Word study
Address
1 Hebrew and 7 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: addressed, address, addressing, addresses. English often uses one word where Hebrew or Greek has several, each with its own shade of meaning. Under each word are verses where it is translated this way; choose the word itself for its full study: every verse, how else it is translated, the forms it takes and what the dictionaries say.
At a glance
How often each original word is translated “address” or one of its forms.
Compare the Greek words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- דָבַר dâbarspeaktranslated this way 7 times of its 1,113 uses · Strong’s H1696Verb · Translated: speak 209, said 157, spoken 142, spoke 110Full study and all 1,025 verses →
Genesis 34:20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city and addressed the men of their city:
Numbers 36:1 Now the family heads of the clan of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh, one of the clans of Joseph, approached Moses and the leaders who were the heads of the Israelite families and addressed them,
Greek words (New Testament)
- προσφωνέω prosphōnéōI call to, summontranslated this way 2 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s G4377Verb · Translated: calling 2, called 2, addressed 2, speak 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Luke 23:20 Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate addressed them again,
Acts 21:40 Having received permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. A great hush came over the crowd, and he addressed them in Hebrew:
- ἀποκρίνομαι apokrínomaiI answer, replytranslated this way 2 times of its 206 uses · Strong’s G611Verb · Translated: replied 84, answered 64, said 14, answer 13Full study and all 206 verses →
- ἀποφθέγγομαι apophthéngomaiI speak out, declaretranslated this way 1 time of its 2 uses · Strong’s G669Verb · Translated: addressed 1, speaking 1Full study and all 2 verses →
Acts 2:14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, lifted up his voice, and addressed the crowd: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen carefully to my words.
- δημηγορέω dēmēgoréōI make a public speech, address a multitudetranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s G1215Verb · Translated: addressed 1Full study and its 1 verse →
Acts 12:21 On the appointed day, Herod donned his royal robes, sat on his throne, and addressed the people.
- λαλέω laléōI speak, saytranslated this way 1 time of its 291 uses · Strong’s G2980Verb · Translated: speak 69, spoke 36, speaking 31, spoken 27Full study and all 268 verses →
1 Corinthians 3:1 Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly — as infants in Christ.
- λέγω légōI say, speaktranslated this way 1 time of its 993 uses · Strong’s G3004Verb · Translated: said 216, tell 164, say 105, saying 86Full study and all 936 verses →
- διαλέγομαι dialégomaiI converse, address, preach, lecturetranslated this way 1 time of its 12 uses · Strong’s G1256Verb · Translated: reasoned 4, arguing 2, talked 2Full study and all 12 verses →
Hebrews 12:5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you.
How to study a word well
- Start from the verse, not the dictionary. Find which Hebrew or Greek word stands in the verse you are studying. One English word often translates several different original words.
- Read every place the word is used. A word means what its writers used it to mean. The list of verses and the count by book show its range, and who uses it most.
- Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
- Notice the form. A command is not a statement, and a passive verb is something done to the subject. The form in your verse is part of the meaning.
- See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
- Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
- Come back to the verse. Context decides. A word does not carry every one of its meanings into every verse, and where a word came from does not settle what it means in a sentence written centuries later.
Scripture text and translation counts: Berean Standard Bible. Full entry: Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906, public domain), in the digital edition Brown-Driver-Briggs Enhanced by unfoldingWord (Joel Ruark, J. de Joode), based on data by Eliran Wong and Stephen Ku; its additions are used under CC BY 4.0. Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project, CC BY 4.0. Hebrew-to-English verse numbering: original work of the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible available at https://github.com/openscriptures/morphhb, CC BY 4.0. We reformatted the data, linked the references to this site’s Bible text and left out words in other scripts that the source holds only as images. These are historical reference works; an entry gives its authors’ view, and a word’s meaning in any verse depends on how it is used there.