Word study
Call
15 Hebrew and 17 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: called, call, calling, calls. 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 “call” 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)
- קָרָא qârâcall, proclaim, readtranslated this way 357 times of its 709 uses · Strong’s H7121Verb · Translated: called 211, call 104, named 58, summoned 50Full study and all 663 verses →
Genesis 1:5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning — the first day.
Exodus 2:7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?”
- אָמַר âmarutter, saytranslated this way 21 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 →
- אָשַׁר âshargo straight, go on, advancetranslated this way 6 times of its 16 uses · Strong’s H833Verb · Translated: blessed 2, walk 2, guide 2, call her blessed 2Full study and all 15 verses →
Genesis 30:13 Leah said, “How happy I am! For the women call me happy.” So she named him Asher.
Job 29:11 For those who heard me called me blessed, and those who saw me commended me,
- צָעַק tsâaqcry, cry out, calltranslated this way 4 times of its 55 uses · Strong’s H6817Verb · Translated: cried 19, cry 13, called 3, summoned 3Full study and all 53 verses →
Deuteronomy 26:7 So we called out to the LORD, the God of our fathers; and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, toil, and oppression.
Judges 7:23 Then the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and they pursued the Midianites.
- שָׁוַע shâvacry out for helptranslated this way 4 times of its 21 uses · Strong’s H7768Verb · Translated: cry for help 5, cry 4, help 4, call for help 2Full study and all 21 verses →
Job 19:7 Though I cry out, ‘Violence!’ I get no response; though I call for help, there is no justice.
Psalm 28:2 Hear my cry for mercy when I call to You for help, when I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.
- זָעַק zâaqcry, cry out, calltranslated this way 3 times of its 72 uses · Strong’s H2199Verb · Translated: cried 26, cry 23, cries 4, summoned 3Full study and all 72 verses →
Judges 6:35 Calling them to arms, Gideon sent messengers throughout Manasseh, as well as Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, so that they came up to meet him.
Judges 12:2 But Jephthah replied, “My people and I had a serious conflict with the Ammonites, and when I called, you did not save me out of their hands.
- עָנָה ânâhanswer, respondtranslated this way 3 times of its 317 uses · Strong’s H6030Verb · Translated: answered 79, answer 75, replied 47, respond 14Full study and all 308 verses →
1 Samuel 14:12 So the men of the outpost called out to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, “Come on up, and we will teach you a lesson!” “Follow me,” Jonathan told his armor-bearer, “for the LORD has delivered them into the hand of Israel.”
Song of Solomon 2:10 My beloved calls to me, “Arise, my darling. Come away with me, my beautiful one.
- פָּקַד pâqadattend to, visit, muster, appointtranslated this way 3 times of its 294 uses · Strong’s H6485Verb · Translated: punish 41, numbered 26, appointed 15, counted 14Full study and all 267 verses →
1 Samuel 14:17 Saul said to the troops who were with him, “Call the roll and see who has left us.” And when they had called the roll, they saw that Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not there.
Job 31:14 what will I do when God rises to judge? How will I answer when called to account?
- קָלַל qâlalbe slight, swift, triflingtranslated this way 3 times of its 82 uses · Strong’s H7043Verb · Translated: curse 15, cursed 8, curses 5, swifter 5Full study and all 79 verses →
2 Kings 2:24 Then he turned around, looked at them, and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Suddenly two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.
Nehemiah 13:2 because they had not met the Israelites with food and water, but had hired Balaam to call down a curse against them (although our God had turned the curse into a blessing).
- שָׁמַיִם shâmayimsky, alofttranslated this way 3 times of its 410 uses · Strong’s H8064Noun · Translated: heaven 163, heavens 141, air 43, sky 32Full study and all 392 verses →
Deuteronomy 4:26 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live long upon it, but will be utterly destroyed.
Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, so that you and your descendants may live,
- זָכַר zâkarremembertranslated this way 3 times of its 227 uses · Strong’s H2142Verb · Translated: remember 122, remembered 35, recorder 9, remembers 6Full study and all 221 verses →
Joshua 23:7 So you are not to associate with these nations that remain among you. You must not call on the names of their gods or swear by them, and you must not serve them or bow down to them.
Isaiah 43:18 “Do not call to mind the former things; pay no attention to the things of old.
- דָּרַשׁ dârashresort to, seektranslated this way 3 times of its 160 uses · Strong’s H1875Verb · Translated: seek 47, inquire 29, sought 14, search 6Full study and all 151 verses →
2 Chronicles 24:22 Thus King Joash failed to remember the kindness that Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had extended to him. Instead, Joash killed Jehoiada’s son. As he lay dying, Zechariah said, “May the LORD see this and call you to account.”
Psalm 10:13 Why has the wicked man renounced God? He says to himself, “You will never call me to account.”
- עוּד ûdreturn, go about, repeat, do againtranslated this way 2 times of its 39 uses · Strong’s H5749Verb · Translated: warned 5, testify 5, warn 3, admonished 3Full study and all 39 verses →
Jeremiah 32:10 I signed and sealed the deed, called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales.
Jeremiah 32:25 Yet You, O Lord GOD, have said to me, ‘Buy for yourself the field with silver and call in witnesses, even though the city has been delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans!’”
- קְרָא qerâcall, read out, aloudtranslated this way 2 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s H7123Verb · Translated: read 6, called 2, proclaimed 1, reads 1Full study and all 10 verses →
Daniel 4:14 He called out in a loud voice: ‘Cut down the tree and chop off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it, and the birds from its branches.
