← Back to Lexicon
H1468 · Hebrew · Old Testament
גּוּז
guz
Verb
Pass over, pass quickly, cut off

Definition

A rare verb meaning to pass swiftly, move quickly by, or cut off. It is used poetically to describe the fleeting passage of time — life that passes like a weaver's shuttle, days that fly by, moments cut short.

Usage & Theological Significance

Guz captures the velocity of human life. Psalm 90:10 uses a related imagery: 'our years are soon gone' — the word group portrays a life that moves across the stage of history and is quickly past. Job uses similar language for the speed of his suffering days. The theological message is consistent: life is brief. Moses' prayer in Psalm 90 — 'the years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty, yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away' — is the counterpoint to God's eternal existence. Our fleeting guz is held within His everlasting arms. Urgency and trust are the twin responses.

Key Bible Verses

Psalm 90:10 The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.
Job 9:25 My days are swifter than a runner; they flee away; they see no good.
Isaiah 38:12 My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me like a shepherd's tent; like a weaver I have rolled up my life; he cuts me off from the loom.
James 4:14 Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
Psalm 39:5 Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you.

Related Words