Word study
Choose
5 Hebrew and 6 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: chosen, choose, chose, chooses, choosing. 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 “choose” 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)
- בָּחַר bâcharchoosetranslated this way 146 times of its 171 uses · Strong’s H977Verb · Translated: chosen 73, choose 44, chose 21, chooses 6Full study and all 163 verses →
Genesis 6:2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took as wives whomever they chose.
Exodus 17:9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with the staff of God in my hand.”
- בָּחִיר bâchîrchosentranslated this way 12 times of its 13 uses · Strong’s H972Adjective · Translated: chosen 12, elect 1Full study and all 13 verses →
2 Samuel 21:6 let seven of his male descendants be delivered to us so that we may hang them before the LORD at Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD.” “I will give them to you,” said the king.
1 Chronicles 16:13 O offspring of His servant Israel, O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones.
- לָקַח lâqachtaketranslated this way 6 times of its 938 uses · Strong’s H3947Verb · Translated: take 247, took 245, taken 40, get 26Full study and all 890 verses →
Genesis 47:2 And he chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.
Joshua 3:12 Now choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.
- עָלָה âlâhgo up, ascend, climbtranslated this way 2 times of its 873 uses · Strong’s H5927Verb · Translated: go 118, went 107, brought 56, come 42Full study and all 807 verses →
Leviticus 16:9 he shall present the goat chosen by lot for the LORD and sacrifice it as a sin offering.
Leviticus 16:10 But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement by sending it into the wilderness as the scapegoat.
- בָּרַר bârarpurify, selecttranslated this way 2 times of its 18 uses · Strong’s H1305Verb · Translated: pure 3, show yourself pure 2, choice 2, chosen 2Full study and all 16 verses →
1 Chronicles 9:22 The number of those chosen to be gatekeepers at the thresholds was 212. They were registered by genealogy in their villages. David and Samuel the seer had appointed them to their positions of trust.
1 Chronicles 16:41 With them were Heman, Jeduthun, and the rest of those chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the LORD, for “His loving devotion endures forever.”
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἐκλέγομαι eklégomaiI choose, electtranslated this way 20 times of its 22 uses · Strong’s G1586Verb · Translated: chosen 9, chose 9, choose 2, made a choice 1Full study and all 20 verses →
Mark 13:20 If the Lord had not cut short those days, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom He has chosen, He has cut them short.
Luke 6:13 When daylight came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also designated as apostles:
- ἐκλεκτός eklektóschosen, elect, choice, selecttranslated this way 7 times of its 22 uses · Strong’s G1588Adjective · Translated: elect 13, chosen 7, to 2Full study and all 22 verses →
Matthew 22:14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Luke 23:35 The people stood watching, and the rulers sneered at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”
- βούλομαι boúlomaiI will, intend, desiretranslated this way 4 times of its 35 uses · Strong’s G1014Verb · Translated: want 8, wanted 4, chooses 3, wanting 3Full study and all 35 verses →
Matthew 11:27 All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.
Luke 10:22 All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.”
- αἱρέομαι hairéomaiI choose, prefertranslated this way 3 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G138Verb · Translated: chose 2, choose 1Full study and all 3 verses →
Philippians 1:22 But if I go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. So what shall I choose? I do not know.
2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth.
- ἐκλογή eklogḗa choosing out, selecting, choice by Godtranslated this way 3 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s G1589Noun · Translated: chosen 3, election 3, elect 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Acts 9:15 “Go!” said the Lord. “This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings, and before the people of Israel.
Romans 11:5 In the same way, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
- θέλω thélōI will, wish, desiretranslated this way 2 times of its 207 uses · Strong’s G2309Verb · Translated: want 65, wants 21, willing 16, wanted 15Full study and all 198 verses →
Matthew 27:15 Now it was the governor’s custom at the feast to release to the crowd a prisoner of their choosing.
Colossians 1:27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
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.