H1500 H1500
gezelah -- robbery, plunder; the act of violent seizure or the property so taken
The feminine noun gezelah denotes robbery or plunder -- both the violent act of seizing another's property and the goods so taken. Derived from the root g-z-l ('to tear away, snatch'), it carries a strong connotation of forcible, unjust appropriation. In Leviticus 6:4 (MT 5:23), it appears in the restitution law: a thief must return the gezelah he has stolen, adding a fifth of its value. Ezekiel uses the term three times (18:7, 12, 16) to distinguish the righteous from the wicked by whether they 'commit robbery.' Isaiah 3:14 accuses the elders and princes that 'the plunder of the poor is in your houses,' making gezelah an indictment of social injustice. Spanish despojo, lo robado and English 'robbery, plunder' together capture both the act and its proceeds.
Senses
1. robbery, plunder, spoil — Robbery, plunder, or the property seized by violence -- the abstract/concrete noun from the root g-z-l. In legal contexts (Lev 6:4), it denotes the stolen goods that must be restored with penalty. In Ezekiel's righteousness catechism (18:7, 12, 16), committing gezelah is a diagnostic marker of wickedness. Isaiah 3:14 uses it in prophetic accusation: the plunder of the poor found in the houses of the powerful. Spanish despojo ('spoils') and lo robado ('what was stolen') together reflect the dual act-and-object sense, while English 'robbery' and 'plunder' similarly span both dimensions. 6×
AR["-المَنْهُوبَ", "سَلبُ", "مَسْلُوبَةً", "مَغْصُوبًا", "مَغْصُوبَاتٍ", "وَمَغْصُوبًا"]·ben["আর-লুণ্ঠন", "লুট", "লুটকে", "লুণ্ঠন", "লুন্ঠন"]·DE["[גזלה]", "[גזלות]", "[גזלת]", "[וגזלה]", "der-robbery"]·EN["and-robbery", "plunder-of", "robberies", "robbery", "the-robbery"]·FR["[גזלת]", "et-vol", "le-robbery", "vol"]·heb["גזילה", "גזלה", "גזלות", "גזלת", "ה-גזלה", "ו-גזלה"]·HI["और-लूट", "लूट", "लूटों", "से-पाप"]·ID["dan-rampasan", "hasil-rampokan", "rampasan", "rampasan-rampasan", "rampokan"]·IT["[גזלה]", "[גזלות]", "[גזלת]", "[וגזלה]", "il-robbery"]·jav["lan-rayahan", "rampasan", "rayahan"]·KO["강탈들을", "강탈을", "그-강탈한-것을", "그리고-강탈을", "도둑질한-것을", "약탈물이"]·PT["a-coisa-roubada", "despojo-do", "e-roubo", "roubo", "roubos"]·RU["грабежи", "грабёж", "и-грабёж", "награбленное", "похищенное"]·ES["despojo-del", "lo-robado", "robo", "robos", "y-robo"]·SW["iliyoporwa", "kilichoporwa", "na-wizi", "nyara-za", "wizi"]·TR["-yağmayı", "gasbı", "gasp-edilenleri", "ve-gasbı", "çalınanı"]·urd["اور-لوٹ-کا-مال", "لوٹ", "لوٹ-کا-مال", "لوٹا", "لوٹا-ہوا-مال"]
Related Senses
H5414 1. give, bestow (1855×)H3947 1. take, seize, grasp (Qal) (940×)G2192 1. possess / have (680×)G1325 1. give, bestow (336×)H5159 1. inherited land or property (170×)G2983 1. receive, obtain (134×)H3423 1. Qal: take possession of land (130×)G2983 2. take, take up (113×)G2398 1. one's own, belonging to oneself (91×)G3860 1. hand over, deliver to custody (78×)H7998 1. spoil, plunder, booty (74×)G1325 2. be given, be granted (70×)H5414 2. put, place, set (68×)H7999a 1. pay, repay, recompense (63×)H7069 1. Buy, purchase (59×)H1892 1. vanity, futility, absurdity (58×)H5159 2. heritage as covenant portion (52×)H6299 1. redeem or ransom (Qal active) (49×)H4376 1. Sell (Qal active) (47×)H1350a 1. Redeem, buy back (46×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† גְּזֵלָה n.f. plunder, spoil—גְּזֵלָה Lv 5:23 + 3 times; cstr. גְּזֵלַת Is 3:14, גְּזֵלוֹת Ez 18:12;—thing seized, spoil Lv 5:23 (P) Ez 33:15; גְּזֵלַת הֶעָנִי Is 3:14; as acc. cogn. Ez 18:7, 12, 16.