What does גָּאוֹן (gāʾôn) mean in the Bible?
Gaon is a Hebrew noun of elevation that can describe majesty, splendor, excellence, pride, arrogance, or pomp. Its moral value is not fixed by elevation itself.
Hebrew · H1347
גָּאוֹן
The same as 1346
Reading a lexicon entry
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גָּאוֹןH1347
Pronunciationgāʾôn
What does גָּאוֹן (gāʾôn) mean in the Bible?
Gaon is a Hebrew noun of elevation that can describe majesty, splendor, excellence, pride, arrogance, or pomp. Its moral value is not fixed by elevation itself.
Reader summary
Full entry for גָּאוֹן (H1347) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H1347?
The BSB source-word alignment has 49 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include the pride (8), pride (5), arrogance (3), of His majesty (3), arrogant (2).
Where does גָּאוֹן (gāʾôn) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Exodus 15:7. Its strongest book concentrations include Isaiah (12), Ezekiel (9), Jeremiah (7), Job (4).
What This Word Actually Means
Gaon is a Hebrew noun of elevation that can describe majesty, splendor, excellence, pride, arrogance, or pomp. Its moral value is not fixed by elevation itself. Exodus celebrates the Lord's great majesty in deliverance, and Micah describes the coming shepherd standing in the majestic name of the Lord. Proverbs warns that human pride precedes destruction, while Amos records God's abhorrence of Jacob's pride alongside fortified wealth and complacency.
The word therefore requires an identified bearer and a context: divine majesty deserves worship, created splendor may be received with gratitude, and arrogant self-exaltation is exposed and judged. Teachers should not treat confidence, cultural difference, leadership, or beauty as pride simply because they are visible. Nor should they rename vanity as excellence to protect powerful people.
Biblical humility tells the truth about God, self, neighbor, gifts, limits, and dependence. It redirects honor toward God and service rather than requiring people to deny the dignity or abilities He has given.
How the Bible Uses It
Gaon can praise divine majesty or condemn human arrogance, so the possessor, object, social setting, and narrative evaluation determine whether elevation is glorious or corrupt.
- Exod.15.7
You overthrew Your adversaries by Your great majesty. You unleashed Your burning wrath; it consumed them like stubble.
The victory song attributes majestic greatness to the Lord who delivered Israel, not to Israel's military strength or self-importance.
- Prov.16.18
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
The proverb warns that self-exalting pride carries a destructive trajectory, without offering license to predict every person's immediate downfall.
- Amos.6.8
The Lord God has sworn by Himself—the Lord, the God of Hosts, has declared: “I abhor Jacob’s pride and detest his citadels, so I will deliver up the city and everything in it.”
Amos joins Jacob's pride to fortified security, luxury, and indifference, exposing communal power that ignores approaching judgment and suffering.
- Mic.5.4
He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majestic name of the Lord His God. And they will dwell securely, for then His greatness will extend to the ends of the earth.
The promised ruler shepherds in the Lord's strength and majestic name, locating his authority in God and directing it toward secure care.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itthe pride8×Job 35:12, Psalms 47:4, Jeremiah 13:9, Ezekiel 7:24
pride5×Leviticus 26:19, Proverbs 16:18, Isaiah 60:15, Jeremiah 13:9
arrogance3×Isaiah 16:6, Hosea 5:5, Hosea 7:10
of His majesty3×Isaiah 2:10, Isaiah 2:19, Isaiah 2:21
arrogant2×Proverbs 8:13, Ezekiel 16:49
from the thickets2×Jeremiah 49:19, Jeremiah 50:44
pomposity2×Isaiah 16:6, Jeremiah 48:29
[with] majesty1×Job 40:10
and her proud1×Ezekiel 30:6
and the pride1×Ezekiel 33:28
by the Pride1×Amos 8:7
her proud1×Ezekiel 30:18
his proud1×Jeremiah 48:29
in the majestic1×Micah 5:4
in the thickets1×Jeremiah 12:5
in their pride1×Psalms 59:12
into pride1×Ezekiel 7:20
its glorious1×Isaiah 23:9
like the splendor1×Nahum 2:2
majesty1×Exodus 15:7
of the pride1×Isaiah 13:19
of your pride1×Ezekiel 16:56
the haughtiness1×Isaiah 13:11
the majesty1×Isaiah 24:14
the splendor1×Nahum 2:2
the thickets1×Zechariah 11:3
their pride1×Zephaniah 2:10
will be the pride1×Isaiah 4:2
with His majestic1×Job 37:4
Your pomp1×Isaiah 14:11
your proud1×Job 38:11
Show sample aligned rows
Exodus 15:7גְּאוֹנְךָ֖tomajestyNoun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singularLeviticus 26:19גְּא֣וֹןtoprideNoun - masculine singular constructJob 35:12גְּא֣וֹןtothe prideNoun - masculine singular constructJob 37:4גְּאוֹנ֑וֹtowith His majesticNoun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singularJob 38:11בִּגְא֥וֹןtoyour proudPreposition-b | Noun - masculine singular constructJob 40:10גָֽא֣וֹןto[with] majestyNoun - masculine singularPsalms 47:4גְּא֨וֹןtothe prideNoun - masculine singular constructPsalms 59:12בִגְאוֹנָ֑םtoin their pridePreposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine pluralProverbs 8:13וְגָא֨וֹן׀toarrogantConjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singularProverbs 16:18גָּא֑וֹןtoPrideNoun - masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowExodus 15:7
Aligned rows49
Books represented14
Exodus1Leviticus1Job4Psalms2Proverbs2Isaiah12Jeremiah7Ezekiel9Hosea2Amos2Micah1Nahum2Zephaniah1Zechariah3
Source forms
גְּא֣וֹן14xgə·’ō·wnLeviticus 26:19, Job 35:12, Isaiah 13:11, Isaiah 13:19
גְּא֥וֹן3xgə·’ō·wnJeremiah 13:9, Zechariah 9:6, Zechariah 11:3
בִּגְא֥וֹן2xbiḡ·’ō·wnJob 38:11, Jeremiah 12:5
בִּגְא֣וֹן2xbiḡ·’ō·wnIsaiah 24:14, Amos 8:7
גְאוֹן־2xḡə·’ō·wn-Isaiah 16:6, Jeremiah 48:29
גְאֽוֹן־2xḡə·’ō·wn-Hosea 5:5, Hosea 7:10
גְּאוֹנ֔וֹ2xgə·’ō·w·nōwIsaiah 2:19, Isaiah 2:21
וּגְאוֹנ֛וֹ2xū·ḡə·’ō·w·nōwIsaiah 16:6, Jeremiah 48:29
Parsing patterns
Noun - masculine singular construct23xLeviticus 26:19, Job 35:12, Psalms 47:4, Isaiah 13:11
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct5xJob 38:11, Isaiah 24:14, Jeremiah 12:5, Amos 8:7
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular4xJob 37:4, Isaiah 2:10, Isaiah 2:19, Isaiah 2:21
Noun - masculine singular3xJob 40:10, Proverbs 16:18, Ezekiel 16:49
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular2xIsaiah 16:6, Jeremiah 48:29
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular2xExodus 15:7, Isaiah 14:11
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular2xIsaiah 4:2, Ezekiel 7:20
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular construct2xJeremiah 49:19, Jeremiah 50:44
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Calls to humility must not be used to keep abused, marginalized, or junior people quiet while powerful people avoid correction.
