The Hebrew gil (גִּיל) is both a noun ('rejoicing') and a verb ('to rejoice, spin around in joy'). The root evokes spinning, leaping, or trembling with excitement — the embodied, exuberant joy of celebration rather than quiet contentment.
Gil describes the kind of joy that cannot be contained — the whirling, exultant rejoicing of Psalm 96 ('let the sea resound') and Isaiah 61 ('I delight greatly in the LORD'). This is worship in its full-bodied expression. Significantly, gil is used for creation's joy (Psalm 65:12-13), Israel's national celebrations, and eschatological rejoicing over God's salvation. Biblical joy is not passive contentment but active, overflowing delight in God's goodness — the proper response to grace.