Rabab, “To be great,” Strong’s H7231

The first occurrence

Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, Gen 6:1

(In the Scripture Picture: How manifold are Your works, O YHVH! Psa 104:24)

The primitive root

Strong’s H7231 רבב rabab, a primitive verb meaning, “to be or become great.” The ancient pictographs are resh + bet + bet. 

resh ר = head of man (head, first, top, beginning, man)
bet ב = house (house, household, family, in, within)
bet ב = house (house, household, family, in, within)

The parable being told by the Hebrew Root Word is of the head (resh) of the multiplied families (bet + bet, family doubled indicating multiplication). According to the Ancient Hebrew Lexicon, each family, clan, or tribe had a master who ruled on all cases, trials, conflicts, and contests. He was the representative for the whole, the one abundant in authority and wisdom.

And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. Exo 18:25

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