What does גָּדַל (gādal) mean in the Bible?
גָּדַל (gadal) is the Hebrew verb for becoming or making great. Its Qal form means to grow or become great (a child grows, a person becomes prominent, YHWH's works are immense).
Hebrew · H1431
גָּדַל
To be (causatively make ) large (in various senses, as in body, mind, estate or honor, also in pride)
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גָּדַל H1431
Pronunciation gādal
What does גָּדַל (gādal) mean in the Bible?
גָּדַל (gadal) is the Hebrew verb for becoming or making great. Its Qal form means to grow or become great (a child grows, a person becomes prominent, YHWH's works are immense).
Reader summary
Full entry for גָּדַל (H1431) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H1431?
The BSB source-word alignment has 118 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include great (9), had grown up (6), grew (4), . . . (3), be magnified (3).
Where does גָּדַל (gādal) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 12:2. Its strongest book concentrations include Psalms (16), Genesis (14), Daniel (9), Isaiah (9).
Are there verse guides for גָּדַל (gādal)?
This entry includes 2 verse guides that explain exact original-language forms in context.
What This Word Actually Means
גָּדַל (gadal) is the Hebrew verb for becoming or making great. Its Qal form means to grow or become great (a child grows, a person becomes prominent, YHWH's works are immense). Its Piel means to bring up or nourish (Isa 1:2: 'Sons I have reared and brought up'). Its Hiphil means to make great or to do great things — and this is where gadal takes on its most important theological form.
The Hiphil of gadal links the greatness of YHWH's work to the praise of his people. Psalm 35:27 is the most direct expression: 'Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad, and let them say continually, Great is the Lord (yigdal YHWH) who delights in the welfare (shalom) of his servant.' The shout yigdal YHWH — 'let the Lord be great' or 'great is the Lord' — is the congregation's witness to what YHWH has done. Psalm 126:2-3 gives the Hiphil its fullest form: 'Then they said among the nations, The Lord has done great things for them (higdil YHWH la-asot im elleh). The Lord has done great things for us (higdil YHWH la-asot imanu); we are glad.' The nations' observation and Israel's confession are both formed from the same Hiphil root: YHWH has acted in a way so large that it overflows into universal witness.
Mary's Magnificat (Luke 1:46-47) draws directly on this form: 'My soul magnifies the Lord (megalunei he psuche mou ton kyrion).' The Greek megalunei (from megas, great) is the LXX translation of gadal; Mary's 'my soul gadals the Lord' is the NT's most explicit continuation of the Hiphil praise-pattern. The soul that has encountered YHWH's saving work makes him great in its speech and life — this is gadal's theological function in the praise psalms.
The Abrahamic covenant opens with gadal: 'I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great (va-agaddela shemeka) and you will be a blessing' (Gen 12:2). YHWH's gadal-promise to Abraham is the source of all subsequent greatness in the covenant story: the nation is great because YHWH made it great; the name is great because YHWH gadal-ed it. This is the permanent theological correction for human ambition: the builders of Babel sought to make a great name for themselves (Gen 11:4: 'a name for ourselves'); YHWH's response to Abraham is that he will make Abraham's name great — the greatness that comes from YHWH is the only lasting greatness.
Daniel 2:35 connects gadal to the eben (H68): the stone cut without hands 'became a great mountain (tur raba) and filled the whole earth' — it grew (gadal) until it filled all creation. The eben-that-fills-the-earth is YHWH's kingdom grown into its eschatological fullness.
For the preacher, גָּדַל (gadal) asks the congregation a diagnostic question: whose greatness is the soul making large? Self-promotion is Babel (Gen 11:4). The praise-psalms' gadal-shout is the soul that has seen YHWH's work and cannot contain it. Mary's magnification (Luke 1:46) is gadal at its most concentrated: one woman, one saving encounter, and the soul's response is to make YHWH the largest thing in her vocabulary.
