Accept (To)

"to be pleased, be pleased with, accept favorably, satisfy." This is a common term in both biblical and modern Hebrew. Found approximately 60 times in…

Acquire

"to get, acquire, create, buy." A common Semitic word, qanâ is found in ancient and modern Hebrew and in ancient Akkadian and Ugaritic. It occurs in t…

Among

"among." The first usage of this preposition is in Genesis: "Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in [among] the cities of the plain, …

Angry

"to be wroth, angry." This verb appears 34 times and is found mainly in the Pentateuch and in the prophets, and a few times in the historical books an…

Ark

"ark; coffin; chest; box." This word has cognates in Phoenician, Aramaic, Akkadian, and Arabic. It appears about 203 times in biblical Hebrew and in a…

Ask (To)

"to ask, inquire, consult." This word is found in many Semitic languages, including ancient Akkadian and Ugaritic. It is found throughout the various …

Be Merciful

"to have compassion, be merciful, pity." The words from this root are found 125 times in all parts of the Old Testament. The root is also found in Ass…

Befall

"to encounter, befall." Qara’ represents an intentional confrontation, whereby one person is immediately before another person. This might be a friend…

Booty

"booty; prey; spoil; plunder; gain." This word occurs 75 times and in all periods of biblical Hebrew. Shalal literally means "prey," which an animal t…

Breadth

"breadth; width; expanse." The noun rohab appears 101 times and in all periods of biblical Hebrew.First, the word refers to how broad a flat expanse i…

Break (To)

"to break, shatter, smash, crush." This word is frequently used in ancient Akkadian and Ugaritic, and is common throughout out Hebrew. It is found alm…

Burn Incense (To)

"to burn incense, cause to rise up in smoke." The primary stem of this verb appears in Akkadian. Related forms appear in Ugaritic, Arabic, Phoenician,…

Buy (To)

"to get, acquire, create, buy." A common Semitic word, qanâ is found in ancient and modern Hebrew and in ancient Akkadian and Ugaritic. It occurs in t…

Call (To)

"to call, call out, recite." This root occurs in Old Aramaic, Canaanite, and Ugaritic, and other Semitic languages (except Ethiopic). The word appears…

Cast Down (To)

"to throw, fling, cast, overthrow," This root seems to be used primarily in Hebrew, including modern Hebrew. Shalak is found 125 times in the Hebrew B…

Cease (To)

"to cease, come to an end, desist, forbear, lack," This word is found primarily in Hebrew, including modern Hebrew. In the Hebrew Old Testament, it is…

Chariotry

"chariotry; chariot units; chariot horse; chariot; train; upper millstone." The noun rekeb appears 119 times and in all periods of biblical Hebrew.The…

Companion

"friend; companion." This noun is also represented in Akkadian, Ugaritic, and Aramaic. Rea‘ appears 187 times in the Hebrew Old Testament, and it has …

Complete (To)

"to finish, complete, repay, reward," The Hebrew root denotes perfection in the sense that a condition or action is "complete." This concept emerges w…

Create (To)

"to create, make." This verb is of profound theological significance, since it has only God as its subject. Only God can "create" in the sense implied…

Curse (To)

"to be trifling, light, swift; to curse." This wide-ranging word is found in both ancient and modern Hebrew, in ancient Akkadian, and (according to so…

Deceit

"deceit; deception; malice; falsity; vanity; emptiness." The 53 occurrences of shaw’ are primarily in poetry. The basic meaning of this word is "decei…

Destroy (To)

"to destroy, annihilate, exterminate." This biblical word occurs also in modern Hebrew, with the root having the connotation of "religious persecution…

Divine (To)

"to divine, practice divination." Cognates of this word appear in late Aramaic, Coptic, Syriac, Mandean, Ethiopic, Palmyran, and Arabic. This root app…

Dwell (To)

"to dwell, sit, abide, inhabit, remain." The word occurs over 1,100 times throughout the Old Testament, and this root is widespread in other ancient S…

Earth

"earth; land." This is one of the most common Hebrew nouns, occurring more 6ff.; Psa 96:13). At that time, "the earth shall be completely laid waste" …

Encounter (To)

"to encounter, befall." Qara’ represents an intentional confrontation, whereby one person is immediately before another person. This might be a friend…

End

"end; not; nothing; only." The 42 occurrences of this word appear in every period of biblical literature. It has a cognate in Ugaritic. Basically, the…

Exalted (To Be)

"to be high, exalted." This root also appears in Ugaritic (with the radicals r-m), Phoenician, Aramaic (including biblical Aramaic, 4 times), Arabic, …

Famine

"famine; hunger." This word appears about 101 times and in all periods of biblical Hebrew. Ra‘ab means "hunger" as opposed to "thirst": "Therefore sha…

Far

"far." A common Semitic term, this word was known in ancient Akkadian and Ugaritic long before the Hebrew of the Old Testament. Rahaq is a common word…

