَجُلٌ", "رَجُلٍ", "رَجُلِ", "عَنِيفًا"]·ben["পুরুষ", "পুরুষদের", "পুরুষের", "মানুষ", "মানুষকে"]·DE["Mann", "ein-Mann", "ist-der-Mann"]·EN["a-man", "a-strong-man", "is-a-man", "is-the-man", "man", "man-of", "of-a-man"]·FR["homme", "héros"]·heb["גבר"]·HI["पुरुष", "पुरुष-का", "पुरुष-को", "पुरुष-से", "पुरुष।"]·ID["Orang", "laki-laki", "manusia", "orang", "pria", "seorang-laki-laki", "seorang-pria", "seseorang"]·IT["uomo", "uomo-forte"]·jav["priya", "tiyang", "tiyang-kakung"]·KO["남자-를", "남자가", "사람", "사람-의", "사람-이", "사람으로", "사람을", "사람이"]·PT["Homem", "homem", "homem-forte", "o-homem", "um-homem,", "varão", "é-o-homem", "ó-homem"]·RU["муж", "мужа", "мужем", "мужу", "человек"]·ES["Hombre", "el-hombre?", "el-varón", "hombre", "un-hombre", "varón"]·SW["mtu", "mwanaume"]·TR["adam", "adama", "adamı", "adamın", "erkek"]·urd["آدمی", "آدمی-پر", "آدمی-کا", "مرد", "مرد کو", "مرد-کو"]
Related Senses
H0376 1. man, person, human male (2130×)H0251 1. brother (blood sibling) (573×)H0120 1. man, human being (individual/generic) (527×)H0802 1. woman, female person (519×)H0802 2. wife, spouse (255×)H0517 1. mother, female parent (217×)G0435 1. man, male person (202×)G1135 1. woman, adult female (190×)H2233 1. offspring, descendants (172×)H0001 2. ancestor, forefather (146×)H5288 1. Youth, young man (122×)H0269 1. sister (female sibling) (113×)H1755 1. generation, contemporaries (96×)G5043 1. child, offspring (89×)G0444 2. people, humankind (86×)H3206 1. child, boy, youth (86×)H2145 1. male (human being) (79×)G3384 1. mother (77×)H6485a 1. Qal passive participle: numbered ones, enrollment (76×)H5291 1. young woman, girl (58×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
I. גֶּ֫בֶר66 n.m. man (NH id., MI16 גברן (pl.), Aramaic גְּבַר, ܓܒܰܪ; Assyrian gabru, rival is Akkadian loanword according to SchrJLZ 1874, 200 DlS 120, Sm. Chald. Gen. 286)—Dt 22:5 + 39 times; גָּ֑בֶר Jb 3:3 + 13 times; cstr. גְּבֶּר ψ 18:26 (= 2 S 22:26 גִּבּוֹר but 𝔊 𝔖 read גֶּבֶר); pl. גְּבָרים Je 41:16 + 10 times;—man as strong, disting. from women, children, and non-combatants whom he is…