Lexical sourcePassage contextCanonical parallelPastoral application
How the Bible Uses It
גָּדַל (gadal) is indexed in the local Hebrew artifact at about 116 OT occurrences. Its theological center is the Hiphil praise-pattern: YHWH does great things (higdil la-asot), and the congregation declares 'great is the Lord' (yigdal YHWH). The Abrahamic covenant's gadal-promise (Gen 12:2 — 'I will make your name great') establishes the source of all covenant-greatness in YHWH's act, not human ambition.
The contrast with Babel (Gen 11:4 — 'let us make a great name for ourselves') makes gadal a theological diagnostic for the direction of the soul's striving.
- Ps.35.27
May those who favor my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, “Exalted be the Lord who delights in His servant’s well-being.”
The primary gadal praise-shout: 'let them say continually yigdal YHWH (great is the Lord).' The Hiphil jussive yigdal is a wish-prayer — 'let YHWH be great' or 'let YHWH be magnified.' The context is Davidic vindication against enemies (v. 1-26); the congregation's role is to declare YHWH's greatness in response to his saving work on behalf of his servant. The formula yigdal YHWH is the Hebrew ancestor of the Jewish liturgical Yigdal prayer (13 articles of faith in hymn form).
The same verb form appears in 2 Sam 7:26 — 'your name will be magnified forever (yigdal shimka le-olam)' — YHWH's name growing great through the Davidic covenant's fulfillment.
- Gen.12.2
I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
The Abrahamic gadal-promise: 'I will make your name great (va-agaddela shemeka).' The Piel cohortative agaddela ('I myself will make great') is YHWH's direct action on Abraham's name. The contrast with Babel (Gen 11:4: 'let us make for ourselves a name') is deliberate: Babel's self-made name collapses at YHWH's intervention (v. 8-9); Abraham's YHWH-made name becomes 'a blessing' for all families of the earth (v. 3). The source of lasting greatness in the covenant is always YHWH's gadal-work, not human initiative.
- Ps.126.2
Then our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with shouts of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”
The nations' witness and Israel's confession in parallel Hiphil forms: 'higdil YHWH la-asot im elleh (the Lord has done great things for them)... higdil YHWH la-asot imanu (the Lord has done great things for us).' The Hiphil perfect higdil describes completed, overwhelming saving action — so great it is visible to the nations. The national shout of return from exile generates cross-national testimony: the nations see YHWH's gadal-work and speak it.
The congregation then claims it in the first person: 'he has done great things for us and we are glad.' The pattern is: YHWH acts, the nations observe, Israel confesses.
- Joel.2.21
Do not be afraid, O land; rejoice and be glad, for the Lord has done great things.
YHWH's eschatological gadal-declaration: 'ki higdil YHWH la-asot (for the Lord has done great things).' Joel 2:20-27 is the reversal-oracle after the locust plague of judgment: YHWH has done great things in judgment (the army from the north, v. 20) but will do great things in restoration (v. 21-27 — the early and late rain, the full harvest, the return of what the locust has eaten, v.
25: 'I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten'). The same Hiphil formula (higdil la-asot) covers both judgment and restoration: YHWH's greatness encompasses the full range of his covenant actions. Joel 2:28-32 follows with the Spirit-outpouring promise quoted in Acts 2:17-21.
- 2Sam.7.22
How great You are, O Lord God! For there is none like You, and there is no God but You, according to everything we have heard with our own ears.
David's doxology in the Davidic covenant response: 'therefore you are great (al-ken gadalta), O Adonai YHWH, for there is none like you (ein kamokha).' The Qal perfect gadalta ('you have been/are great') is the culminating statement of David's prayer after receiving the covenant of 2 Sam 7:12-16 (the everlasting throne, the son who will build the house). YHWH's gadal is inseparable from his uniqueness (ein kamokha — there is none like you): to magnify YHWH is to declare that he is in a category without comparison.
The same two forms appear in the Psalter's doxologies (Ps 86:10: 'for you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God').
