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גָּזַּה

𐤂𐤆𐤄

gâzzah

H1492 noun

SILEX Entry

Root גזז to shear, to cut off hair or wool

Definition

A detached mass of wool shorn from a sheep, typically after being cut or clipped off the animal’s back; by extension, a sheared fleece or woolen mass. In context, refers both to the act of having been shorn (the wool mass itself) and to its ritual or practical uses.

Semantic Range

fleece (shorn mass of wool), sheared wool, a piece of wool used for ritual testing or symbolism

Root / Etymology

From the root גזז (g-z-z), meaning 'to shear' or 'to clip.' The noun גָּזַּה is a feminine form derived from the verbal root and refers specifically to the wool that has been shorn from a sheep. Directly tied to the action of shearing, the term concretizes the result of the act.

Historical & Contextual Notes

גָּזַּה appears infrequently in the Hebrew Bible, most notably in the narrative of Gideon (Judges 6:37–40), where it refers to a fleece used in a divinatory ritual, demonstrating both the tangible, physical meaning of the word (the mass of shorn wool) and its symbolic or ritual utility. In ancient Israelite society, the fleece was a valuable agricultural product associated with pastoral life and shearing festivals (cf. 1 Samuel 25). While later English translations sometimes render it as 'fleece,' in Hebrew the emphasis is on its status as shorn wool, not simply any piece of wool or lambskin. It should be distinguished from other terms for wool (e.g., צֶמֶר, tsemer) that refer to wool more generally or to unshorn wool. The Septuagint and Vulgate translations reflect the basic meaning but do not always capture the specific context of ritual use.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

feminine from גַּזָז; a fleece; fleece.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

גזז (g-z-z) — to shear, to cut off hair or wool

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H1488 גֵּז fleece of
H1494 גַּזָז in shearing
H1495 גָּזֵז Shearer

Word Forms

3 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H1492-03 הַ/גִּזָּ֜ה hagizah HTd/Ncfsa the fleece the shorn fleece 5
H1492-01 בַּ/גִּזָּ֔ה bagizah HRd/Ncfsa with the fleece in the shorn fleece 1
H1492-02 גִּזַּ֥ת gizat HNcfsc fleece [of] shorn fleece of 1

Occurrences in Scripture

7 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H1492-02 Judges 6:37 גִּזַּ֥ת gizat HNcfsc fleece [of] shorn fleece of
H1492-03 Judges 6:37 הַ/גִּזָּ֜ה hagizah HTd/Ncfsa the fleece the shorn fleece
H1492-03 Judges 6:38 הַ/גִּזָּ֑ה hagizah HTd/Ncfsa the-fleece the shorn fleece
H1492-03 Judges 6:38 הַ/גִּזָּ֔ה hagizah-2 HTd/Ncfsa the-fleece the shorn fleece
H1492-01 Judges 6:39 בַּ/גִּזָּ֔ה bagizah HRd/Ncfsa with the fleece in the shorn fleece
H1492-03 Judges 6:39 הַ/גִּזָּה֙ hagizah HTd/Ncfsa the fleece the shorn fleece
H1492-03 Judges 6:40 הַ/גִּזָּה֙ hagizah HTd/Ncfsa the fleece the shorn fleece
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