Word study
Already
6 Hebrew and 8 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “already”. 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 “already” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side Compare the Greek words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- כְּבָר kebâralreadytranslated this way 7 times of its 9 uses · Strong’s H3528Adverb · Translated: already 7, seeing 1, long ago 1Full study and all 8 verses →
Ecclesiastes 1:10 Is there a case where one can say, “Look, this is new”? It has already existed in the ages before us.
Ecclesiastes 2:12 Then I turned to consider wisdom and madness and folly; for what more can the king’s successor do than what has already been accomplished?
- יֵשׁ yêshbeing, substance, existencetranslated this way 2 times of its 113 uses · Strong’s H3426Adverb · Translated: there is 29, is there 12, is 9, do you have 4Full study and all 105 verses →
Genesis 33:9 “I already have plenty, my brother,” Esau replied. “Keep what belongs to you.”
Proverbs 3:28 Do not tell your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I will provide”— when you already have the means.
- הָיָה hâyâhfall out, come to pass, become, betranslated this way 2 times of its 2,848 uses · Strong’s H1961Verb · Translated: will be 206, become 178, came 169, was 151Full study and all 2,573 verses →
- לָקַח lâqachtaketranslated this way 2 times of its 938 uses · Strong’s H3947Verb · Translated: take 247, took 245, taken 40, get 26Full study and all 890 verses →
Numbers 34:14 For the tribes of the Reubenites and Gadites, along with the half-tribe of Manasseh, have already received their inheritance.
- עַתָּה attâhnowtranslated this way 2 times of its 428 uses · Strong’s H6258Adverb · Translated: now 178, therefore 47, and now 41, but now 31Full study and all 402 verses →
Judges 8:6 But the leaders of Succoth asked, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give bread to your army?”
Judges 8:15 And Gideon went to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give bread to your weary men?’”
- הִנֵּה hinnêhlo! behold!translated this way 2 times of its 689 uses · Strong’s H2009Interjection · Translated: Behold 175, Look 83, saw 47, indeed 36Full study and all 662 verses →
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἤδη ḗdēnow, alreadytranslated this way 20 times of its 28 uses · Strong’s G2235Adverb · Translated: already 19, now 4Full study and all 26 verses →
Matthew 5:28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Mark 6:35 By now the hour was already late. So the disciples came to Jesus and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is already late.
- ἀπέχω apéchōI have in full, am far, it is enoughtranslated this way 4 times of its 18 uses · Strong’s G568Verb · Translated: abstain 5, already 3, far 2Full study and all 18 verses →
Matthew 6:2 So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.
Luke 6:24 But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.
- εἰμί eimíI am, existtranslated this way 4 times of its 2,236 uses · Strong’s G1510Verb · Translated: is 523, are 214, was 183, am 83Full study and all 1,922 verses →
Mark 4:36 After they had dismissed the crowd, they took Jesus with them, since He was already in the boat. And there were other boats with Him.
- ἔπω épōto speak or say (by word or writing)translated this way 3 times of its 962 uses · Strong’s G2036Verb · Translated: said 426, asked 95, told 88, replied 69Full study and all 891 verses →
Mark 5:8 For Jesus had already declared, “Come out of this man, you unclean spirit!”
- προσμένω prosménōI remain, persist intranslated this way 2 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s G4357Verb · Translated: already 2, abide 1, continue 1, remained 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Matthew 15:32 Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for this crowd, because they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may faint along the way.”
Mark 8:2 “I have compassion for this crowd, because they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat.
- κρίνω krínōI judge, decide, think goodtranslated this way 2 times of its 114 uses · Strong’s G2919Verb · Translated: judge 43, judged 12, judges 7, decided 5Full study and all 98 verses →
John 3:18 Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
1 Corinthians 5:3 Although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present.
- ἔχω échōI have, hold, possesstranslated this way 2 times of its 624 uses · Strong’s G2192Verb · Translated: has 63, have 52, with 35, you have 29Full study and all 560 verses →
John 11:17 When Jesus arrived, He found that Lazarus had already spent four days in the tomb.
- προλέγω prolégōI forewarntranslated this way 2 times of its 14 uses · Strong’s G4302Verb · Translated: foretold 3, said 2, warn 2Full study and all 12 verses →
2 Corinthians 13:2 I already warned you the second time I was with you. So now in my absence I warn those who sinned earlier and everyone else: If I return, I will not spare anyone,
1 Thessalonians 4:6 and no one should ever violate or exploit his brother in this regard, because the Lord will avenge all such acts, as we have already told you and solemnly warned 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.