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It great 9× Genesis 12:2, Genesis 19:19, 2 Samuel 22:51, Psalms 18:50
had grown up 6× Genesis 38:14, Exodus 2:11, 1 Kings 12:8, 1 Kings 12:10
grew 4× Genesis 21:8, Judges 13:24, 1 Samuel 3:19, 2 Kings 4:18
. . . 3× Genesis 26:13, 1 Samuel 26:24
be magnified 3× Numbers 14:17, Psalms 40:16, Psalms 70:4
grew up 3× Genesis 25:27, Judges 11:2, 1 Samuel 2:21
and greater 2× 2 Samuel 5:10, 1 Chronicles 11:9
exalted 2× Joshua 4:14, 1 Chronicles 29:25
great things 2× Joel 2:20, Joel 2:21
surpassed 2× 1 Kings 10:23, 2 Chronicles 9:22
[against its people] is so great 1× Genesis 19:13
[and] excellent 1× Isaiah 28:29
and became great 1× Daniel 8:4
and exalt Him 1× Psalms 69:30
and grew 1× Daniel 8:9
and he grew up 1× Genesis 21:20
and he has become rich 1× Genesis 24:35
and increase 1× Amos 8:5
and increased 1× Isaiah 9:3
and it grew up 1× 2 Samuel 12:3
and magnified 1× 1 Chronicles 17:24
and magnify himself 1× Daniel 11:36
and matured 1× Ezekiel 16:7
and mocking 1× Zephaniah 2:10
and threatened 1× Zephaniah 2:8
be greater 1× Zechariah 12:7
became richer and richer 1× Genesis 26:13
boast 1× Isaiah 10:15
boast proudly 1× Obadiah 1:12
even greater 1× 1 Kings 1:37
Exalted be 1× Psalms 35:27
exalted him 1× 2 Chronicles 1:1
great things He has done 1× 1 Samuel 12:24
great You are 1× 2 Samuel 7:22
greater 1× 1 Kings 1:47
grow 1× Numbers 6:5
grow up 1× Ruth 1:13
grows up 1× Genesis 38:11
had grown older 1× Exodus 2:10
had honored 1× Esther 5:11
had raised him 1× Esther 10:2
has lifted up 1× Psalms 41:9
has reached 1× Ezra 9:6
has reared them 1× Isaiah 49:21
has triumphed 1× Lamentations 1:9
have exalted 1× Psalms 138:2
have grown 1× Ecclesiastes 1:16
he has magnified himself 1× Jeremiah 48:26
he vaunted himself 1× Jeremiah 48:42
he will magnify himself 1× Daniel 11:37
he will make himself great 1× Daniel 8:25
high 1× Ezekiel 24:9
His greatness will extend 1× Micah 5:4
honored 1× Esther 3:1
I expanded 1× Ecclesiastes 2:4
I have raised 1× Isaiah 1:2
I reared him 1× Job 31:18
I will magnify 1× Ezekiel 38:23
is great 1× Malachi 1:5
is greater 1× Lamentations 4:6
It grew as high 1× Daniel 8:10
It magnified itself 1× Daniel 8:11
made grow 1× Jonah 4:10
made it grow 1× Ezekiel 31:4
magnificent 1× 1 Chronicles 22:5
Magnify 1× Psalms 34:3
makes it grow 1× Isaiah 44:14
may those who exalt themselves 1× Psalms 35:26
more and more powerful 1× Esther 9:4
nurtured 1× Psalms 144:12
raised 1× Isaiah 23:4
shall be great 1× Genesis 48:19
shall be greater 1× Genesis 48:19
she brought up 1× Isaiah 51:18
So I became great 1× Ecclesiastes 2:9
they have become powerful 1× Jeremiah 5:27
they raise 1× Hosea 9:12
They were to be trained 1× Daniel 1:5
those who taunt 1× Psalms 38:16
to exalt 1× 1 Chronicles 29:12
to exalt you 1× Joshua 3:7
to magnify 1× Isaiah 42:21
was 1× Job 2:13
wept more 1× 1 Samuel 20:41
were being brought up 1× 2 Kings 10:6
who rises 1× Psalms 55:12
will be as great 1× Zechariah 12:11
will be magnified 1× 2 Samuel 7:26
will I be greater 1× Genesis 41:40
You boasted 1× Ezekiel 35:13
You should exalt him 1× Job 7:17
you would exalt [yourselves] 1× Job 19:5
