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Great; Greatness
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
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grāt , grāt´nes : "Great" occurs very often in Scripture. The chief words so translated are גּדול , gādhōl , רב , rabh ; μέγας , mégas , πολύς , polús ̌ .
(1) In the Old Testament many other terms are employed: ( a ) gādhōl is used to express greatness in various senses, chiefly of magnitude , including excellence , e.g. "great lights" ( Genesis 1:16 ); "the great city" (Genesis 10:12 ); "a great nation" (Genesis 12:2 ); "a great sight" (Exodus 3:3 ); "Moses was very great" (Exodus 11:3 ); "the great God" (Deuteronomy 10:17; Nehemiah 1:5 ); "great is Yahweh" (Psalm 48:1 ). It is sometimes translated by "mighty" (Deuteronomy 4:37; Deuteronomy 7:21 , "a mighty God," the Revised Version (British and American) "great"). It is also used to designate the high priest (literally, "great," Leviticus 21:10; Zechariah 3:1 , etc.); also to express the "elder" of a family, e.g. Genesis 27:1 , "Esau his eldest son," the Revised Version (British and American) "elder"; probably also of great stature: "a great man among the Anakims," the Revised Version (British and American) "the greatest" (Joshua 14:15 ). (b ) rabh denotes, rather, quantity , number , therefore, often, "many" (Genesis 21:34 , etc.; Exodus 2:23 the Revised Version (British and American), etc.); "abundant" ( Exodus 34:6 , the English Revised Version "plenteous"), and similar terms; thus we have "a great people" (Joshua 17:14 ); "His mercies are great," the Revised Version, margin "many" (2 Samuel 24:14; 1 Chronicles 21:13 ); "Great was the company," the Revised Version (British and American) "a great host" (Psalm 68:11 ); "great reward" (Psalm 19:11 ); "Mine iniquity ... is great" (Psalm 25:11 ); "exceedingly" (Psalm 123:3 ). In the Septuagint rabh is, for the most part, translated by polus ̌ . But it is used for "great" in other senses, e.g. "the great (God)" (Proverbs 26:10 ), the Revised Version (British and American) "as an archer," margin "master worker; Hebrew text obscure"; "a saviour, and a great one," the Revised Version (British and American) "defender," margin "or a mighty one" (Isaiah 19:20 ); "Great shall be the peace" (Isaiah 54:13 ), etc. It is sometimes translated "mighty" (Psalm 89:50 , the Revised Version, margin "many"; Isaiah 63:1 ). (c ) Other words thus translated are kābhēdh , "heavy," e.g. "so great a people," the Revised Version (British and American) "thy great people," margin "heavy" (1 Kings 3:9 ); me'ōdh , implying force , might , e.g. "with all his might" (2 Kings 23:25 ). 'El and 'Elohim are sometimes used to express greatness. In Psalm 36:6 , we have "Thy righteousness is like the great ('Ēl ) mountains," the Revised Version (British and American) "mountains of God"; in Genesis 30:8 , "with great (ם , 'Ĕlōhı̄m ) wrestlings," the Revised Version (British and American) "mighty," margin "wrestlings of God"; and in 1 Samuel 14:15 "a very great ( ם , 'Elohı̄m ) trembling," the Revised Version (British and American) "exceeding great," margin "a trembling of God."
(2) ( a ) Megas denotes magnitude , in its various aspects, physical, moral, etc., e.g. "great joy" ( Matthew 2:10 ); "a great light" (Matthew 4:16 ); "the great King" (Matthew 5:35 ); "great in the kingdom" (Matthew 5:19 , etc.); "Great is thy faith" (Matthew 15:28 ); "The greatest is charity" (love), the Revised Version, margin "greater" (1 Corinthians 13:13 ); "a great high priest" (Hebrews 4:14 ); "the great shepherd" (Hebrews 13:20 ); "a great voice" (Revelation 1:10 ); in Rev megas is very frequent. (b ) Polus denotes properly number , multitude , e.g. "great multitudes" (Matthew 4:25 ); "a great company" (Luke 5:29 , the Revised Version (British and American) "a great multitude"; frequent in the Gospels); "great possessions" (Mark 10:22 ). But also "great" in the sense of magnitude, e.g. "great plainness of speech," the Revised Version (British and American) "boldness" (2 Corinthians 3:12; 2 Corinthians 7:4 ); "a great trial of affliction," the Revised Version (British and American) "much proof" (2 Corinthians 8:2 ); "great love" (Ephesians 2:4 ). (c ) Among other terms we have tēlikoútos , "so great" (in degree), "so great a salvation" (Hebrews 2:3 ); tosoútos , "so great" (in quantity), "so great faith" (Matthew 8:10; Luke 7:9 ); "so great a cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1 ); hósos , "how great" (in quantity) (Mark 3:8; Mark 5:19 f); hēlı́kos , "how great" (in degree) (Colossians 2:1; James 3:5 , "how great a matter," the Revised Version (British and American) "how much wood," margin "how great a forest"); pēlı́kos , "how great" (in degree) (Hebrews 7:4 ); pósos , "how great" (in quantity) (Matthew 6:23 ), etc.
(3) In His person and teaching, Jesus introduced into the world a new conception of greatness . It was to be found in humility and self-forgetting service: "Whosoever would become great among you shall be your minister (the Revised Version, margin "servant"); and whosoever would be first among you shall be your servant (the Revised Version, margin "(Greek) bond-servant"): even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many" ( Matthew 20:26-28; compare also Matthew 18:1-4; Matthew 23:11; Philippians 2:5-11 ).
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Bibliography Information
Orr, James, M.A., D.D. General Editor. Entry for 'Great; Greatness'. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/isb/g/great-greatness.html. 1915.
