1443. gadar

Lexical Summary

gadar: To wall up, to build a wall, to enclose, to fence

Original Word: גָּדַר
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: gadar
Pronunciation: gah-dar
Phonetic Spelling: (gaw-dar')
KJV: close up, fence up, hedge, inclose, make up (a wall), mason, repairer
NASB: build, masons, walled, blocked, build the wall, repairer, wall
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to wall in or around

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

close up, fence up, hedge, enclose, make up a wall, mason, repairer

A primitive root; to wall in or around -- close up, fence up, hedge, inclose, make up (a wall), mason, repairer.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to wall up or off, to build a wall
NASB Translation
blocked (1), build (2), build the wall (1), masons (2), repairer (1), wall (1), walled (2).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

גָּדַר verb wall up or off, build a wall (denominative? Late Hebrew id., Arabic and see גָּדֵר below) —

Qal Perfect גָּדַר Job 19:8 2t., וְגָדַרְתִּ֫י Hosea 2:8; Amos 9:11; Imperfect2masculine plural וַתִּגְדְּרוּ Ezekiel 13:5; Participle גֹּדֵר Isaiah 58:12; Ezekiel 22:30; plural גֹּדְרִים 2 Kings 12:13; 2 Kings 22:6; — wall up, shut off, literal only Participle, absolute = masons (wall-builders) 2 Kings 12:13; 2 Kings 22:6; also Isaiah 58:12 (object מֶּרֶץ); figurative of Yahweh's dealings with men, object אֹרַה Job 19:8, דֶּרֶך Lamentations 3:9; compare Hosea 2:8 (accusative of congnate meaning with verb גָּדֵר), in all = obstructing path of life, compare also Lamentations 3:7 (with בַּעֲדִי); of restoring fallen booth of David Amos 9:11 (object פרצים); of repairing fortunes of Israel, a work neglected by prophets Ezekiel 13:5, and by all in power Ezekiel 22:30 (both with accusative of congnate meaning with verb)

Topical Lexicon

Overview

The root גָּדַר (Strong’s Hebrew 1443) gathers its meaning around the acts of enclosing, fencing, repairing, and hedging. The contexts of its ten appearances range from literal masonry to vivid metaphors of divine restraint or protection. Together they form a rich biblical motif: the wall that guards, the breach that endangers, and the call to restore what sin has broken.

Construction and Restoration of Physical Walls

1. Royal building projects. In 2 Kings 12:12 and 2 Kings 22:6 the word describes craftsmen “repairing the damage to the temple of the LORD.” Temple walls symbolize covenant order; their mending under Joash and Josiah mirrors moments of reform, reminding modern readers that material stewardship can serve spiritual renewal.
2. National rebuilding. Isaiah 58:12 proclaims, “You will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,” linking social justice and fasting with civic reconstruction. Amos 9:11 extends the theme to David’s fallen tent: “I will raise up the fallen booth of David and repair its breaches,” projecting the Messianic hope of Acts 15:16–17. Thus גָּדַר becomes a pledge that God’s purposes, though breached, will stand again.

Obstruction and Limitation in Personal Suffering

Job 19:8 voices the lament, “He has walled up my way so I cannot pass.” Lamentations 3:7, 9 echoes the anguish: “He has walled me in so I cannot escape… He has walled in my ways with hewn stone.” Here גָּדַר portrays adversity as an impenetrable barrier. Yet even this wall is under divine sovereignty, pushing the sufferer toward humble appeal rather than despair.

Divine Hedge of Protection and Discipline

Hosea 2:6 intertwines mercy and judgment: “Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her way with thorns and wall her in, so she cannot find her paths.” The hedge disciplines a wayward nation while ultimately shielding her from deeper ruin. Pastoral application sees believers sometimes “hemmed in” for redemptive correction.

Prophetic Calls to Stand in the Breach

Ezekiel 13:5 rebukes false prophets who “did not go up to the breaches or build a wall for the house of Israel.” Ezekiel 22:30 records God’s search for “a man… who would build up the wall and stand in the gap.” גָּדַר thus underlines intercessory responsibility. When leadership fails to fortify moral boundaries, judgment advances unchecked.

Theological and Ministry Insights

• Walls signify ordered worship, moral boundaries, and covenant security. Their repair is an act of both engineering and repentance.
• God may wall in or hedge about His people either to protect (Psalm 34:7’s angelic encampment echoes the imagery) or to restrain them from self-destruction.
• Christ fulfills the prophetic promise of restored walls (Amos 9:11) and inaugurates a spiritual house “being built together” (Ephesians 2:22), where breaches are healed by His atonement.
• Ministry today imitates the masons and intercessors of old: repairing doctrinal breaches, guarding congregational holiness, and standing in prayer “on the walls” (Isaiah 62:6–7).
• Personal trials that feel like walls can become altars of trust; communal breakdowns that appear as breaches invite courageous restoration.

