Word study

Behalf

5 Hebrew and 6 Greek words behind this English word

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

  • עַל alheighttranslated this way 13 times of its 4,859 uses · Strong’s H5921Preposition  ·  Translated: on 777, over 297, in 218, against 216Full study and all 3,996 verses →
  • בְּעַד beadseparationtranslated this way 10 times of its 87 uses · Strong’s H1157Preposition  ·  Translated: for 18, behalf 10, behind 8, and for 6

    1 Samuel 7:5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the LORD on your behalf.”

    Isaiah 8:19 When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?

    Full study and all 70 verses →
  • רָצוֹן râtsôngoodwill, favour, acceptance, willtranslated this way 3 times of its 54 uses · Strong’s H7522Noun  ·  Translated: favor 15, delight 5, acceptable 3, acceptance 3

    Leviticus 22:19 must offer an unblemished male from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order for it to be accepted on your behalf.

    Leviticus 22:29 When you sacrifice a thank offering to the LORD, offer it so that it may be acceptable on your behalf.

    Full study and all 54 verses →
  • יִשְׂרָאֵל YisrâêlIsraeltranslated this way 2 times of its 1,998 uses · Strong’s H3478Noun  ·  Translated: Israel 1,807, Israelites 111, caused israel 21, Israel's 19

    Leviticus 24:8 Every Sabbath day the bread is to be set out before the LORD on behalf of the Israelites as a permanent covenant.

    Numbers 3:38 Moses, Aaron, and Aaron’s sons were to camp to the east of the tabernacle, toward the sunrise, before the Tent of Meeting. They were to perform the duties of the sanctuary as a service on behalf of the Israelites; but any outsider who approached the sanctuary was to be put to death.

    Full study and all 1,817 verses →
  • עִם imwithtranslated this way 2 times of its 940 uses · Strong’s H5973Preposition  ·  Translated: with 246, with you 84, with him 61, against 39Full study and all 838 verses →

Greek words (New Testament)

  • ὑπέρ hypérin behalf of, abovetranslated this way 9 times of its 145 uses · Strong’s G5228Preposition  ·  Translated: for 88, behalf 9, about 7, more 5

    Romans 1:5 Through Him and on behalf of His name, we received grace and apostleship to call all those among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.

    2 Corinthians 5:20 Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God.

    Full study and all 131 verses →
  • ἐγώ egṓItranslated this way 4 times of its 2,450 uses · Strong’s G1473Personal / Possessive Pronoun  ·  Translated: me 622, my 472, i 392, us 267Full study and all 1,768 verses →
  • περί períabout, concerning, aroundtranslated this way 4 times of its 283 uses · Strong’s G4012Preposition  ·  Translated: about 143, for 49, around 15, of 10

    John 17:9 I ask on their behalf. I do not ask on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those You have given Me; for they are Yours.

    John 17:20 I am not asking on behalf of them alone, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their message,

    Full study and all 269 verses →
  • αὐτός autóshe, she, it, they, them, sametranslated this way 2 times 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 →
  • σύ sýyoutranslated this way 2 times of its 2,655 uses · Strong’s G4771Personal / Possessive Pronoun  ·  Translated: you 1,540, your 682, to you 201, for you 57Full study and all 1,926 verses →
  • ἐνώπιον enṓpionbefore the face of, in the presence oftranslated this way 2 times of its 85 uses · Strong’s G1799Preposition  ·  Translated: before 44, sight 11, presence 10, front 5

    Revelation 13:14 Because of the signs it was given to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived those who dwell on the earth, telling them to make an image to the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet had lived.

    Revelation 19:20 But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

    Full study and all 79 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.