H1602 H1602
To abhor, loathe with visceral disgust; (Nifal) be defiled or rejected; (Hifil) fail, miscarry.
A verb of deep revulsion that dominates the covenant curses of Leviticus 26, where it appears five times in a bitter back-and-forth: God will not 'abhor' his people if they keep his statutes (Lev 26:11), but if they 'abhor' his judgments (26:15), he will act accordingly -- yet even then, he will not utterly 'abhor' them to destroy them (26:44). Jeremiah echoes this covenant language: 'Has your soul abhorred Zion?' (Jer 14:19). The Nifal passive appears once in David's lament over Saul, where the shield of the mighty 'was defiled' -- cast away as unclean (2 Sam 1:21). A rare Hifil in Job 21:10 describes a cow that does not 'fail' to calve, using the same root in a strikingly different biological register. Spanish aborrecer and French abhorrer track the dominant sense of visceral loathing.
Senses
1. abhor, loathe — Active, visceral abhorrence or loathing -- feeling intense disgust toward someone or something. Five of eight occurrences cluster in Leviticus 26's covenant-curse discourse, where both God and Israel are subject to this revulsion (Lev 26:11, 15, 30, 43, 44). Ezekiel 16:45 applies it to women who 'loathe' their husbands. Spanish aborrecer and Arabic karraha converge on the same gut-level rejection. 8×
AR["أَكْرَهْهُمْ", "الْمُقْرِفَةُ", "تَرْفُضُ", "تَكْرَهُ", "قَرِفْنَ", "كَرِهَتْ", "وَ-تَكْرَهُ"]·ben["এবং-ঘৃণা-করবে", "ঘৃণা-করবে", "ঘৃণা-করে", "ঘৃণা-করেছিল", "ঘৃণা-করেছিলাম-তাদের", "ঘৃণা-করেছে", "ঘৃণাকারিণী"]·DE["[געלה]", "[געלו]", "[געלת]", "ich-verabscheute-ihnen", "und-wird-verabscheuen", "verabscheut", "verabscheute", "wird-verabscheuen"]·EN["I-abhorred-them", "abhorred", "abhors", "and-will-abhor", "has-loathed", "loathed", "loathing", "will-abhor"]·FR["[געלה]", "abhorred", "abhorrer", "abhors", "et-fera-abhor", "fera-abhor", "je-abhorred-eux"]·heb["גועלת", "געלה", "געלו", "געלתים", "ו-געלה", "תגעל"]·HI["और-घृणा करेगी", "घृणा करेगी", "घृणा किया", "घृणा-करती-है", "घृणा-करनेवाली", "घृणा-की", "मैंने घृणा किया उनसे"]·ID["Aku-muak-terhadap-mereka", "dan-jiwa-Ku-akan-muak", "dibenci", "jijik-kepada", "jiwa-Ku-akan-muak", "jiwamu-muak", "yang-jijik-kepada"]·IT["[געלה]", "[געלו]", "[געלת]", "abhorred", "abhors", "e-fara-abhor", "fara-abhor", "io-abhorred-loro"]·jav["Kawula-jijik-piyambakipun", "Paduka-jijik", "ingkang-jijik", "jijik", "lan-jijik"]·KO["그리고-협오할것이다", "나는-협오하였다-그들을", "싫어하셨나이까", "향오하는", "향오하였다", "협오하면", "협오하였다", "협오할것이다"]·PT["abominar", "abominou", "e-abominará", "os-abominei", "que-rejeita", "rejeitaram", "rejeitará"]·RU["возгнушается", "возгнушалась", "возгнушался", "гнушается", "гнушались", "гнушающаяся", "и-возгнушается"]·ES["aborrecerá", "aborreciere", "aborrecieron", "aborreció", "la-que-aborrece", "los-aborrecí", "y-aborrecerá"]·SW["anayemchukia", "ilichukia", "imechukia", "itachukia", "na-itachukia", "nimewachukia", "waliwachukia"]·TR["tiksindi", "tiksindim-onlardan", "tiksindin", "tiksinecek", "tiksinen", "tiksinenler", "tiksinirse", "ve-tiksinecek"]·urd["اور-نفرت-کرے-گی", "بیزار-تھی", "بیزاری-کی", "نفرت-کرے", "نفرت-کرے-گی", "نفرت-کی", "نفرت-کی-میں-نے-اُن-سے"]
