Word studies · Hebrew · Strong's H1350
גָּאַל · gâʼal · appears 104 times in the Old Testament
In one line: A relative who pays to buy back what was lost.
But I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end He will stand upon the earth.
Job 19:25
Ga'al is to redeem as next of kin — a relative stepping in at his own cost to buy back what a family has lost.
Ga'al describes the go'el, the kinsman-redeemer who buys back sold land, frees a relative from slavery, marries a widow to raise up a family line, or avenges a killed kinsman. The book of Ruth turns on it, and the prophets apply it to God: Israel's Redeemer is her nearest relative.
Ga'al is a legal term from Israel's family law, distinguishing it from padah, the other Hebrew word for redeem, which simply concerns paying a price. What ga'al adds is kinship — the right and duty to redeem belonged to the closest relative, not to any willing buyer.
Because the redeemer had to be a relative, calling God Israel's go'el is a claim about relationship rather than power alone. It is also why the New Testament's insistence that Christ shared flesh and blood matters: the Redeemer had to be kin before He could redeem.
Ga'al (H1350) appears 101 times in the Hebrew Bible, and Job 19:25 uses its participle for the famous confession “I know that my Redeemer lives.”
Redemption in Hebrew is a family transaction, which sets the shape of the New Testament's version: God does not rescue at a distance but comes near, becomes kin, and pays. Ruth's story is small enough to see the whole pattern at work — and it ends in the line of David.
Consider what redeeming costs, since in Scripture the redeemer always pays. Take on one cost this week for someone in your circle who cannot cover it themselves.
to be the next of kin (and as such to buy back a relative's property, marry his widow, etc.)
the angel who has redeemed me from all harm—may He bless these boys. And may they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they grow into a multitude upon the earth.”
Genesis 48:16Therefore tell the Israelites: ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.
Exodus 6:6If your brother becomes impoverished and sells some of his property, his nearest of kin may come and redeem what his brother has sold.
Leviticus 25:25But if the man has no relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to the LORD and must be given to the priest along with the ram of atonement, by which the atonement is made for him.
Numbers 5:8Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue the manslayer in a rage, overtake him if the distance is great, and strike him dead though he did not deserve to die, since he did not intend any harm.
Deuteronomy 19:6so that anyone who kills another unintentionally or accidentally may flee there. These will be your refuge from the avenger of blood.
Joshua 20:3Press and hold redeem in any chapter and this study opens on the verse you are reading, with the lexicons, every occurrence and the commentaries beside it. The Bible is free to read.
Scripture quoted from the Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Strong's definitions are public domain. Counts come from The Pillar's own tagged text.