Word study
Case
8 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: case, cases. 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 “case” 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)
- רִיב rîbstrife, disputetranslated this way 12 times of its 61 uses · Strong’s H7379Noun · Translated: case 11, strife 9, dispute 8, cause 8Full study and all 60 verses →
1 Samuel 24:15 May the LORD be our judge and decide between you and me. May He take notice and plead my case and deliver me from your hand.”
Job 29:16 I was a father to the needy, and I took up the case of the stranger.
- דָּבָר dâbârspeech, wordtranslated this way 8 times of its 1,244 uses · Strong’s H1697Noun · Translated: word 342, words 299, acts 51, Chronicles 42Full study and all 1,120 verses →
Exodus 18:22 Have these men judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you any major issue, but all minor cases they can judge on their own, so that your load may be lightened as they share it with you.
Deuteronomy 1:17 Show no partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. And bring to me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.”
- רִיב rîbstrive, contendtranslated this way 6 times of its 64 uses · Strong’s H7378Verb · Translated: contend 13, quarreled 4, plead 4, rebuked 4Full study and all 58 verses →
Judges 6:31 But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Are you contending for Baal? Are you trying to save him? Whoever pleads his case will be put to death by morning! If Baal is a god, let him contend for himself with the one who has torn down his altar.”
Proverbs 25:9 Argue your case with your neighbor without betraying another’s confidence,
- מִשְׁפָּט mishpâṭjudgmenttranslated this way 3 times of its 406 uses · Strong’s H4941Noun · Translated: justice 111, ordinances 73, judgments 40, judgment 40Full study and all 394 verses →
Numbers 27:5 So Moses brought their case before the LORD,
Job 23:4 I would plead my case before Him and fill my mouth with arguments.
- מַעֲשֶׂה maăsehdeed, worktranslated this way 3 times of its 223 uses · Strong’s H4639Noun · Translated: work 71, works 38, deeds 8, made 7Full study and all 211 verses →
Deuteronomy 17:9 You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Inquire of them, and they will give you a verdict in the case.
Job 13:18 See now, I have prepared my case; I know that I will be vindicated.
- עָרַךְ ârakarrange or set in ordertranslated this way 3 times of its 75 uses · Strong’s H6186Verb · Translated: arrayed 14, prepared 5, compare 5, set 4Full study and all 71 verses →
Job 33:5 Refute me if you can; prepare your case and confront me.
Isaiah 44:7 Who then is like Me? Let him say so! Let him declare his case before Me, since I established an ancient people. Let him foretell the things to come, and what is to take place.
- נֶגַע negastroke, plague, mark, plague-spottranslated this way 2 times of its 64 uses · Strong’s H5061Noun · Translated: infection 12, mildew 12, contaminated 6, plague 4Full study and all 56 verses →
Deuteronomy 21:5 And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to serve Him and pronounce blessings in His name and to give a ruling in every dispute and case of assault.
Deuteronomy 24:8 In cases of infectious skin diseases, be careful to diligently follow everything the Levitical priests instruct you. Be careful to do as I have commanded them.
- זֶה zehthis, thattranslated this way 2 times of its 984 uses · Strong’s H2088Pronoun · Translated: this 478, in this 42, these 39, of this 27Full study and all 913 verses →
Deuteronomy 2:30 But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the LORD your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as is the case this day.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἐμφανίζω emphanízōI make visible, report against, appear beforetranslated this way 2 times of its 10 uses · Strong’s G1718Verb · Translated: reveal 2, presented their case 2Full study and all 10 verses →
Acts 25:2 where the chief priests and Jewish leaders presented their case against Paul. They urged Festus
Acts 25:15 While I was in Jerusalem, the chief priests and elders of the Jews presented their case and requested a judgment against him.
- ἄρα árathen, therefore, sincetranslated this way 2 times of its 38 uses · Strong’s G686Conjunction · Translated: then 17, so 8, Therefore 6, so then 2Full study and all 38 verses →
1 Corinthians 5:10 I was not including the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.
Galatians 5:11 Now, brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.
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.