1518. giach
Lexical Summary
giach: To burst forth, to break out, to gush

Original Word: גּיחַ
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: giyach
Pronunciation: ghee'-akh
Phonetic Spelling: (ghee'-akh)
KJV: break forth, labor to bring forth, come forth, draw up, take out
NASB: broke, brought me forth, burst forth, bursting forth, give birth, labor to give birth, rushes
Word Origin: [a primitive root]

1. to gush forth (as water)
2. (generally) to issue

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
break forth, labor to bring forth, come forth, draw up, take out

Or (shortened) goach {go'-akh}; a primitive root; to gush forth (as water), generally to issue -- break forth, labor to bring forth, come forth, draw up, take out.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
a prim. root
Definition
to burst forth
NASB Translation
broke (1), brought me forth (1), burst forth (1), bursting forth (1), give birth (1), labor to give birth (1), rushes (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
[גִּיחַ, גּוּחַ] verb burst forth (compare NöZMG 1883, 538; Late Hebrew id., Aramaic id., and ; Ethiopic break forth, of light, etc.) —

Qal Imperfect יָגִיחַ Job 40:23, masculine singular וַתָּ֫גַח Ezekiel 32:2; Imperative feminine singular גֹּ֫חִי Micah 4:10; Infinitive suffix (בְּ)גִיחו Job 38:8; Participle suffix גֹּחִ֫י Psalm 22:10 (but compare below); —

1 intransitive burst forth, of dashing river (a very Jordan) Job 40:23; of sea figurative as babe from womb Job 38:8, compare

2 transitive

a. draw forth from womb (subject ׳י) Psalm 22:10 (where read גָּחִ֫י participle from גּוּחַ, or regard גֹּחִי as metaplastic, as if from ג֗֗֗חח? see De & Checritical note) compare Psalm 71:6; also

b. thrust forth, bring forth, rather 'break forth (with that which is to be born),' figurative of travail, applied to Jerusalem in distress Micah 4:10 (compare Sta§ 599 bi. 505); burst forth with rivers (figurative of Pharaoh under image of תַּנִּים) Ezekiel 32:2, but for בנהרותיך (rivers) read probably בִּנְחִרוֺתֶיךָ Job 41:12 (nostrils), i.e. snort with thy nostrils, so Ew Co; on figurative then compare Job 41:11-13.

Topical Lexicon
Root Imagery and Thematic Range

גִּיחַ consistently evokes the sudden, forceful emergence of something previously restrained. Whether describing warriors springing from ambush, newborn life leaving the womb, or untamed waters surging past boundaries, the verb portrays energy that will not be contained. Scripture harnesses that imagery to illustrate God’s sovereign control over creation, human history, and the unfolding plan of redemption.

Principal Old Testament Occurrences

1. Judges 20:33 – Israel’s hidden troops “burst forth” from concealment, turning the tide of battle against Benjamin. The word highlights the element of surprise and irresistible momentum that accompanies God-directed strategy.


2. Job 38:8 – The sea “burst forth from the womb,” yet God immediately imposes limits. The verse contrasts primal chaos with divine ordering, portraying the Lord as midwife and monarch over nature.

3. Job 40:23 – Even when the Jordan “gushes” against Behemoth’s mouth, the creature remains unperturbed. The unstoppable torrent becomes a backdrop to extol God’s unmatched creative power.

4. Psalm 22:9 – “Yet You brought me forth from the womb; You made me secure at my mother’s breasts.” David recalls God’s covenant care from his first breath. In the Gospel passion narratives this psalm is applied to Jesus, underscoring the Father’s providence over the Messiah’s earthly life from its miraculous inception.

5. Ezekiel 32:2 – Pharaoh is likened to a monstrous crocodile that “thrashes about” and muddies the Nile. The violent stirring anticipates divine judgment on Egypt’s pride and pollution of surrounding nations.

6. Micah 4:10 – Zion is urged to “writhe in agony… like a woman in labor,” for exile to Babylon looms. Yet that very travail will yield deliverance: “there the LORD will redeem you.” The pain of judgment becomes the birth pang of restoration.

Theology of Birth and New Creation

When applied to human birth (Job 38:8; Psalm 22:9; Micah 4:10), גִּיחַ underscores both dependence and destiny. Life’s first emergence testifies that existence itself is God’s gift, a truth the New Testament will deepen through the doctrine of new birth in Jesus Christ (John 3:3). The Old Testament verb thus anticipates regeneration: just as physical life bursts forth by God’s hand, so spiritual life does the same.

Waters That Break, Waters That Are Bound

Ancient Near-Eastern mythology treated chaotic waters as rival deities; Scripture refutes that worldview. In Job 38:8 God shuts the sea behind doors; in Job 40:23 He makes untamable animals at home amid raging rivers; in Ezekiel 32:2 He turns Egypt’s watery self-confidence into mud. גִּיחַ therefore magnifies the Creator’s supremacy, reminding faith communities that no flood, literal or figurative, escapes His decree.