In every occurrence גָּדַר presents the same divine initiative: what has been broken must be mended, what has been exposed must be secured, and what threatens to imprison can, by grace, become a fortress of hope.

Forms and Transliterations

גָ֭דַר גָּדַ֤ר גָּדַ֧ר גֹּֽדֵר־ גֹּדֵ֣ר גדר גדר־ וְגָֽדַרְתִּי֙ וְגָדַרְתִּ֣י וְלַגֹּֽדְרִ֑ים וְלַגֹּֽדְרִים֙ וַתִּגְדְּר֥וּ וגדרתי ולגדרים ותגדרו gā·ḏar ḡā·ḏar Gadar gāḏar ḡāḏar gō·ḏêr gō·ḏêr- goDer gōḏêr gōḏêr- vattigdeRu vegadarTi velaggodeRim wat·tiḡ·də·rū wattiḡdərū wə·ḡā·ḏar·tî wə·lag·gō·ḏə·rîm wəḡāḏartî wəlaggōḏərîm

Englishman's Concordance

2 Kings 12:12
HEB: וְלַגֹּֽדְרִים֙ וּלְחֹצְבֵ֣י הָאֶ֔בֶן
NAS: and to the masons and the stonecutters,
KJV: And to masons, and hewers of stone,
INT: the masons and hewers stone

2 Kings 22:6
HEB: לֶחָ֣רָשִׁ֔ים וְלַבֹּנִ֖ים וְלַגֹּֽדְרִ֑ים וְלִקְנ֤וֹת עֵצִים֙
NAS: and the builders and the masons and for buying
KJV: and builders, and masons, and to buy
INT: to the carpenters and the builders and the masons buying timber

Job 19:8
HEB: אָרְחִ֣י גָ֭דַר וְלֹ֣א אֶעֱב֑וֹר
NAS: He has walled up my way
KJV: He hath fenced up my way
INT: my way has walled cannot pass

Isaiah 58:12
HEB: וְקֹרָ֤א לְךָ֙ גֹּדֵ֣ר פֶּ֔רֶץ מְשֹׁבֵ֥ב
NAS: And you will be called the repairer of the breach,
KJV: and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach,
INT: will raise will be called the repairer of the breach the restorer

Lamentations 3:7
HEB: גָּדַ֧ר בַּעֲדִ֛י וְלֹ֥א
NAS: He has walled me in so that I cannot
KJV: He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out:
INT: has walled about cannot

Lamentations 3:9
HEB: גָּדַ֤ר דְּרָכַי֙ בְּגָזִ֔ית
NAS: He has blocked my ways
KJV: He hath inclosed my ways
INT: has blocked my ways hewn

Ezekiel 13:5
HEB: עֲלִיתֶם֙ בַּפְּרָצ֔וֹת וַתִּגְדְּר֥וּ גָדֵ֖ר עַל־
NAS: nor did you build the wall around
KJV: into the gaps, neither made up the hedge
INT: gone the breaches build the hedge around

Ezekiel 22:30
HEB: מֵהֶ֡ם אִ֣ישׁ גֹּֽדֵר־ גָּדֵר֩ וְעֹמֵ֨ד
NAS: among them who would build up the wall
KJV: for a man among them, that should make up the hedge,
INT: for A man build the wall and stand

Hosea 2:6
HEB: דַּרְכֵּ֖ךְ בַּסִּירִ֑ים וְגָֽדַרְתִּי֙ אֶת־ גְּדֵרָ֔הּ
NAS: with thorns, And I will build a wall
KJV: with thorns, and make a wall,
INT: her way thorns will build wall her paths

Amos 9:11
HEB: דָּוִ֖יד הַנֹּפֶ֑לֶת וְגָדַרְתִּ֣י אֶת־ פִּרְצֵיהֶ֗ן
NAS: of David, And wall up its breaches;
KJV: that is fallen, and close up the breaches
INT: of David the fallen and wall breaches ruins

10 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 1443
10 Occurrences

ḡā·ḏar — 3 Occ.
gō·ḏêr — 2 Occ.
wat·tiḡ·də·rū — 1 Occ.
wə·ḡā·ḏar·tî — 2 Occ.
wə·lag·gō·ḏə·rîm — 2 Occ.