Word study
Approach
9 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: approached, approach, approaching, approaches. 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 “approach” 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)
- נָגַשׁ nâgashdraw near, approachtranslated this way 36 times of its 123 uses · Strong’s H5066Verb · Translated: approached 24, approach 12, come near 9, Bring 9Full study and all 110 verses →
Genesis 33:3 But Jacob himself went on ahead and bowed to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.
Exodus 19:22 Even the priests who approach the LORD must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them.”
- קָרַב qârabcome near, approachtranslated this way 32 times of its 276 uses · Strong’s H7126Verb · Translated: present 65, bring 18, approached 16, presented 14Full study and all 258 verses →
Exodus 14:10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them, and they were terrified and cried out to the LORD.
Leviticus 9:7 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Approach the altar and sacrifice your sin offering and your burnt offering to make atonement for yourself and for the people. And sacrifice the people’s offering to make atonement for them, as the LORD has commanded.”
- בּוֹא bôcome in, come, go in, gotranslated this way 10 times of its 2,442 uses · Strong’s H935Verb · Translated: come 358, came 298, bring 209, brought 201Full study and all 2,217 verses →
Genesis 24:63 Early in the evening, Isaac went out to the field to meditate, and looking up, he saw the camels approaching.
- נָגַע nâgatouch, reach, striketranslated this way 3 times of its 144 uses · Strong’s H5060Verb · Translated: touches 35, touched 20, touch 19, Whoever touches 6Full study and all 136 verses →
Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of adversity come and the years approach of which you will say, “I find no pleasure in them,”
Daniel 8:7 I saw him approach the ram in a rage against him, and he struck the ram and shattered his two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against him, and the goat threw him to the ground and trampled him, and no one could deliver the ram from his power.
- קָרֵב qârêbapproachingtranslated this way 3 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s H7131Adjective · Translated: comes near 2Full study and all 11 verses →
Numbers 3:10 So you shall appoint Aaron and his sons to carry out the duties of the priesthood; but any outsider who approaches the tabernacle must be put to death.”
Ezekiel 40:46 and the chamber that faces north is for the priests who keep charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, the only Levites who may approach the LORD to minister before Him.”
- יָצָא yâtsâgo or come outtranslated this way 3 times of its 1,035 uses · Strong’s H3318Verb · Translated: brought 108, went 103, go 82, came 78Full study and all 975 verses →
2 Samuel 16:5 As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the family of the house of Saul was just coming out. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and as he approached, he kept yelling out curses.
- קְרֵב qerêbapproachtranslated this way 3 times of its 9 uses · Strong’s H7127Verb · Translated: approached 3Full study and all 9 verses →
Daniel 3:26 Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the blazing fiery furnace and called out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire,
Daniel 6:12 So they approached the king and asked about his royal decree: “Did you not sign a decree that for thirty days any man who petitions any god or man except you, O king, will be thrown into the den of lions?” The king replied, “According to the law of the Medes and Persians the order stands, and it cannot be repealed.”
- הָלַךְ hâlakgo, come, walktranslated this way 2 times of its 1,461 uses · Strong’s H1980Verb · Translated: go 338, went 173, walk 116, Come 84Full study and all 1,299 verses →
Joshua 5:13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in His hand. Joshua approached Him and asked, “Are You for us or for our enemies?”
- קָרוֹב qârôbneartranslated this way 2 times of its 74 uses · Strong’s H7138Adjective · Translated: near 38, nearest 4, nearby 3, next 2Full study and all 72 verses →
Ezekiel 42:13 Then the man said to me, “The north and south chambers facing the temple courtyard are the holy chambers where the priests who approach the LORD will eat the most holy offerings. There they will place the most holy offerings— the grain offerings, the sin offerings, and the guilt offerings— for the place is holy.
Ezekiel 43:19 You are to give a young bull from the herd as a sin offering to the Levitical priests who are of the family of Zadok, who approach Me to minister before Me, declares the Lord GOD.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἐγγίζω engízōI come near, approachtranslated this way 15 times of its 40 uses · Strong’s G1448Verb · Translated: near 11, approached 8, approaching 6, drew near 4Full study and all 39 verses →
Matthew 21:1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out two disciples,
Mark 11:1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent out two of His disciples
- προσέρχομαι prosérchomaiI come near, consent totranslated this way 5 times of its 85 uses · Strong’s G4334Verb · Translated: came 52, went 13, come 4, draw near 3Full study and all 84 verses →
Luke 9:42 Even while the boy was approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father.
Acts 7:31 When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight. As he approached to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came to him:
- ἔρχομαι érchomaiI come, gotranslated this way 2 times of its 619 uses · Strong’s G2064Verb · Translated: come 193, came 128, coming 65, comes 53Full study and all 584 verses →
Luke 15:25 Meanwhile the older son was in the field, and as he approached the house, he heard music and dancing.
John 1:47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit.”
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.