Word Study for H1624 (גָּרָה)

gârâh /gaw-raw'/ Ask about this word

Roota primitive root

Meaningproperly, to grate, i.e. (figuratively) to anger

KJV usagecontend, meddle, stir up, strive.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of gârâh — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Hebrew word gârâh, represented by H1624, is a primitive root that means to contend, meddle, stir up, or strive. It appears 14 times across 13 unique verses in the Bible. The word properly means to grate or anger, and it is used figuratively to describe the act of provoking or initiating conflict and discord.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In the biblical narrative, H1624 is used to illustrate both sinful provocation and divinely sanctioned conflict. The book of Proverbs frequently connects the act of stirring up strife with a sinful heart, noting that a wrathful H2534 man H376 stirreth up H1624 strife H4066 Proverbs 15:18. In Deuteronomy, the LORD H3068 commands Israel not to meddle H1624 with the descendants of Esau H6215 or the children H1121 of Lot H3876, as He had given them their land H776 as a possession H3425 (Deuteronomy 2:5, Deuteronomy 2:19). In contrast, God commands Israel to contend H1624 with Sihon H5511 the Amorite H567 in battle H4421 Deuteronomy 2:24. Unwarranted meddling, born from a proud heart, leads to ruin, as when the king of Judah H3063 was warned not to meddle to his own hurt H7451 2 Kings 14:10.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words help define the nature and outcome of the conflict associated with H1624:

H4066 mâdôwn (strife): This word, meaning a contest or quarrel, is the direct result of the action of H1624. A person with a proud heart stirreth up H1624 strife H4066 Proverbs 28:25.
H2534 chêmâh (fury): This describes the internal state of anger that often motivates someone to stir up strife. A furious H2534 man H1167 is said to abound in transgression H6588 Proverbs 29:22.
H4421 milchâmâh (battle): This term specifies the context of the contention, particularly in warfare. Israel was forbidden to contend with the Moabites H4124 in battle Deuteronomy 2:9.
H7451 raʻ (hurt): This word describes the negative consequence of meddling without cause. The king of Judah was warned not to meddle H1624 to his own hurt H7451, lest he fall H5307 2 Chronicles 25:19.

Theological Significance

The theological weight of H1624 is demonstrated in its connection to divine authority and human character.

Divine Sovereignty over Conflict: God dictates the appropriate times for conflict. He forbids Israel from meddling with certain nations because He has sovereignly given them their land (Deuteronomy 2:5, Deuteronomy 2:9, Deuteronomy 2:19), while commanding them to contend H1624 with others to fulfill His purposes Deuteronomy 2:24.
The Sinfulness of Pride and Anger: The act of stirring up contention is consistently tied to sinful attitudes. A proud H7342 heart H5315 Proverbs 28:25, an angry H639 man H376 Proverbs 29:22, and a heart H3820 that is lifted up H5375 2 Kings 14:10 are all sources of destructive meddling.
Striving against God: The most severe application of H1624 is when a person or nation strives against the LORD H3068. Babylon H894 was found and caught because it had striven H1624 against the LORD, a transgression that led to its downfall Jeremiah 50:24.

Summary

In summary, gârâh H1624 encapsulates the concept of provoking conflict. It serves as a strong scriptural warning against the arrogance and anger that lead to unwarranted strife. The word operates within a theological framework where God's sovereignty determines the legitimacy of conflict, and it starkly portrays the ultimate futility of striving against the LORD Himself. Whether referring to personal disputes or national wars, to meddle or contend outside of God's will is to invite harm and judgment.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Hebrew Old Testament, this word appears as a verb across 13 occurrences, inflected in 7 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form. Select any form to read what each part of its name means, and to filter the occurrence list to it.

תִּתְגָּר
יְגָרֶה
יִתְגָּרוּ
הִתְגָּר
תִּתְגָּרוּ
יִתְגָּרֶה
הִתְגָּרִית

Related Words

Other entries the study above points to — each one is drawn from a reference it makes. Follow the trail to see how the words connect.

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

Appears in 13 verses across 6 of the 39 books. Most frequent in Deuteronomy and Proverbs (4 verses each); never once in the other 33.

Deuteronomy

2 Kings

2 Chronicles

Proverbs

Jeremiah

Daniel

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, by grammatical form, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.