2. be defiled, be rejected — Nifal passive: to be cast off as defiled or ritually rejected. In David's dirge over Saul and Jonathan, the shield of heroes 'was defiled' on Mount Gilboa (2 Sam 1:21) -- polluted by blood and stripped of its sacred honor. The passive voice and defilement vocabulary distinguish this from the active abhorrence of sense 1. 1×
AR["تُنُجِّسَ"]·ben["অপবিত্র-হল"]·DE["war-defiled"]·EN["was-defiled"]·FR["fut-defiled"]·heb["נגעל"]·HI["अपवित्र-हुई"]·ID["tercemarkan"]·IT["era-contaminò"]·jav["karemehaken"]·KO["버림받았다"]·PT["foi-rejeitado"]·RU["осквернён"]·ES["fue-rechazado"]·SW["ilitupiwa"]·TR["kirletildi"]·urd["پلید-ہوئی"]
3. fail, break down — Hifil causative: to fail or miscarry, used of a biological process ceasing to function. Job 21:10 describes a wicked man's cow that breeds successfully and 'does not fail' -- the only occurrence in this stem, shifting from emotional revulsion to reproductive failure. The English 'fails' and Spanish falla confirm the semantic distance from the core abhorrence meaning. 1×
AR["يُخْفِقُ"]·ben["সে-ব্যর্থ-হয়"]·DE["[יגעל]"]·EN["fails"]·FR["rejeter"]·heb["יגעל"]·HI["वह-असफल-होता"]·ID["gagal"]·IT["fails"]·jav["gagal"]·KO["실패하지-않고"]·PT["falha"]·RU["отвергает"]·ES["falla;"]·SW["hakosi"]·TR["başarısız-olur"]·urd["ناکام ہوتا"]
Related Senses
H3548 1. priest, cultic officiant (750×)G5547 1. Christ, Messiah, Anointed One (540×)H5030 1. Prophet, divine spokesperson (317×)H5930a 1. burnt offering (sacrifice) (286×)H3881 1. Levites (priestly class) (283×)G4102 1. faith, trust, belief (239×)G4100 1. believe / have faith in (233×)G2309 1. want, desire (166×)G4396 1. prophet, spokesperson of God (146×)G0025 1. to love actively (133×)H0157 1. love (verb, active Qal) (129×)H6944 1. sanctuary, holy place (129×)G0749 1. high priest, chief priest (123×)H6944 2. holiness, sacredness (abstract quality) (123×)H8055 1. Qal: rejoice, be glad (123×)H7453 1. neighbor, fellow man (120×)G0026 1. of love (115×)H1058 1. Qal: to weep, cry (112×)H0982 1. trust in, rely on (105×)G5330 1. Pharisee (99×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [גָּעַל] vb. abhor, loathe (NH געל Nithpa. be fouled, Hiph. rinse out with hot water; גְּעִילָה rejection; Aramaic געל Ithpe. be fouled, soiled)— Qal Pf. 3 fs. גָּֽעֲלָה Lv 26:43 Je 14:19, וְגָֽעֲלָה cons. Lv 26:30; גְּעַלְתִּים Lv 26:44; גָּֽעֲלוּ Ez 16:45; Impf. 3 fs. תִּגְעַל Lv 26:11, 15; Pt. f. גֹּעֶ֫לֶת Ez 16:45;—abhor, loathe, (usually c. acc.), Yahweh, his people Lv 26:11, 30, 44 (H) Je…