Word study

Basis

2 Hebrew and 7 Greek words behind this English word

The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “basis”. 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 “basis” 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)

  • בָּטַח bâṭachtrusttranslated this way 2 times of its 120 uses · Strong’s H982Verb  ·  Translated: trust 51, trusts 15, trusted 11, trusting 6

    2 Kings 18:19 The Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah that this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: What is the basis of this confidence of yours?

    Isaiah 36:4 The Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah that this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: What is the basis of this confidence of yours?

    Full study and all 117 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 →

Greek words (New Testament)

  • αἰτία aitíaa cause, reason, chargetranslated this way 4 times of its 18 uses · Strong’s G156Noun  ·  Translated: reason 5, charge 3, basis for a charge 3, charges 2

    John 18:38 “What is truth?” Pilate asked. And having said this, he went out again to the Jews and told them, “I find no basis for a charge against Him.

    Acts 28:18 They examined me and wanted to release me, because there was no basis for a death sentence against me.

    Full study and all 18 verses →
  • αἴτιος aítiosthe cause of, the originator oftranslated this way 1 time of its 5 uses · Strong’s G159Adjective  ·  Translated: basis for a charge 1, guilty 1, offense worthy 1, justification 1

    Luke 23:4 Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”

    Full study and all 5 verses →
  • κατά katádown from, against, according to, throughout, duringtranslated this way 1 time of its 381 uses · Strong’s G2596Preposition  ·  Translated: according 65, against 46, in 41, by 38

    Romans 10:2 For I testify about them that they are zealous for God, but not on the basis of knowledge.

    Full study and all 349 verses →
  • ἐπί epíon, to, against, on the basis of, attranslated this way 1 time of its 784 uses · Strong’s G1909Preposition  ·  Translated: on 288, to 87, in 83, at 48Full study and all 696 verses →
  • εἰκῆ eikēwithout purpose, in vaintranslated this way 1 time of its 6 uses · Strong’s G1500Adverb  ·  Translated: vain 3, nothing 2, without basis 1

    Colossians 2:18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you with speculation about what he has seen. Such a person is puffed up without basis by his unspiritual mind.

    Full study and all 5 verses →
  • διά diáthrough, on account oftranslated this way 1 time of its 607 uses · Strong’s G1223Preposition  ·  Translated: through 201, by 83, because of 56, for 37Full study and all 553 verses →
  • αὐτός autóshe, she, it, they, them, sametranslated this way 1 time of its 4,051 uses · Strong’s G846Personal / Possessive Pronoun  ·  Translated: him 1,014, his 849, them 557, their 272Full study and all 2,999 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.