רַב H7229
Great, large (in size, magnitude, or rank); as a title: chief, head official in Aramaic court contexts.
An Aramaic adjective meaning 'great' or 'large,' appearing exclusively in Daniel and Ezra. It describes the enormous statue in Nebuchadnezzar's dream (Dan 2:31), the great sea (Dan 7:2), and impressive feasts and signs. When used in construct chains, it functions as a title meaning 'chief' or 'head official,' as in 'chief of the executioners' (Dan 2:14) and 'chief of the magicians' (Dan 4:6). Spanish 'grande' and German 'gross' consistently capture the adjectival sense, while the titular usage emerges clearly from phrases like 'jefe-de' in Spanish translations.
Senses
1. great, large (adjectival quality) — Describes magnitude, size, or importance as a qualitative adjective: the great image (Dan 2:31), great beasts (Dan 7:3, 7), a great feast (Dan 5:1), and great signs (Dan 3:33). The multilingual evidence uniformly renders this as 'great/grand/gross,' confirming a straightforward scalar adjective. Also used comparatively with min ('greater than,' Dan 7:20). Covers both physical scale and abstract impressiveness, as in 'the great God' (Ezra 5:8) and 'a great king' (Ezra 4:10). 11×
AR["أَعْظَمُ", "العَظِيم", "الْعَظِيمَةُ", "الْعَظِيمُ", "الْعَظِيمِ", "عَظِيم", "عَظِيمٌ", "عَظِيمٍ", "عَظِيمَةً", "كَبِيرٌ"]·ben["বড়", "মহান"]·DE["[רבא]", "gross", "viel"]·EN["great", "greater", "huge", "the-great"]·FR["grand", "le-grand", "nombreux"]·heb["גדול", "ה-גדול", "ה-גדולה", "רב", "רבא"]·HI["बड़ा", "महान", "विशाल"]·ID["agung", "besar", "lebih-besar", "yang-agung", "yang-besar"]·IT["grande", "molto", "numeroso"]·jav["ageng", "agung", "ingkang-ageng", "kang-ageng", "lan-punika", "langkung-ageng", "mbangun"]·KO["컨", "크고", "큰", "큰-것이라", "큰에게"]·PT["a-grande", "enorme", "era-maior", "grande", "o-grande"]·RU["-великий", "больший", "великий", "великого", "великое", "великой"]·ES["grande", "inmensa", "la-grande", "mayor"]·SW["kubwa", "mkubwa", "mkuu"]·TR["buyuk", "büyük", "denizin", "devasa"]·urd["بڑا", "بڑی", "بڑے", "بڑے-نے", "بڑے-کے", "عظیم"]
2. chief, head official (titular) — Functions as a substantivized title in construct chains designating official rank: 'chief of the executioners' (rav tabbachayya, Dan 2:14), 'chief of the prefects' (rav signin, Dan 2:48), and 'chief of the magicians' (rav chartummayya, Dan 4:6; 5:11). The Spanish 'jefe-de' and French 'grand' capture this titular nuance distinctly from the purely adjectival sense, reflecting a well-attested Aramaic bureaucratic convention parallel to Akkadian rab-usage in Neo-Babylonian court titles. 4×
AR["رَئِيسَ", "رَئِيسَ-", "وَ-رَئِيسَ-"]·ben["এবং-প্রধান-", "প্রধান", "প্রধান-"]·DE["und-viel", "viel"]·EN["and-chief-of-", "chief-of", "chief-of-"]·FR["et-grand", "grand"]·heb["ו-רב", "רב"]·HI["और-प्रधान", "प्रधान"]·ID["dan-kepala", "kepala"]·IT["e-molto", "molto"]·jav["lan-pangageng-", "pangageng-", "pangarsa-", "tetuwaning"]·KO["그리고-장-", "우두머리-", "장-"]·PT["chefe-de", "chefe-dos", "e-chefe-de"]·RU["глава", "главой", "и-начальником-", "начальнику-"]·ES["jefe-de", "y-jefe-de"]·SW["mkuu-wa", "na-mkuu-wa"]·TR["başı", "başı-", "ve-baş-"]·urd["اور-سردار", "سردار"]
Related Senses
H3605 1. all, every, whole (5352×)H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H0259 1. one (cardinal numeral) (940×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)H8147 1. cardinal number two (666×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
רַב adj. great (𝔗 Syriac);—abs. Dn 2:31 +, cstr. v 14 +; emph. m. רַבָּא Ezr 4:10 +; f. רַבְּתָא Dn 4:27; mpl. redupl. רַבְרְבִין (K§ 59, 4) 3:33, fpl. -בָן 2:48 +, emph. תָא—ָ 7:11, 17;— 1. great, lit., of image Dn 2:31, rock v 35, city 4:27, sea 7:2, beast v 3, 17, teeth v 7, gifts 2:48; great, imposing, feast 5:1, signs 3:33, words 7:8, 11, 20; c. מִן comp. 7:20. 2. fig. of power, influence,…