gaal · redeem; redeemer

What it means

gaal (גָּאַל) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “redeem; redeemer”.

Redeem: recover, by paying whatever is needed, a relative who sold himself or the land he lost; take responsibility for him. Of God, deliver his people. The one who does it is the "redeemer" (kinsman-redeemer).

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. To buy back a relative or their land.
2. The relative who paid back the killing of a family member.
3. YHWH, who rescues his people.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

To redeem: to recover a relative or a lost property by paying what is needed; to take charge of a family member. The one who does it is the גֹּאֵל, “redeemer”. BDB: to redeem according to the Oriental law of kinship: to buy back a relative's property, marry his widow, avenge his blood. From the same root is גְּאֻלָּה, “redemption”.

• The redeemer in the law Leviticus 25:25
• The kinsman-redeemer in Ruth Ruth 3:9Ruth 4:6
• “The avenger of blood” Numbers 35:19
• YHWH redeems his people Exodus 6:6Isaiah 43:1
• YHWH, the Redeemer; “my redeemer lives” Isaiah 44:6Job 19:25

Historical and cultural background

Leviticus 25:25 gives the law: if someone becomes poor and sells part of his possession, “his redeemer, the one who is near to him, shall come and redeem what his brother sold”. The book of Ruth shows that custom at work (Ruth 3:9; 4:6). Numbers 35 charges the avenger of blood with putting the manslayer to death, except in the cities of refuge.

How we translate it

“Redeem” 30 times, “Redeemer” 29 (with a capital letter when it is a title of YHWH), “redeemed” 26, “avenger” 13, “redeems” 3, “kinsman-redeemers” 1… This edition's glossary sets גאל / גֹּאֵל = “redeem / kinsman-redeemer”, with “avenger of blood” in Numbers 35; the note at Numbers 35:12 explains that it is the same word as “redeemer”. פָּדָה, another verb, is translated “ransom”, to keep them apart.

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• redeem ×30
• Redeemer ×29
• redeemed ×26
• avenger ×13
• redeems ×3
• claim it ×1
• kinsman-redeemers ×1
• kinsmen-redeemers ×1

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Genesis×1
• Exodus×2
• Leviticus×22
• Numbers×8
• Deuteronomy×2
• Joshua×3
• Ruth×21
• 2 Samuel×1
• 1 Kings×1
• Job×2
• Psalms×11
• Proverbs×1
• Isaiah×24
• Jeremiah×2
• Lamentations×1
• Hosea×1
• Micah×1

• Genesis 48:16

  the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the young men; and in them let my name be called, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them teem in multitude in the midst of the earth.”

• Exodus 6:6

  Therefore say to the sons of Israel, ‘I am YHWH, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of Egypt, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.

• Exodus 15:13

  In your loyal love you have led the people whom you redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.

• Leviticus 25:25

  If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his possession, then his redeemer, the one who is near to him, shall come and redeem what his brother sold.

• Leviticus 25:26

  And if a man has no redeemer, but his hand reaches and finds enough for his redemption,

• Leviticus 25:30

  But if it is not redeemed before a full year is completed for it, then the house that is in the city that has a wall shall belong in perpetuity to the one who bought it, throughout his generations; it shall not go free in the jubilee.

• Leviticus 25:33

  And what one of the Levites redeems, the sale of a house in the city of his possession, shall go free in the jubilee; for the houses of the cities of the Levites are their possession among the sons of Israel.

• Leviticus 25:48

  after he has sold himself he shall have redemption; one of his brothers may redeem him,

• Leviticus 25:49

  or his uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem him, or one of his close relatives from his clan may redeem him; or if his hand prospers, he may redeem himself.

• Leviticus 25:54

  And if he is not redeemed by these means, he shall go out in the year of jubilee, he and his sons with him.

• Leviticus 27:13

  And if he does wish to redeem it, he shall add a fifth of it to its valuation.

• Leviticus 27:15

  And if the one who consecrates it redeems his house, he shall add a fifth of the silver of its valuation to it, and it shall be his.

