Exceedingly

Old Testament

Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words

Definition

1me’odAdverbH3966

"exceedingly; very; greatly; highly." This word occurs about 300 times and in all periods of biblical Hebrew. A verb with a similar basic semantic range appears in Akkadian, Ugaritic, and Arabic.

Me’od functions adverbially, meaning "very." The more superlative emphasis appears in Gen 7:18, where the word is applied to the "amount (quantity)" of a thing: "And the waters prevailed, and were increased greatly upon the earth…" In Psa 47:9, me’od is used of "magnifying" and "exaltation": "… for the shields of the earth belong unto God; he is greatly exalted." The doubling of the word is a means of emphasizing its basic meaning, which is "very much": "And the waters prevailed exceedingly (nasb, "more and more") upon the earth …" (Gen 7:19).

2me’odNounH3966

"might." This word is used substantively in the sequence "heart … soul … might": "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might" (Deut 6:5).