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 12:2 וַאֲגַדְּלָ֖ה to great Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative - first person common singular Genesis 19:13 גָֽדְלָ֤ה to [against its people] is so great Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular Genesis 19:19 וַתַּגְדֵּ֣ל to great Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - second person masculine singular Genesis 21:8 וַיִּגְדַּ֥ל to grew Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 21:20 וַיִּגְדָּ֑ל to and he grew up Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 24:35 וַיִּגְדָּ֑ל to and he has become rich Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 25:27 וַֽיִּגְדְּלוּ֙ to grew up Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural Genesis 26:13 וַיִּגְדַּ֖ל to became richer and richer Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 26:13 גָדַ֖ל to . . . Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular Genesis 38:11 יִגְדַּל֙ to grows up Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 12:2
Aligned rows 118
Books represented 31
Genesis 14 Exodus 2 Numbers 2 Joshua 2 Judges 2 Ruth 1 1 Samuel 6 2 Samuel 5 1 Kings 5 2 Kings 2 1 Chronicles 5 2 Chronicles 4 Ezra 1 Esther 4 Job 4 Psalms 16 Ecclesiastes 3 Isaiah 9 Jeremiah 3 Lamentations 2 Ezekiel 5 Daniel 9 Hosea 1 Joel 2 Amos 1 Obadiah 1 Jonah 1 Micah 1 Zephaniah 2 Zechariah 2 Malachi 1
Source forms
גָּדְל֣וּ 5x gā·ḏə·lū 1 Kings 12:8, 1 Kings 12:10, 2 Chronicles 10:8, 2 Chronicles 10:10
יִגְדַּ֣ל 5x yiḡ·dal Genesis 48:19, Psalms 35:27, Psalms 40:16, Psalms 70:4
הִגְדִּ֖יל 4x hiḡ·dîl Psalms 41:9, Isaiah 28:29, Lamentations 1:9, Joel 2:20
הִגְדִּ֑יל 3x hiḡ·dîl Psalms 55:12, Jeremiah 48:26, Daniel 8:11
וַיִּגְדַּ֖ל 3x way·yiḡ·dal Genesis 26:13, 1 Samuel 3:19, 2 Kings 4:18
וַיִּגְדַּל֙ 3x way·yiḡ·dal 1 Kings 10:23, 2 Chronicles 9:22, Lamentations 4:6
הִגְדִּ֥יל 2x hiḡ·dîl Psalms 126:2, Joel 2:21
הִגְדִּ֣יל 2x hiḡ·dîl Psalms 126:3, Daniel 8:8
Parsing patterns
Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person masculine singular 14x 1 Samuel 12:24, 1 Samuel 20:41, Psalms 41:9, Psalms 55:12
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular 13x Genesis 21:8, Genesis 21:20, Genesis 24:35, Genesis 26:13
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular 10x Genesis 38:11, Genesis 48:19, Numbers 14:17, Psalms 35:27
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural 6x 1 Kings 12:8, 1 Kings 12:10, 2 Chronicles 10:8, 2 Chronicles 10:10
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person feminine singular 3x 2 Samuel 12:3, Daniel 8:9, Daniel 8:10
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Infinitive absolute 3x 2 Samuel 5:10, 1 Chronicles 11:9, Esther 9:4
Verb - Piel - Perfect - third person masculine singular 3x Joshua 4:14, Esther 3:1, Isaiah 49:21
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular 3x Genesis 19:13, 1 Samuel 26:24, Ezra 9:6
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- When Scripture says God is great (gadol), it is a claim about absolute supremacy — not merely a comparative statement. Worship that magnifies God must reckon with his complete sovereignty.