Conflict and Deliverance

Judges 20:33 and Micah 4:10 bookend Israel’s account of rebellion and rescue. At Gibeah, bursting warriors execute justice; in Zion, bursting birth pangs lead to exile and redemption. The verb unites these narratives by showing that behind both battlefield tactics and geopolitical upheavals is the God who orchestrates decisive outcomes for covenant purposes.

Christological Resonance

Psalm 22, rehearsed on the cross, ties גִּיחַ to the incarnate Son. From nativity (“You brought me forth”) to crucifixion (“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”), Jesus fulfills the psalm’s trajectory. The One once “brought forth” now births many sons to glory (Hebrews 2:10), echoing Isaiah’s promise of Zion’s painless delivery (Isaiah 66:8).

Pastoral and Missional Application

• Assurance of Sovereignty: Believers facing sudden crises can remember that every surge—whether of water, warfare, or worldly pressure—is bounded by the Lord who determines its reach.

• Hope in Labor: Seasons of anguish may actually herald the advent of God’s redemptive purposes. Churches in trial can interpret their pain as birth pangs of revival or mission expansion.

• Call to Readiness: Like the ambush at Baal Tamar, gospel ministry sometimes requires hidden preparation followed by Spirit-prompted “bursting forth” into decisive action (Acts 13:2-3).

• Invitation to New Birth: The verb’s visceral imagery provides a vivid metaphor for evangelism: salvation is not incremental self-improvement but a God-initiated emergence from death to life.

Conclusion

גִּיחַ weaves through Scripture as a dynamic thread, depicting waters overcoming barriers, infants entering the world, nations convulsing in judgment, and salvation histories springing into view. Each occurrence points to the same reality: the living God commands every eruption, ensuring that what bursts forth ultimately serves His covenant faithfulness and the advance of His kingdom.

Forms and Transliterations
בְּ֝גִיח֗וֹ בגיחו גֹחִ֣י גחי וַתָּ֣גַח וָגֹ֛חִי וגחי ותגח יָגִ֖יחַ יגיח מֵגִ֥יחַ מגיח bə·ḡî·ḥōw begiCho bəḡîḥōw ḡō·ḥî goChi ḡōḥî mê·ḡî·aḥ meGiach mêḡîaḥ vaGochi vatTagach wā·ḡō·ḥî wāḡōḥî wat·tā·ḡaḥ wattāḡaḥ yā·ḡî·aḥ yaGiach yāḡîaḥ
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Judges 20:33
HEB: וְאֹרֵ֧ב יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל מֵגִ֥יחַ מִמְּקֹמ֖וֹ מִמַּֽעֲרֵה־
NAS: in ambush broke out of their place,
KJV: of Israel came forth out of their places,
INT: ambush of Israel broke of their place of the meadows

Job 38:8
HEB: בִּדְלָתַ֣יִם יָ֑ם בְּ֝גִיח֗וֹ מֵרֶ֥חֶם יֵצֵֽא׃
NAS: with doors When, bursting forth, it went
KJV: with doors, when it brake forth, [as if] it had issued out
INT: doors the sea bursting the womb went

Job 40:23
HEB: יִבְטַ֓ח ׀ כִּֽי־ יָגִ֖יחַ יַרְדֵּ֣ן אֶל־
NAS: though the Jordan rushes to his mouth.
KJV: not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan
INT: is confident though rushes the Jordan to his

Psalm 22:9
HEB: כִּֽי־ אַתָּ֣ה גֹחִ֣י מִבָּ֑טֶן מַ֝בְטִיחִ֗י
NAS: Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb;
KJV: But thou [art] he that took me out of the womb:
INT: Yet who brought the womb trust

Ezekiel 32:2
HEB: כַּתַּנִּ֣ים בַּיַּמִּ֔ים וַתָּ֣גַח בְּנַהֲרוֹתֶ֗יךָ וַתִּדְלַח־
NAS: in the seas; And you burst forth in your rivers
KJV: in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers,
INT: the monster the seas burst your rivers and muddied

Micah 4:10
HEB: ח֧וּלִי וָגֹ֛חִי בַּת־ צִיּ֖וֹן
NAS: Writhe and labor to give birth, Daughter
KJV: Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter
INT: Writhe and labor Daughter of Zion

6 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 1518
6 Occurrences


bə·ḡî·ḥōw — 1 Occ.
ḡō·ḥî — 1 Occ.
mê·ḡî·aḥ — 1 Occ.
wā·ḡō·ḥî — 1 Occ.
wat·tā·ḡaḥ — 1 Occ.
yā·ḡî·aḥ — 1 Occ.

1517
Top of Page
Top of Page