Word study

Assist

7 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word

The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: assist, assisted. 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 “assist” 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)

  • שָׁרַת shârathminister, servetranslated this way 3 times of its 94 uses · Strong’s H8334Verb  ·  Translated: minister 32, serve 9, ministering 6, ministers 6

    Numbers 3:6 “Bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron the priest to assist him.

    Numbers 8:26 After that, they may assist their brothers in fulfilling their duties at the Tent of Meeting, but they themselves are not to do the work. This is how you are to assign responsibilities to the Levites.”

    Full study and all 88 verses →
  • נָשָׂא nâsâlift, take, carrytranslated this way 2 times of its 642 uses · Strong’s H5375Verb  ·  Translated: bear 49, lift 45, lifted 41, carried 38

    Ezra 1:4 And let every survivor, wherever he lives, be assisted by the men of that region with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, along with a freewill offering for the house of God in Jerusalem.’”

    Ezra 8:36 They also delivered the king’s edicts to the royal satraps and governors of the region west of the Euphrates, who proceeded to assist the people and the house of God.

    Full study and all 601 verses →
  • עָמַד âmadtake one's stand, standtranslated this way 1 time of its 508 uses · Strong’s H5975Verb  ·  Translated: stood 99, stand 95, standing 50, stands 12

    Numbers 1:5 These are the names of the men who are to assist you: From the tribe of Reuben, Elizur son of Shedeur;

    Full study and all 485 verses →
  • יָד yâdhandtranslated this way 1 time of its 1,403 uses · Strong’s H3027Noun  ·  Translated: hand 664, hands 349, through 64, power 22Full study and all 1,290 verses →
  • עֲבֹדָה ăbôdâhlabour, servicetranslated this way 1 time of its 127 uses · Strong’s H5656Noun  ·  Translated: service 56, work 25, labor 8, task 5

    Ezra 8:20 They also brought 220 of the temple servants, all designated by name. David and the officials had appointed them to assist the Levites.

    Full study and all 112 verses →
  • עַל alheighttranslated this way 1 time of its 4,859 uses · Strong’s H5921Preposition  ·  Translated: on 777, over 297, in 218, against 216Full study and all 3,996 verses →
  • סָמַךְ sâmaklean, lay, rest, supporttranslated this way 1 time of its 48 uses · Strong’s H5564Verb  ·  Translated: lay 17, laid 6, Sustain 3, sustained 2

    Isaiah 63:5 I looked, but there was no one to help; I was appalled that no one assisted. So My arm brought Me salvation, and My own wrath upheld Me.

    Full study and all 47 verses →

Greek words (New Testament)

  • παρίστημι parístēmiI bring, present, come up to and stand bytranslated this way 1 time of its 41 uses · Strong’s G3936Verb  ·  Translated: present 9, standing nearby 6, stand 3, presented 3

    Romans 16:2 Welcome her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her with anything she may need from you. For she has been a great help to many people, including me.

    Full study and all 39 verses →
  • ἐπαρκέω eparkéōI aid, relieve, do service, render helptranslated this way 1 time of its 3 uses · Strong’s G1884Verb  ·  Translated: imparting relief 1, assist 1, help 1

    1 Timothy 5:16 If any believing woman has dependent widows, she must assist them and not allow the church to be burdened, so that it can help the widows who are truly in need .

    Full study and all 2 verses →
How to study a word well
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
  4. 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.
  5. See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
  6. Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
  7. 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.