Daniel 5:7 The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers, and diviners to be brought in, and he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this inscription and tells me its interpretation will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”
- שׁוּב shûbturn back, returntranslated this way 2 times of its 1,007 uses · Strong’s H7725Verb · Translated: return 218, returned 105, restore 62, turn 56Full study and all 920 verses →
Deuteronomy 30:1 “When all these things come upon you— the blessings and curses I have set before you— and you call them to mind in all the nations to which the LORD your God has banished you,
Greek words (New Testament)
- καλέω kaléōI call, invite, nametranslated this way 104 times of its 144 uses · Strong’s G2564Verb · Translated: called 84, invited 13, call 11, calls 7Full study and all 136 verses →
Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).
Mark 1:20 Immediately Jesus called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed Him.
- λέγω légōI say, speaktranslated this way 40 times of its 993 uses · Strong’s G3004Verb · Translated: said 216, tell 164, say 105, saying 86Full study and all 936 verses →
Matthew 1:16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
Mark 10:18 “Why do you call Me good?” Jesus replied. “No one is good except God alone.
- φωνέω phōnéōI crow, shout, summontranslated this way 24 times of its 41 uses · Strong’s G5455Verb · Translated: called 17, crows 6, crowed 5, calling 3Full study and all 37 verses →
Matthew 20:32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want Me to do for you?” He asked.
Mark 9:35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the last of all and the servant of all.”
- προσκαλέομαι proskaléomaiI summontranslated this way 23 times of its 29 uses · Strong’s G4341Verb · Translated: called 17, summoned 4, called them together 2, call 2Full study and all 29 verses →
Matthew 10:1 And calling His twelve disciples to Him, Jesus gave them authority over unclean spirits, so that they could drive them out and heal every disease and sickness.
Mark 3:13 Then Jesus went up on the mountain and called for those He wanted, and they came to Him.
- ἐπικαλέομαι epikaléomaiI call by an additional name, appeal totranslated this way 22 times of its 30 uses · Strong’s G1941Verb · Translated: called 11, call 8, appealed 5, calls 2Full study and all 30 verses →
Matthew 10:25 It is enough for a disciple to be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!
Acts 2:21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
- κλητός klētóscalled, summonedtranslated this way 10 times of its 10 uses · Strong’s G2822Adjective · Translated: called 10Full study and all 10 verses →
Matthew 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Romans 1:1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God—
- κλῆσις klēsisa calling, summonstranslated this way 10 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s G2821Noun · Translated: calling 8, call 1, situation 1, called 1Full study and all 11 verses →
Romans 11:29 For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable.
1 Corinthians 1:26 Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth.
- συγκαλέω synkaléōI call togethertranslated this way 7 times of its 8 uses · Strong’s G4779Verb · Translated: called together 3, called 2, calls together 2, convened 1Full study and all 8 verses →
Mark 15:16 Then the soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called the whole company together.
Luke 9:1 Then Jesus called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and power to cure diseases.
- βοάω boáōI shout, call aloudtranslated this way 5 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s G994Verb · Translated: calling 4, cried 2Full study and all 11 verses →
Matthew 3:3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’”
Mark 1:3 “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’”
- προσφωνέω prosphōnéōI call to, summontranslated this way 4 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s G4377Verb · Translated: calling 2, called 2, addressed 2, speak 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Matthew 11:16 To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:
Luke 6:13 When daylight came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also designated as apostles:
- κράζω krázōI cry aloud, shriektranslated this way 4 times of its 54 uses · Strong’s G2896Verb · Translated: cried 20, crying 8, shouting 6, shouted 5Full study and all 53 verses →
John 7:37 On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink.
Acts 23:6 Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. It is because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.”
- ἔπω épōto speak or say (by word or writing)translated this way 4 times of its 962 uses · Strong’s G2036Verb · Translated: said 426, asked 95, told 88, replied 69Full study and all 891 verses →
Luke 9:54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?”
- ὄνομα ónomaname, character, reputationtranslated this way 3 times of its 214 uses · Strong’s G3686Noun · Translated: name 163, named 35, names 11, called 3Full study and all 203 verses →
Mark 14:32 Then they came to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus told His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”
Luke 1:26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,
- 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 →
John 15:15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you.
Revelation 19:3 And a second time they called out: “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises forever and ever.”
- χρηματίζω chrēmatízōI warn, am publicly calledtranslated this way 2 times of its 9 uses · Strong’s G5537Verb · Translated: warned 5, revealed 1, instructed 1, first called 1Full study and all 9 verses →
Acts 11:26 and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.
Romans 7:3 So then, if she is joined to another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.
- παρακαλέω parakaléōI summon, entreat, admonish, comforttranslated this way 2 times of its 106 uses · Strong’s G3870Verb · Translated: urge 20, encourage 14, begged 13, urged 7Full study and all 104 verses →
Matthew 26:53 Are you not aware that I can call on My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?
Acts 28:20 So for this reason I have called to see you and speak with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.”
- κοινόω koinóōI make unclean, regard as uncleantranslated this way 2 times of its 13 uses · Strong’s G2840Verb · Translated: defile 7, defiled 2, call anything impure 2, defiles 1Full study and all 11 verses →
Acts 10:15 The voice spoke to him a second time: “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
Acts 11:9 But the voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’
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.
What the Bible says about call: passages by topic →
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.