- Public success can conceal pride, so evaluate how power treats truth, limits, accountability, and vulnerable neighbors.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that H1347 always means sinful pride; several passages use it for the Lord's majesty or worthy splendor.
- Do not claim that humility requires denying gifts, accepting mistreatment, or refusing appropriate leadership.
- Do not claim that visible success, strength, or security proves divine favor.
Evidence Summary
Canonical AnchorPresence
Hebrew word. Majesty or arrogance depending on context—exaltation that is either righteous excellence or sinful pride
Source Gloss
the same as 1346
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Majesty or arrogance depending on context—exaltation that is either righteous excellence or sinful pride
the same as 1346 BDB: exaltation Usage: arrogancy, excellency(-lent), majesty, pomp, pride, proud, swelling.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
arrogance
Exalted glory or arrogance.
Exalted arrogance or self-exaltation.
Majestic pride or splendor.
Arrogant exaltation or swelling self-importance.
Exaltation or grandeur, describing the overwhelming splendor of the LORD.
Arrogant exaltation or haughtiness.
Exalted greatness or splendor.
Showing 8 selected witnesses from 49 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
גָּאוֹן is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Babylon’s celebrated splendor becomes the very object of its humiliation.Hosea 5:1-7
Pride is singled out as a central target of God’s judgment.Isaiah 13:17-22
The downfall of pomp underscores the emptiness of pride before God.Isaiah 13:9-16
Moab’s pride is explicitly identified as the root of its downfall.Isaiah 14:9-11
God’s majestic splendor contrasts with human pride, demonstrating whose glory ultimately endures.Isaiah 16:6-14
Pride is identified as the moral root behind downfall.Isaiah 2:10-22
The remnant celebrates God’s sovereign greatness in judgment.Isaiah 23:8-14
Failure to see God’s majesty reveals hardened unbelief.Isaiah 24:14-16a
Pride defines Israel’s response to discipline and explains the intensification of judgment.
Root disposition fueling rebellion.
Canonical Themes
Canonical AnchorPresence
Cross-Language Connections
Greek words that correspond to or develop the meaning of this Hebrew word in the New Testament.
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Elevation is not morally neutral, yet neither is every form of excellence condemned. The Lord's majesty in Exodus names His incomparable power to save and judge. The shepherd in Micah stands in that majestic name and uses derived authority to secure the flock. Human pride in Proverbs and Amos moves differently: it trusts self, fortification, prosperity, and status while losing sight of dependence, justice, and vulnerable neighbors.
Humility is therefore not self-hatred, silence, or pretending gifts do not exist. It is truthful creatureliness before God and responsible service toward others. Churches should confess pride where power protects itself, where achievement demands admiration, or where institutions ignore suffering. They should also refuse to call every boundary, confidence, cultural identity, or testimony of growth arrogant.
God alone possesses underived majesty. Human honor becomes faithful when it receives gifts gratefully, shares credit truthfully, welcomes correction, protects the weak, and turns influence toward shepherd-like care rather than domination.
Anchor passage
Prov.16.18
Doctrinal connections
- Exodus 15 locates majestic victory in the Lord who rescues His people rather than in human self-exaltation.
- Proverbs 16 places pride on a path toward destruction and commends a lowly spirit over divided plunder.
- Amos 6 connects communal pride with luxury, false security, and indifference to the ruin of Joseph.
- Micah 5 presents royal greatness as shepherding in the Lord's strength for the flock's security.
- Philippians 2 grounds Christian humility in Christ's self-giving obedience without denying His true glory.
- First Peter 5 joins humble leadership, willing oversight, resistance to domination, and trust in God's exaltation.
The noun's elevation sense can be rendered as majesty, excellence, pride, arrogance, or pomp. The possessor and discourse evaluation, not the lexeme in isolation, determine whether the elevation is honored or condemned.
From Old to New Testament
The New Testament contrasts boastful self-exaltation with glory given to God and presents Christ's humility as self-giving obedience. These themes illuminate the canonical contrast without making one Greek pride or glory term a direct equivalent of every H1347 occurrence.