GREAT, GREATNESS, a number of words are so tr. Two Heb. terms are tr. often: 1. גָּדﯴל, H1524, “great,” “of large proportion,” applicable to man, animals, mountains, weight, age, dimensions, etc. (Gen 1:21, et al.) 2. רַב֒, H8041, “many,” much, numerous, an ancient Sem. root. The Akkad. appears in the OT in the compounds Rab-Mag, “Chief of Magi” (Jer 39:3); Rab-Saris, “Chief Eunuch” (Jer 39:3; 2 Kings 18:17); Rab-Shakeh, “Chief Officer” (2 Kings 18:17, et al.; Isa 36:2, et al.). The term refers to the quantity of things and the severity of action (Gen 6:5, et al.). The Heb. lang. has a peculiarity which allows the intensity of verbs to be indicated by an internal or suffixal modification. In many passages these morphological distinctions are indicated by adding the adjective “great” or the adverb “greatly” in the tr. (Ezek 30:16; Hos 1:2, et al.). In respect to human beings the concept “great” or “greatness” implies some characteristic about the person. It is connected with the reputation, “name,” of the individual. All such titles in the Sem. lang(s). are functional.

In the NT two Gr. words are so tr.: 1. μέγας, G3489, “large,” “great” can be applied in a qualitative as well as quantitative sense. It appears in many aspects, “large, spacious” (Mark 14:15); “older” (Rom 9:12); “rich” (Heb 10:35); “loud” (Rev 1:10); “important” (Eph 5:32) and many similar meanings. The other common Gr. term is πολύς, G4498, “much,” “many,” “numerous” used mostly and far more frequently than megas in a quantitative sense (Matt 7:22, et al.).