Lexical Summary rebu: Multitude, abundance, greatness Original Word: רְבוּ Strong's Exhaustive Concordance greatness, majesty (Aramaic) from a root corresponding to rabah; increase (of dignity) -- greatness, majesty. see HEBREW rabah NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origin(Aramaic) from rebah Definition greatness NASB Translation grandeur (2), greatness (2), majesty (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs רְבוּ noun feminine greatness (ᵑ7 Syriac); — absolute ׳ר Daniel 4:33, emphatic רְבוּתָא Daniel 5:18 +, suffix תָךְ- Daniel 4:19; — greatness of king Daniel 4:19; Daniel 4:33; Daniel 5:18,19; of kingdom Daniel 7:27. Topical Lexicon Overview of Usage in ScriptureStrong’s Hebrew 7238 appears five times, all in the Aramaic sections of Daniel, and every occurrence is linked to the idea of royal majesty that God either bestows, removes, or transfers. • Daniel 4:22 – Daniel identifies Nebuchadnezzar as the tree whose “greatness has grown to reach the sky.” • Daniel 4:36 – After the king’s humbling, “even more greatness was added” to him. • Daniel 5:18 – Daniel reminds Belshazzar that the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar “a kingdom and greatness and glory and splendor.” • Daniel 5:19 – The fear of all nations flowed “because of the greatness that He gave him.” • Daniel 7:27 – In the climactic vision, “the kingdom, dominion, and greatness of the kingdoms under all of heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Most High.” Contrast Between Human and Divine Greatness The narrative arc in Daniel reveals the fragile, derivative quality of human greatness when contrasted with God’s immutable supremacy. 1. Granted greatness (Daniel 4:22, 5:18). Nebuchadnezzar’s rise is explicitly attributed to divine gift. No earthly power is self-generated. 2. Withdrawn greatness (Daniel 4:31-33). The king’s sanity and splendor vanish the moment God judges pride, proving that greatness can be revoked instantly. 3. Restored greatness (Daniel 4:36). Restoration follows repentance, highlighting mercy yet again anchored in God’s sovereignty. 4. Misappropriated greatness (Daniel 5:1-30). Belshazzar inherits a greatness he neither values nor respects; his sacrilege leads to immediate loss of kingdom. 5. Transferred greatness (Daniel 7:27). The final, enduring greatness belongs to “the saints of the Most High,” yet even here it is still God’s kingdom shared by grace, not seized by merit. Historical Setting and Theological Implications Daniel wrote to exiles living under pagan rule. The recurring emphasis on רְבוּ reassures the faithful that Babylonian magnificence, however dazzling, is temporary and subordinate to divine purpose. Every earthly empire is portrayed as a steward—willing or unwilling—of an authority that ultimately reverts to its rightful Owner. The pattern confronts the exiles’ temptation to either despair under oppression or compromise with it. Prophetic and Eschatological Significance Daniel 7:27 widens the lens from Israel’s immediate captors to the consummation of history. The verse foreshadows the universal reign of the Messiah and participation of His people in that reign, anticipating passages such as Revelation 11:15 and 2 Timothy 2:12. The movement of greatness—from a single Gentile monarch, to a succession of empires, to the saints—encapsulates the entire sweep of redemptive history: creation mandate, fall-marred dominion, provisional Gentile rule, and final restoration under the Son of Man. Lessons for Personal and Corporate Ministry 1. Humility before honor. Ministers and leaders must view every platform, resource, or following as a temporary trust (James 4:6). 2. Accountability for greatness. Like Nebuchadnezzar, any steward of influence will answer to the God who bestowed it (Luke 12:48). 3. Hope for the oppressed. Believers under hostile regimes can rest in the certainty that kingdoms rise and fall under God’s hand (Psalm 75:6-7). 4. Anticipation of inheritance. The church’s present trials prepare her to inherit a greatness that can never be lost (1 Peter 1:4-7). Suggested Homiletical Themes • “When God Grants Greatness: Stewardship, Pride, and Restoration” (Daniel 4:22-37) Connections with New Testament Revelation The principle that all greatness is from God finds echo in Philippians 2:9-11, where the Father exalts the humbled Son, and in 1 Timothy 6:15-16, where Christ is called “the blessed and only Sovereign.” The final inheritance of greatness promised in Daniel is fulfilled in Revelation 20:4-6 and consummated in Revelation 22:5, uniting the testimony of both Testaments that true greatness belongs to God and is graciously shared with His redeemed people. Forms and Transliterations וּרְב֥וּ וּרְבוּתָ֗א וּרְבוּתָ֤ךְ וּרְבוּתָא֙ ורבו ורבותא ורבותך רְבוּתָא֙ רבותא rə·ḇū·ṯā rəḇūṯā revuTa ū·rə·ḇū ū·rə·ḇū·ṯā ū·rə·ḇū·ṯāḵ ūrəḇū ūrəḇūṯā ūrəḇūṯāḵ ureVu urevuTa urevuTachLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Daniel 4:22 HEB: רְבַ֖ית וּתְקֵ֑פְתְּ וּרְבוּתָ֤ךְ רְבָת֙ וּמְטָ֣ת NAS: and grown strong, and your majesty has become great KJV: and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, INT: have become and grown and your majesty great and reached Daniel 4:36 Daniel 5:18 Daniel 5:19 Daniel 7:27 5 Occurrences |
    |