1372. gabbachath

Lexical Summary

gabbachath: Baldness, bald spot

Original Word: גַּבַּחַת
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: gabbachath
Pronunciation: gab-bah'-khath
Phonetic Spelling: (gab-bakh'-ath)
KJV: bald forehead, X without
NASB: bald forehead, bald, front
Word Origin: [from the same as H1371 (גִּבֵַּח - bald on the forehead)]

1. baldness in the forehead
2. by analogy, a bare spot on the right side of cloth

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

bald forehead, without

From the same as gibbeach; baldness in the forehead; by analogy, a bare spot on the right side of cloth -- bald forehead, X without.

see HEBREW gibbeach

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from the same as gibbeach
Definition
a bald forehead
NASB Translation
bald (1), bald forehead (3), bareness* (1), front (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

גַּבַּ֫חַת noun feminine bald forehead (Late Hebrew id., Aramaic ), only Leviticus 13 — absolute Leviticus 13:42 (P; asson. בְּקָרַ֫חַת אוֺ בַגַּבַּ֫חַת); גַּבַּחְתּוֺ Leviticus 13:42; Leviticus 13:43 (both P & "" קָרַחְתּוֺ); in all, as place of appearance of an eruption; Leviticus 13:55 (P; "" id.) = in its front, i.e. front of garment.

גֹּבַי see below גבה.

גַּבַּי, גַּבַּי סַלָּ֑י see below גבב.

Topical Lexicon

Definition and Overview

Strong’s Hebrew 1372 designates a localized bald patch on the scalp or forehead caused by an infectious skin disease. It is not ordinary hair loss but a diagnostic marker within the Mosaic legislation for determining ritual cleanliness or uncleanness.

Occurrences in Scripture

The term appears exclusively in the priestly instructions concerning skin abnormalities (Leviticus 13:42; 13:42; 13:43; 13:55). Each occurrence situates the word in the larger context of diagnosing “tzaraath,” the comprehensive term translated “leprous disease” in many English versions.

Cultural and Medical Context

Ancient Israel lacked modern dermatology; therefore, priests functioned as both spiritual and public-health inspectors. A glossy or reddish patch on an otherwise bald area might signal contagious disease. Differentiating normal baldness from a “scall” protected the camp from both ceremonial defilement and physical contagion. Modern scholarship notes that “tzaraath” likely covered a spectrum of infectious dermatoses, not exclusively Hansen’s disease.

The Levitical Diagnostic Procedure

1. Initial examination: “If there is a bald spot on the forehead...and there appears on it a reddish-white infection, it is an infectious disease on the bald head or forehead” (Leviticus 13:42).
2. Priest’s declaration: Should the lesion match the stated criteria, the individual is pronounced “unclean.”
3. Restoration rites: Should healing occur, the priest re-examines, and, if the lesion has vanished, ceremonial cleansing and sin offerings follow (Leviticus 14).

The rigorous process underscores that purity and health were inseparable in covenant life.

Theological Significance

1. Holiness of God: The legislation highlights that every aspect of human life—even hair and skin—falls under divine scrutiny (Leviticus 11:44).
2. Sin and uncleanness: Physical blemishes symbolize deeper moral and spiritual corruption. Uncleanness barred a person from worship in the sanctuary, illustrating the breach sin creates between humanity and God.
3. Mediation: Only an ordained priest could diagnose and declare cleansing, foreshadowing the mediatorial role of Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14).

Prophetic and Redemptive Resonances

Isaiah’s lament, “From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness” (Isaiah 1:6), echoes Leviticus imagery, portraying national apostasy as spiritual leprosy. Conversely, the Gospels reveal Christ’s authority to cleanse lepers instantly (Mark 1:40-42), fulfilling the priestly type and bringing the hope of total restoration.

Practical Ministry Applications

1. Spiritual self-examination: Just as Israel’s priests scrutinized the skin, believers are exhorted to “examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5). Hidden “scalls” of sin require honest assessment under the light of Scripture.
2. Pastoral care: Leaders must address moral compromise with both firmness and compassion, paralleling the priest’s duty to declare, yet also to restore the penitent.
3. Community health: The laws remind congregations to practice responsible stewardship of physical health, especially where communicable illness threatens fellowship life.

Christological Fulfillment

The leprous bald patch symbolized hopeless impurity; yet, in Christ, even what was once irrevocably unclean is redeemable. His touch does not merely diagnose; it heals. The progression from exclusion to inclusion in Leviticus prefigures the gospel movement from alienation to reconciliation.

Conclusion

Strong’s Hebrew 1372, though confined to a few verses, contributes richly to the Bible’s broader narrative of holiness, sin, and redemption. The “bald spot” laws teach reverence for God’s purity, the seriousness of defilement, and the gracious provision of cleansing that reaches its climax in the ministry of Jesus Christ.

Forms and Transliterations

בְגַבַּחְתּ֑וֹ בְגַבַּחְתּֽוֹ׃ בַגַּבַּ֔חַת בגבחת בגבחתו בגבחתו׃ ḇag·gab·ba·ḥaṯ ḇaggabbaḥaṯ ḇə·ḡab·baḥ·tōw ḇəḡabbaḥtōw vaggabBachat vegabbachTo

Englishman's Concordance

Leviticus 13:42
HEB: בַקָּרַ֙חַת֙ א֣וֹ בַגַּבַּ֔חַת נֶ֖גַע לָבָ֣ן
NAS: or the bald forehead,
KJV: And if there be in the bald head, or bald forehead, a white
INT: the bald or the bald infection A white

Leviticus 13:42
HEB: בְּקָרַחְתּ֖וֹ א֥וֹ בְגַבַּחְתּֽוֹ׃
NAS: the bald forehead, there occurs
KJV: up in his bald head, or his bald forehead.
INT: head or forehead

Leviticus 13:43
HEB: בְּקָרַחְתּ֖וֹ א֣וֹ בְגַבַּחְתּ֑וֹ כְּמַרְאֵ֥ה צָרַ֖עַת
NAS: is reddish-white on his bald head
KJV: in his bald head, or in his bald forehead, as the leprosy
INT: head or his bald the appearance of leprosy

Leviticus 13:55
HEB: בְּקָרַחְתּ֖וֹ א֥וֹ בְגַבַּחְתּֽוֹ׃
KJV: inward, [whether] it [be] bare within or without.
INT: the top or the front

4 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 1372
4 Occurrences

ḇag·gab·ba·ḥaṯ — 1 Occ.
ḇə·ḡab·baḥ·tōw — 3 Occ.