- The contrast in Scripture between human ambition for greatness (Babel, pride texts) and God making someone great (Abrahamic promise) is worth attending to — greatness is always gift, never self-achievement in the biblical frame.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not use 'God will make you great' promises from Genesis 12 as a general prosperity guarantee — these were specific covenant promises to Abraham, not open-ended endorsements of human ambition.
- Do not apply human greatness texts (great warriors, great kings) as models for Christian success without noting that Scripture consistently subordinates human greatness to God's glory.
Key Verse and Form Guides
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Daniel 1:5 Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l | Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct | third person masculine plural
וּֽלְגַדְּלָ֖ם ū·lə·ḡad·də·lām to be (causatively make ) large (in various senses, as in body, mind, estate or honor, also in pride) The form clarifies a purpose, result, complement, or explanatory relation in the rendering "They were to be trained". Read verse guide Jonah 4:10 Verb - Piel - Perfect - second person masculine singular | third person masculine singular
גִדַּלְתּ֑וֹ ḡid·dal·tōw to be (causatively make ) large (in various senses, as in body, mind, estate or honor, also in pride) The form sharpens the contrast: Jonah cared about a plant whose growth was not his work, while God presses him to consider divine concern for Nineveh. Read verse guide Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Growth into power, prominence, or pride—both physical maturation and moral/spiritual elevation or corruption.
Source Gloss
to be (causatively make ) large (in various senses, as in body, mind, estate or honor, also in pride)
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 5 Aligned forms 69
Hiphil causative active — the subject causes someone else to perform the action 26×
Perfect 1Sam 12:24 · 1Sam 20:41 · Dan 8:8 · Dan 8:11 · Isa 28:29 · Jer 48:26 · Jer 48:42 · Joel 2:20 · Joel 2:21 · Lam 1:9 · Ps 41:10 · Ps 55:13 · Ps 126:2 · Ps 126:3 · Eccl 1:16 · Eccl 2:4 19×
Imperfect Dan 8:25 · Isa 42:21 · Ezek 24:9 · Job 19:5 4×
Participle active 2Sam 22:51 · Ps 18:51 2×
Jussive Obad 1:12 1×
Qal basic active stem — the word in its most common, direct sense 28×
Perfect 1Kgs 12:8 · 1Kgs 12:10 · 2Chr 10:8 · 2Chr 10:10 · Jer 5:27 · Ps 92:6 · 1Sam 26:24 · Ezra 9:6 · Gen 19:13 · Gen 26:13 · Gen 38:14 · Job 2:13 · 2Sam 7:22 · Ps 104:1 14×
Imperfect Gen 38:11 · Gen 48:19 · Mic 5:3 · Ps 35:27 · Ps 40:17 · Ps 70:5 · Zech 12:11 · 1Sam 26:24 · Zech 12:7 · Gen 41:40 · Ruth 1:13 12×
Jussive Mal 1:5 · Num 14:17 2×
Piel intensive active — emphasizes thoroughness or repeated action 12×
Perfect Esth 3:1 · Isa 49:21 · Josh 4:14 · Isa 1:2 · Isa 23:4 · Isa 51:18 6×
Participle active 2Kgs 10:6 · Ps 18:51 2×
Imperfect Hos 9:12 · Isa 44:14 2×
Infinitive construct Num 6:5 1×
Sequential imperfect Ps 34:4 1×
Hithpael reflexive or reciprocal — the subject acts on itself or mutually with others 2×
Imperfect Dan 11:37 · Isa 10:15 2×
Pual intensive passive — intensive action received by the subject 1×
Participle passive Ps 144:12 1×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Isaac's wealth and possessions increase greatly in magnitude and value
Showing 1 selected witness from 116 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
גָּדַל is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
גָּדַל (gadal) is the verb of magnification — and it operates in one of two directions: the human soul enlarging itself (Babel, Gen 11:4; Isa 10:15's boasting axe), or the human soul enlarging YHWH (Ps 35:27, Ps 126:2-3, Luke 1:46). The theological structure of gadal is diagnostic: what is the soul making great in its speech and striving? Gen 12:2 establishes the covenant principle: YHWH gadals Abraham's name so that Abraham can be a blessing; the greatness that blesses others is always YHWH-sourced.
