גָּרַר (ga.rar)
ga.rar
to drag/chew/saw
H:VQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 6 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:V
Word Overview
The Hebrew verb garar carries a core meaning of dragging or pulling something along. In its most common form, it describes the physical act of moving an object by force, such as dragging away a burden or a person. This sense appears in texts like Leviticus and Jeremiah, where the imagery often involves removing or displacing something against resistance.
The word takes on a strikingly different nuance in its derived forms. In the Niphal stem, it refers to chewing the cud, an action that involves repeatedly dragging food back up from the stomach to be chewed again. This biological detail is significant for distinguishing clean animals in biblical law. Additionally, the Poal participle describes something sawn or cut with a saw, linking the concept of dragging to the friction of cutting through material.
This range of meanings—from physical dragging to the rhythmic motion of chewing—shows how the root connects different kinds of repetitive or forceful movement. Translators must carefully choose between "drag," "chew," or "saw" based on context, as the word itself does not specify which action is intended without grammatical clues.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The Hebrew verb garar paints a vivid picture of movement that requires effort, whether it is dragging something heavy or the rhythmic motion of chewing. In Leviticus, this word describes the clean animal’s habit of bringing food back up to chew it again. This biological detail was not just about diet; it served as a visible sign for Israel to distinguish between what was pure and what was not. It reminds us that God cares about the details of our lives, inviting us to examine the habits we repeat daily.
When we look at Proverbs 21:7, the same root describes how the violence of the wicked drives them away. Here, the idea of being dragged or pushed aside highlights the natural consequence of refusing to do what is right. We are not forced into holiness, but we see that living with integrity brings peace, while violence leads to isolation. This word invites us to consider whether our daily actions pull us closer to God or push us away from Him.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 6 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- they assemble themselves1×
- staying as a sojourner1×
- sawn1×
- it will drag away/ them1×
- it ruminates1×
- he drags away/ it1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- מִתְגּוֹרֵ֑ר1×
- מְגֹרָר֥וֹת1×
- יִתְגּוֹרָ֖רוּ1×
- יִגָּ֑ר1×
- יְגוֹרֵ֑/ם1×
- יְגֹרֵ֣/הוּ1×
Key Verses
-
Leviticus 11:7
The pig, because it has a split hoof, and is cloven-footed, but doesn’t chew the cud, is unclean to you.
This verse uses the Niphal stem to describe the specific physical act of chewing the cud, which serves as the biblical marker for distinguishing clean animals.
-
Proverbs 21:7
The violence of the wicked will drive them away, because they refuse to do what is right.
Here the verb describes the violent force that drives the wicked away, showing how their refusal to do right leads to their own displacement.
-
I Kings 7:9
All these were of costly stones, even of stone cut according to measure, sawed with saws, inside and outside, even from the foundation to the coping, and so on the outside to the great court.
The participle form appears here to describe stones that were sawed or cut with friction, linking the root’s meaning of dragging to the work of construction.