Word study
Answer
10 Hebrew and 6 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: answered, answer, answers, answering. 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 “answer” 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)
- עָנָה ânâhanswer, respondtranslated this way 170 times of its 317 uses · Strong’s H6030Verb · Translated: answered 79, answer 75, replied 47, respond 14Full study and all 308 verses →
Genesis 18:27 Then Abraham answered, “Now that I have ventured to speak to the Lord— though I am but dust and ashes—
Exodus 4:1 Then Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to my voice? For they may say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’”
- אָמַר âmarutter, saytranslated this way 113 times of its 4,555 uses · Strong’s H559Verb · Translated: said 1,531, says 576, say 352, replied 341Full study and all 3,827 verses →
Genesis 3:2 The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden,
Genesis 3:12 And the man answered, “The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
- שׁוּב shûbturn back, returntranslated this way 11 times of its 1,007 uses · Strong’s H7725Verb · Translated: return 218, returned 105, restore 62, turn 56Full study and all 920 verses →
- דָּבָר dâbârspeech, wordtranslated this way 6 times of its 1,244 uses · Strong’s H1697Noun · Translated: word 342, words 299, acts 51, Chronicles 42Full study and all 1,120 verses →
Numbers 22:8 “Spend the night here,” Balaam replied, “and I will give you the answer that the LORD speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam.
- נָגַד nâgadbe conspicuoustranslated this way 3 times of its 360 uses · Strong’s H5046Verb · Translated: tell 83, told 67, reported 31, declare 18Full study and all 339 verses →
Genesis 43:7 They replied, “The man questioned us in detail about ourselves and our family: ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ And we answered him accordingly. How could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother here’?”
1 Kings 10:3 And Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for the king to explain.
- עָתַר âtharpray, supplicafetranslated this way 3 times of its 20 uses · Strong’s H6279Verb · Translated: pray 6, prayed 3, answered their prayers 2Full study and all 19 verses →
2 Samuel 21:14 And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in Zela in the land of Benjamin, in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish. After they had done everything the king had commanded, God answered their prayers for the land.
1 Chronicles 5:20 And because they cried out to God in battle, they were helped against their enemies, and the Hagrites and all their allies were delivered into their hands. Because they put their trust in God, He answered their prayers.
- עֲנָה ănâhanswertranslated this way 3 times of its 20 uses · Strong’s H6032Verb · Translated: replied 6, answered 3, said 3, declared 2Full study and all 19 verses →
Daniel 2:7 They answered a second time, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will give the interpretation.”
Daniel 2:10 The astrologers answered the king, “No one on earth can do what the king requests! No king, however great and powerful, has ever asked anything like this of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer.
- דָבַר dâbarspeaktranslated this way 2 times of its 1,113 uses · Strong’s H1696Verb · Translated: speak 209, said 157, spoken 142, spoke 110Full study and all 1,025 verses →
- מַעֲנֶה maănehanswer, responsetranslated this way 2 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s H4617Noun · Translated: answer 2, refute 1, further reply 1, fitting reply 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Micah 3:7 Then the seers will be ashamed and the diviners will be disgraced. They will all cover their mouths because there is no answer from God.”
- תְּשׁוּבָה teshûbâhreturn, answertranslated this way 2 times of its 8 uses · Strong’s H8666Noun · Translated: spring 5, return 1, answers 1, answering 1Full study and all 8 verses →
Job 21:34 So how can you comfort me with empty words? For your answers remain full of falsehood.”
Job 34:36 If only Job were tried to the utmost for answering like a wicked man.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἀποκρίνομαι apokrínomaiI answer, replytranslated this way 81 times of its 206 uses · Strong’s G611Verb · Translated: replied 84, answered 64, said 14, answer 13Full study and all 206 verses →
Matthew 4:4 But Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Mark 8:29 “But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Christ.”
- ἔπω épōto speak or say (by word or writing)translated this way 46 times of its 962 uses · Strong’s G2036Verb · Translated: said 426, asked 95, told 88, replied 69Full study and all 891 verses →
Matthew 17:26 “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the sons are exempt,” Jesus said to him.
Matthew 19:18 “Which ones?” the man asked. Jesus answered, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness,
- λέγω légōI say, speaktranslated this way 28 times of its 993 uses · Strong’s G3004Verb · Translated: said 216, tell 164, say 105, saying 86Full study and all 936 verses →
Matthew 9:28 After Jesus had entered the house, the blind men came to Him. “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” He asked. “Yes, Lord,” they answered.
Matthew 13:51 Have you understood all these things?” “Yes,” they answered.
- ἀπόκρισις apókrisisan answer, replytranslated this way 4 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G612Noun · Translated: answer 3, answers 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Luke 2:47 And all who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers.
John 1:22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
- φημί phēmíI saytranslated this way 3 times of its 62 uses · Strong’s G5346Verb · Translated: said 25, replied 15, declared 6, asked 3Full study and all 61 verses →
Acts 10:30 Cornelius answered: “Four days ago I was in my house praying at this, the ninth hour. Suddenly a man in radiant clothing stood before me
Acts 22:27 The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes,” he answered.
- ἐρέω eréōI say, speaktranslated this way 2 times of its 96 uses · Strong’s G2046Verb · Translated: say 24, spoken 17, said 15, tell 9Full study and all 96 verses →
Luke 13:27 And he will answer, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers.’
Revelation 7:14 “Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
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.