The Hiphil praise-pattern (higdil YHWH la-asot — 'the Lord has done great things') in Psalm 126:2-3 and Joel 2:21 shows gadal's directional logic: saving action by YHWH (Hiphil perfect — he acted) generates praise-declaration by the congregation (Hiphil jussive — let him be magnified). The narrative logic moves from divine act to human witness. Mary's Magnificat (Luke 1:46 — megalunei he psuche mou ton kyrion) is the NT apex of this pattern: one soul encountering the saving work of YHWH in the incarnation makes him the largest thing in its vocabulary.
The soul that has seen YHWH's gadal-work cannot speak of anything else with the same magnitude.
Anchor passage
Ps.35.27
Doctrinal connections
- Gen 12:2 — gadal-promise to Abraham; YHWH makes the name great, not human ambition (contrast Gen 11:4 Babel)
- Ps 126:2-3 — higdil YHWH la-asot; the nations witness, Israel confesses, both use the same Hiphil form
- Joel 2:21 — higdil la-asot in the restoration-oracle; YHWH's gadal covers both judgment and restoration
- 2 Sam 7:22 — 'you are great' (gadalta) in David's covenant-response; gadal plus uniqueness claim
- Isa 10:15 — boasting axe (Hithpael — self-magnification under judgment); the corrupted gadal
- H68 Eben — the eben cut without hands in Dan 2:35 grows (gadal) into a great mountain filling the earth
גָּדַל (gadal, H1431) is the verbal root for the adjective גָּדוֹל (gadol, H1419 — great, large, important), one of the most common OT adjectives (797 occurrences). The root appears in the noun forms: גֹּדֶל (godel, H1433 — greatness, magnitude); מִגְדָּל (migdal, H4026 — tower, literally 'the great thing/elevated structure' — appearing in Migdol, Magdala, Magdeburg via later derivation).
The verbal Hithpael form (to magnify oneself, to boast) appears in its negative sense in the hubris passages: Isa 10:15 (the axe boasting against the woodcutter), Ezek 38:23 (YHWH himself magnifying himself in the judgment of Gog — in this case, Hithpael is the form of YHWH's self-revelation in judgment: 've-hitgaddalti ve-hitqaddashti' — 'I will magnify myself and sanctify myself'). The NT heir is primarily megas (G3173, great) and its verbal form megaluno (G3170 — to make great, to magnify): megaluno appears in Luke 1:46 (Magnificat), Acts 5:13 (the people magnified the apostles), Acts 10:46 (speaking in tongues and magnifying God), Acts 19:17 (the name of Jesus was magnified).
The LXX consistently translates gadal with megas/megaluno.
From Old to New Testament
Luke 1:46-55 (the Magnificat) is the NT's most concentrated gadal text. 'My soul magnifies the Lord (megalunei he psuche mou ton kyrion)' — the verb is megaluno, the LXX translation of gadal. Mary's praise is structured by the Hiphil pattern: YHWH has acted (v. 48-51: he has looked on her humility; he has done great things; he has scattered the proud; he has cast down the mighty from their thrones; he has lifted up the humble; he has filled the hungry with good things; he has helped Israel his servant), and the soul's response is to magnify him.
The Magnificat's structural predecessor is Hannah's prayer (1 Sam 2:1-10), which uses gadal's semantic field throughout: 'there is no Holy One like the Lord; there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God' (v. 2) — the uniqueness claim of gadal. Philippians 1:20 ('Christ will be honored [megalunthesesetai] in my body, whether by life or by death') is Paul's gadal-witness: the body as the site of Christ-magnification, whether in life or martyrdom.
The directional logic is the same: the soul that has been met by YHWH's saving work makes him the largest thing in its existence.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain