A primitive root meaning to be disgusted, to loathe, to cast off with abhorrence. The word describes the visceral rejection of something detestable. In Leviticus, it is used to describe both the reaction to sin and the warning of divine rejection. Distinct from shāqats (detest) though similar in concept.
The theological tension in gaʿal is profound: it is used both of God's potential rejection of Israel (Lev. 26:44) and of Israel's loathing of God's statutes (Lev. 26:15). God warns that persistent covenant rebellion will result in the land itself vomiting out its inhabitants — and yet, even in that context, God declares: 'I will not gaʿal (loathe) them to the point of utter destruction; I will not break my covenant with them' (Lev. 26:44). This is the stunning grace embedded in judgment texts. Divine rejection is always disciplinary, not dispositional. God's covenant love (chesed) restrains the fullest expression of gaʿal. The New Testament counterpart is the language of Romans 11:1-2: 'Did God reject his people? By no means!' — echoing the same covenantal tenacity.