Favor

"favor; goodwill; acceptance; will; desire; pleasure." The 56 occurrences of this word are scattered throughout Old Testament literature.Rasôn represe…

Field

"field; country; domain [of a town]." Sadeh has cognates in Akkadian, Phoenician, Ugaritic, and Arabic. It appears in biblical Hebrew about 320 times …

Fire

"fire." Cognates of this word occur in Ugaritic, Akkadian, Aramaic, and Ethiopic. The 378 occurrences of this word in biblical Hebrew are scattered th…

Foot

"foot; leg." Regel is a word found in many Semitic languages, referring to a part of the body. In the Old Testament, the word is used a total of 245 t…

Forget (To)

"to forget." The common word meaning "to forget" appears in all periods of the Hebrew language; this term is also found in Aramaic. It occurs just ove…

Former

"former; chief; first." This word comes from a common Semitic root that also yields ro’sh ("head") and re’shît ("beginning") Ri’shôn, which appears 18…

Friend

"friend; companion; fellow." This noun appears about 187 times in the Bible. The word refers to a "friend" in 2Sa 13:3: "But Amnon had a friend, whose…

Great (To Be)

"to be heavy, weighty, burdensome, dull, honored, glorious." This word is a common Semitic term, one that is found frequently in ancient Akkadian and …

Have Compassion (To)

"to have compassion, be merciful, pity." The words from this root are found 125 times in all parts of the Old Testament. The root is also found in Ass…

Head

"head; top; first; sum." Cognates of ro’sh appear in Ugaritic, Akkadian, Phoenician, biblical Aramaic, Arabic, and Ethiopic. Ro’sh and its alternate f…

Heal (To)

"to heal." This word is common to both ancient and modern Hebrew. It occurs approximately 65 times in the Hebrew Old Testament, appearing first in Gen…

Heavy

"to be heavy, weighty, burdensome, dull, honored, glorious." This word is a common Semitic term, one that is found frequently in ancient Akkadian and …

Increase

"to multiply, become numerous, become great." This verb also occurs in Akkadian, Arabic, Amorite, and biblical Aramaic. Biblical Hebrew attests it abo…

Jealous (To Be)

"to be jealous; to be zealous." This verb, derived from the noun qin’â, occurs 34 times in the Old Testament. The root appears in several Semitic lang…

Kill (To)

"to slaughter, kill." This word is common to both ancient and modern Hebrew, as well as ancient Ugaritic. The idea that the ancient Akkadian term shah…

Land

"ground; land; earth." This noun also occurs in Arabic. Hebrew occurrences number about 224 and cover every period of biblical Hebrew.Initially this n…

Lie (To)

"to lie down, lie, have sexual intercourse with." This word also occurs in Ugaritic, Akkadian, Ethiopic, post-biblical Aramaic, and post-biblical Hebr…

Lion

"lion." This apparently Aramaic loan word finds a cognate only in Aramaic. Occurring in all periods of biblical Hebrew, it is attested 83 times.The wo…

Multiply (To)

"to multiply, become numerous, become great." This verb also occurs in Akkadian, Arabic, Amorite, and biblical Aramaic. Biblical Hebrew attests it abo…

Offer (To)

"to offer, come near, approach." This word appears in nearly all branches of the Semitic languages from the earliest times and at all periods. Hebrew …

Offering

"meat [cereal] offering; offering; tribute; present; gift; sacrifice; oblation." The kjv characteristically translates the word as "meat offering," us…

Peace

"peace; completeness; welfare; health." The root is a common Semitic root with the meaning "peace" in Akkadian, Ugaritic, Phoenician, Aramaic, Syriac,…

Perceive

"to see, observe, perceive, get acquainted with, gain understanding, examine, look after (See to), choose, discover." This verb occurs only in Moabite…

Place

"to put, place, set, station, fix." In addition to biblical Hebrew, this verb is found frequently in ancient Ugaritic. It occurs more than 80 times in…

Plead (To)

"to plead, strive, conduct a legal case, make a charge." Found in both biblical and modern Hebrew, this term occurs as a verb some 70 times. It appear…

Practice Divination

"to divine, practice divination." Cognates of this word appear in late Aramaic, Coptic, Syriac, Mandean, Ethiopic, Palmyran, and Arabic. This root app…

Pursue (To)

"to pursue, follow after, pass away, persecute." This verb also appears in Coptic, Syriac, Mandaean, Arabic, and post-biblical Aramaic. It appears in …

Recompense (To)

"to recompense, reward, be whole, be complete, sound." A common Semitic term, this verb is found in ancient Akkadian and Ugaritic and in all periods o…

Remnant

"rest; remnant; residue." The idea of the "remnant" plays a prominent part in the divine economy of salvation throughout the Old Testament. The "remna…

Rend (To)

"to rend, tear, tear away." This word is common to both ancient and modern Hebrew. Used some 63 times in the Hebrew Old Testament, it is found for the…

Return (To)

