Word study
Cold
5 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “cold”. 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 “cold” 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)
- קָרָה qârâhid.translated this way 4 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s H7135Noun · Translated: cold 4, icy blast 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Job 24:7 Without clothing, they spend the night naked; they have no covering against the cold.
Proverbs 25:20 Like one who removes a garment on a cold day or vinegar poured on a wound is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.
- קֹר qôrcoldtranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s H7120Noun · Translated: cold 1Full study and its 1 verse →
Genesis 8:22 As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall never cease.”
- צִנָּה tsinnâhhooktranslated this way 1 time of its 20 uses · Strong’s H6793Noun · Translated: shield 6, large shields 3, shields 3, buckler 2Full study and all 18 verses →
Proverbs 25:13 Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a trustworthy messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his masters.
- קַר qarcool, quiettranslated this way 1 time of its 3 uses · Strong’s H7119Adjective · Translated: maintains a calm 1, cold 1, cool 1Full study and all 3 verses →
Proverbs 25:25 Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.
- יָקָר yâqârprecious, rare, splendid, weightytranslated this way 1 time of its 35 uses · Strong’s H3368Adjective · Translated: precious 20, costly 3Full study and all 35 verses →
Zechariah 14:6 On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ψυχρός psychróscold, cold-heartedtranslated this way 3 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G5593Adjective · Translated: cold 3Full study and all 3 verses →
Matthew 10:42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.”
Revelation 3:15 I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were one or the other!
- ψύχος psýchoscoldtranslated this way 3 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G5592Noun · Translated: cold 3Full study and all 3 verses →
John 18:18 Because it was cold, the servants and officers were standing around a charcoal fire they had made to keep warm. And Peter was also standing with them, warming himself.
Acts 28:2 The islanders showed us extraordinary kindness. They kindled a fire and welcomed all of us because it was raining and cold.
- ψύχω psýchōI cool, grow coldtranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s G5594Verb · Translated: grow cold 1Full study and its 1 verse →
Matthew 24:12 Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.
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.