Word study
Cheer
6 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: cheers, cheer, cheering, cheered. 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 “cheer” 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)
- שָׂמַח sâmachrejoice, be gladtranslated this way 3 times of its 152 uses · Strong’s H8055Verb · Translated: rejoice 50, glad 27, rejoiced 20, gloat 6Full study and all 147 verses →
Judges 9:13 But the grapevine replied, ‘Should I stop giving my wine that cheers both God and man, to hold sway over the trees?’
Proverbs 12:25 Anxiety weighs down the heart of a man, but a good word cheers it up.
- הָלַל hâlalshinetranslated this way 1 time of its 165 uses · Strong’s H1984Verb · Translated: praise 65, Hallelujah 24, praised 14, boast 9Full study and all 140 verses →
2 Chronicles 23:12 When Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and cheering the king, she went out to them in the house of the LORD.
- הֵידָד hêdâdshout, shouting, cheertranslated this way 1 time of its 6 uses · Strong’s H1959Noun · Translated: Triumphant shouts 1, cheering 1, shout 1, shouts of joy 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Isaiah 16:10 Joy and gladness are removed from the orchard; no one sings or shouts in the vineyards. No one tramples the grapes in the winepresses; I have put an end to the cheering.
- חָדָה châdâhrejoicetranslated this way 1 time of its 3 uses · Strong’s H2302Verb · Translated: rejoiced 1, appear 1, cheer 1Full study and all 3 verses →
Psalm 21:6 For You grant him blessings forever; You cheer him with joy in Your presence.
- בָּשָׂר bâsârfleshtranslated this way 1 time of its 231 uses · Strong’s H1320Noun · Translated: flesh 91, meat 59, body 22, himself 8Full study and all 212 verses →
Ecclesiastes 2:3 I sought to cheer my body with wine and to embrace folly— my mind still guiding me with wisdom— until I could see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.
- בָּלַג bâlaggleam, smiletranslated this way 1 time of its 4 uses · Strong’s H1082Verb · Translated: smile 1, little comfort 1, cheered 1, flashes 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Psalm 39:13 Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may again be cheered before I depart and am no more.”
Greek words (New Testament)
- εὐφραίνω euphraínōI cheer, am glad, make merrytranslated this way 1 time of its 14 uses · Strong’s G2165Verb · Translated: celebrate 5, Rejoice 4Full study and all 14 verses →
2 Corinthians 2:2 For if I grieve you, who is left to cheer me but those whom I have grieved?
- εὐψυχέω eupsychéōI am of good cheertranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s G2174Verb · Translated: cheered 1Full study and its 1 verse →
Philippians 2:19 Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I learn how you are doing.
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.