"to return or go back, bring back." This verb occurs in several Semitic languages (not in Phoenician-Punic and Ethiopic) including Ugaritic (1550-1200…

Reward

"to recompense, reward, be whole, be complete, sound." A common Semitic term, this verb is found in ancient Akkadian and Ugaritic and in all periods o…

Ride (To)

"to ride, cause to ride." Already found in ancient Akkadian and Ugaritic, this word is also common to both ancient and modern Hebrew. It occurs approx…

Rise up Early (To)

"to rise early, start early." Found in both biblical and modern Hebrew, this verb occurs some 65 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. It is found for th…

Run (To)

"to hasten, run." This verb also appears in Ethiopic, Aramaic (where it is spelled r(e)has), and Akkadian (where it means "hasten to one's aid"). It a…

Satan

"adversary; Satan." This word appears 24 times in the Old Testament Most uses of the term relate to the cosmic struggle in the unseen world between Go…

Satisfied (To Be)

"to be satisfied, sated, surfeited." This word is found in Akkadian and Ugaritic, as well as in all periods of Hebrew. It occurs some 96 times in the …

Savor

"savor; smell; fragrance; aroma." Of the 61 appearances of this word, 43 refer specifically to sacrifices made to God and appear in Genesis-Numbers an…

See (To)

"to see, observe, perceive, get acquainted with, gain understanding, examine, look after (See to), choose, discover." This verb occurs only in Moabite…

Send (To)

"to send, stretch forth, get rid of." This verb occurs in the Northwest Semitic languages (Hebrew, Phoenician, and Aramaic). It occurs in all periods …

Set (To)

"to put, place, set, station, fix." In addition to biblical Hebrew, this verb is found frequently in ancient Ugaritic. It occurs more than 80 times in…

Set on (To)

"to put, place, set, fix." This word also appears in Akkadian (as shamu), Aramaic (including biblical Aramaic), Arabic, and Ethiopic. It appears about…

Set Up

"to put, place, set, fix." This word also appears in Akkadian (as shamu), Aramaic (including biblical Aramaic), Arabic, and Ethiopic. It appears about…

Sheol

"Sheol." The 66 occurrences of this word are distributed throughout every period of biblical Hebrew. First, the word means the state of death: "For in…

Shepherd (To)

"to pasture, shepherd." This common Semitic root appears in Akkadian, Phoenician, Ugaritic, Aramaic, and Arabic. It is attested in all periods of Hebr…

Sin

"iniquity; vanity; sorrow." Some scholars believe that this term has cognates in the Arabic words 'ana, ("to be fatigued, tired") and 'aynun ("weaknes…

Sing (To)

"to sing, shout, cry out." Found in both ancient and modern Hebrew, this word is used in modern Hebrew in the sense of "to chant, sing." It occurs app…

Spirit

"breath; air; strength; wind; breeze; spirit; courage; temper; Spirit." This noun has cognates in Ugaritic, Aramaic, and Arabic. The word occurs about…

Strife

"to strive, contend." This verb occurs 65 times and in all periods of biblical Hebrew.In Exod 21:18 rîb is used in connection with a physical struggle…

Swear (To)

"to swear; take an oath." This is a common word throughout the history of the Hebrew language. The fact that it occurs more than 180 times in the Hebr…

Tabernacle

"dwelling place; tabernacle; shrine." This word appears 139 times and refers in its first occurrence to the "tabernacle": "According to all that I sho…

Tear

"to rend, tear, tear away." This word is common to both ancient and modern Hebrew. Used some 63 times in the Hebrew Old Testament, it is found for the…

Tribe

"staff; rod; shaft; branch; tribe." This noun is a distinctively Hebrew word. It occurs 251 times; the first usage is in Gen 38:18: "And he said, What…

Understand (To)

"to be prudent, act wisely, give attention to, ponder, prosper." This word, which is common to both ancient and modern Hebrew, is found approximately …

Wash (To)

"to wash, bathe." This word is common to both ancient and modern Hebrew and is found in ancient Ugaritic as well. It is used some 72 times in the text…

Way

"way (path, road, highway); distance; journey; manner, conduct; condition; destiny." This noun has cognates in Akkadian, Ugaritic (where it sometimes …

Week

"week." This noun appears about 20 times in biblical Hebrew. In Gen 29:27 it refers to an entire "week" of feasting. Exod 34:22 speaks of a special fe…

Wicked

"wicked; ungodly; guilty." Rasha‘ occurs only in Hebrew and late Aramaic. The word occurs about 260 times as a noun or an adjective and especially in …

Worship (To)

"to worship, prostrate oneself, bow down." This word is found in modern Hebrew in the sense of "to bow or stoop," but not in the general sense of "to …

Wroth (To Be)

"to be wroth, angry." This verb appears 34 times and is found mainly in the Pentateuch and in the prophets, and a few times in the historical books an…

Zealous

"to be jealous; to be zealous." This verb, derived from the noun qin’â, occurs 34 times in the Old Testament. The root appears in several Semitic lang…