• Leviticus 27:19

  And if the one who consecrates the field does redeem it, he shall add a fifth of the silver of its valuation to it, and it shall stand for him.

• Leviticus 27:20

  But if he does not redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed anymore.

• Leviticus 27:27

  And if it is among the unclean beasts, he shall ransom it according to its valuation and add a fifth of it to it; and if it is not redeemed, it shall be sold according to its valuation.

• Leviticus 27:28

  But nothing completely devoted that a man completely devotes to YHWH of all that he has, whether human being or beast or field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to YHWH.

• Leviticus 27:31

  And if a man does wish to redeem any of his tithe, he shall add a fifth of it to it.

• Leviticus 27:33

  He shall not inquire whether good or bad, and he shall not substitute for it; and if he does substitute for it, then both it and its substitute shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.”

• Numbers 5:8

  But if the man has no kinsman redeemer to whom to restore what is owed, what is owed that is restored goes to YHWH, to the priest, besides the ram of expiation with which expiation shall be made for him.

• Numbers 35:12

  The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, so that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the community for judgment.

• Numbers 35:19

  The avenger of blood himself shall put to death the manslayer; when he meets him, he shall put him to death.

• Numbers 35:21

  or in enmity struck him with his hand and he died, the one who struck shall surely be put to death; he is a manslayer. The avenger of blood shall put to death the manslayer when he meets him.

• Numbers 35:24

  then the community shall judge between the one who struck and between the avenger of blood according to these rules.

• Numbers 35:25

  And the community shall deliver the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the community shall return him to his city of refuge to which he had fled; and he shall dwell in it until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.

• Numbers 35:27

  and the avenger of blood finds him outside the border of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall have no bloodguilt.

• Deuteronomy 19:6

  so that the avenger of blood does not pursue the manslayer while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and strike him mortally, though he did not deserve a sentence of death, since he did not hate him previously.

• Deuteronomy 19:12

  the elders of his city shall send and take him from there and hand him over to the avenger of blood, so that he dies.

• Joshua 20:3

  so that the manslayer who mortally strikes a person inadvertently, unknowingly, may flee there; and they shall be for you a refuge from the avenger of blood.

• Joshua 20:5

  And if the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not hand over the manslayer into his hand, because he struck his neighbor unknowingly, and did not hate him beforehand.

• Joshua 20:9

  These were the appointed cities for all the sons of Israel and for the resident alien who resides among them, that anyone who mortally strikes a person inadvertently might flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stands before the community.

• Ruth 2:20

  And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he by YHWH, who has not abandoned his loyal love with the living and with the dead.” And Naomi said to her, “The man is close to us; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers.”

• Ruth 3:9

  He said, “Who are you?” And she said, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread the edge of your cloak over your servant, for you are a kinsman-redeemer.”

• Ruth 3:12

  And now, it is true that I am a kinsman-redeemer; but also there is a kinsman-redeemer closer than I.

• Ruth 3:13

  Spend this night here, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him redeem. But if he does not want to redeem you, then I will redeem you, as YHWH lives. Lie down until the morning.”

• Ruth 4:1

  Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat there; and look, the kinsman-redeemer of whom Boaz had spoken was passing by. And he said, “Turn aside, sit here, so-and-so.” And he turned aside and sat down.

• Ruth 4:3

  He said to the kinsman-redeemer, “The plot of the field that belonged to our brother Elimelech Naomi is selling, the one who returned from the field of Moab.

• Ruth 4:4

  And I said to myself: I will let you know, saying, ‘Acquire it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem, redeem; but if one does not redeem, tell me, so that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem, and I am after you.’” And he said, “I will redeem.”

• Ruth 4:6

  The kinsman-redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I destroy my inheritance. You redeem my redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem.”

• Ruth 4:8

  So the kinsman-redeemer said to Boaz, “Acquire it for yourself.” And he took off his sandal.

• Ruth 4:14

  Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be YHWH, who has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer today; and may his name be proclaimed in Israel.

And 64 more times.