H1404 H1404
Mistress, lady; a woman of authority over servants or of royal sovereignty
The feminine counterpart of gever/gibbor ('mighty man'), denoting a woman who holds authority. In its most frequent usage, geveret describes the mistress of a household in relation to her servants -- Sarah over Hagar is the defining example (Gen 16:4, 8, 9), and Psalm 123:2 generalizes the relationship: 'as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress.' The word takes on grander proportions in Isaiah 47:5, 7, where Babylon is mockingly addressed as geveret mamlakhot -- 'mistress of kingdoms' -- a title of imperial sovereignty that God is about to strip away. Spanish consistently renders 'senora' across both senses, while English distinguishes 'mistress' (domestic) from the royal connotation.
Senses
1. mistress (of a servant) — Mistress of a household, a woman exercising domestic authority over servants or maidservants. The paradigm case is Sarah as Hagar's geveret (Gen 16:4, 8, 9), where the term defines a social hierarchy: Hagar must return and submit 'under the hand of your mistress.' Also used of Naaman's wife as mistress over the Israelite servant girl (2 Kgs 5:3), and generalized in Psalm 123:2 and Proverbs 30:23. Spanish 'senora' and English 'mistress' both capture the relational authority; Isaiah 24:2 pairs it with its opposite ('as with the maidservant, so with her mistress') to describe social leveling in judgment. 7×
AR["سَيِّدَتَها","سَيِّدَتُهَا","سَيِّدَتِكِ","سَيِّدَتِها","سَيِّدَتِهَا","سَيِّدَتِي","كَسَيِّدَتِهَا"]·ben["গৃহকর্ত্রী-আমার","গৃহকর্ত্রী-তার","গৃহকর্ত্রী-তোমার","গৃহকর্ত্রীর-তার,","তার-কর্ত্রীর","তার-গৃহিণীকে","তেমন-তার-গৃহকর্ত্রী"]·DE["[גברתה]","[כגברתה]","deiner-Herrin","ihr-mistress","ihre-Herrin","meiner-Herrin"]·EN["her-mistress","my-mistress","so-her-mistress","your-mistress"]·FR["[כגברתה]","dame","mon-mistress","sa-mistress","sa-גברתה-elle","ton-mistress"]·heb["גבירתה","גברתה-ה","גברתי-י","גברתך-ך","כ-גבירתה"]·HI["अपनि-मलकिन","अपनि-मलकिन-के","अपनी-मालकिन-के","अपनी-मालकिन-से","उसकी-मालकिन-की-तरह","मालकिन-अपनी।"]·ID["nyonya-nya","nyonyaku","nyonyamu","nyonyanya","seperti-nyonyanya"]·IT["[גברתה]","lei-padrona","mio-mistress","perla","sua-mistress-sua","suo-mistress","tuo-mistress"]·jav["bendara-kula","bendara-nipun","bendara-panjenengan","bendaranipun","bendarinipun","kados-bendara-èstri-nipun","nyai-bendaranipun"]·KO["그녀-의-여주인-의","그녀의-여주인","그녀의-여주인을","그녀의-여주인이","그의-여주인-같이","내-여주인의","당신의-여주인"]·PT["como-sua-senhora","da-sua-senhora","senhora-dela","senhora-minha","senhora-tua","sua-senhora"]·RU["-госпоже-её","госпожа-её","госпоже-твоей","госпожи-её","госпожи-моей","госпожу-свою","как-госпоже-её"]·ES["a-su-señora","como-su-señora","mi-señora","señora-de-ella","su-señora","tu-señora"]·SW["bibi-yake","bibi-yako","bibi-yangu","kama-bibi-yake","wa-bibi-yake"]·TR["hanimi-gibi","hanımefendimin","hanımefendine","hanımefendisinden","hanımefendisini","hanımina","hanımının"]·urd["اُس-کی-مالکن","اُس-کی-مالکن-کی-طرح","اپنی-مالکن","اپنی-مالکن-کے","مالکن-اپنی-کی","میری-مالکن"]
2. lady, queen — Lady or queen -- a title of sovereign or imperial authority. Used exclusively in Isaiah 47:5, 7, where personified Babylon is addressed as geveret mamlakhot ('mistress of kingdoms'), boasting 'I shall be a lady forever.' The shift from domestic to political authority is dramatic: this is not household management but imperial dominion. Spanish renders 'senora de' and English 'mistress of,' but the context of divine judgment against Babylon's arrogance elevates the term far beyond its domestic register. 2×
AR["سَيِّدَةً","سَيِّدَةَ"]·ben["মালকিন"]·DE["[גברת]"]·EN["a-mistress","mistress-of"]·FR["[גברת]"]·heb["גברת"]·HI["मालकिन"]·ID["nyonya"]·IT["perla"]·jav["ratu","ratunipun"]·KO["여주인","여주인이"]·PT["senhora","senhora-de"]·RU["госпожа","госпожой"]·ES["señora","señora-de"]·SW["bibi"]·TR["hanim","hanimi-"]·urd["ملکہ"]
Related Senses
H0376 1. man, person, human male (2130×)H0001 1. father, immediate male parent (1031×)G2962 1. Lord (divine title) (661×)H0251 1. brother (blood sibling) (573×)H0120 1. man, human being (individual/generic) (527×)H0802 1. woman, female person (519×)G0444 1. human being, person (469×)H0136 1. Lord (divine title) (440×)G3962 1. father or divine Father (413×)G0080 1. brother, fellow believer (343×)H0802 2. wife, spouse (255×)H0113 1. lord, human superior (249×)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×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† גְּבֶ֫רֶת n.f. 1. lady, queen, Is 47:5, 7. 2. mistress of servants, sf. גְּבִרְתִּי Gn 16:8; גְּבִרְתֵּךְ Gn 16:9; גְּבִרְתָּהּ Gn 16:4 2 K 5:3 ψ 123:2 Pr 30:23; (pl. גברת women MI16); גְּבִרְתָּהּ Is 24:2.