Word study

Compel

5 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word

The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: compels, compelled, compel. 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 “compel” 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)

  • חָזָק châzâqstrong, stout, mightytranslated this way 1 time of its 55 uses · Strong’s H2389Adjective  ·  Translated: mighty 20, strong 18, powerful 2, hard 2

    Exodus 3:19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless a mighty hand compels him.

    Full study and all 53 verses →
  • נָדַב nâdabincite, impeltranslated this way 1 time of its 17 uses · Strong’s H5068Verb  ·  Translated: prompted 2, volunteer 2

    Exodus 25:2 “Tell the Israelites to bring Me an offering. You are to receive My offering from every man whose heart compels him.

    Full study and all 15 verses →
  • צוּק tsûqconstrain, bring into straits, press upontranslated this way 1 time of its 11 uses · Strong’s H6693Verb  ·  Translated: inflict 3, oppressor 2

    Job 32:18 For I am full of words, and my spirit within me compels me.

    Full study and all 10 verses →
  • אָפַק âphaqhold, be strongtranslated this way 1 time of its 7 uses · Strong’s H662Verb  ·  Translated: restrained 3, Regaining his composure 1, control 1, felt compelled 1

    1 Samuel 13:12 I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will descend upon me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the LORD.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”

    Full study and all 7 verses →
  • שׁוּב shûbturn back, returntranslated this way 1 time of its 1,007 uses · Strong’s H7725Verb  ·  Translated: return 218, returned 105, restore 62, turn 56Full study and all 920 verses →

Greek words (New Testament)

  • ἀναγκάζω anankázōI force, compeltranslated this way 5 times of its 9 uses · Strong’s G315Verb  ·  Translated: made 2, compel 2, compelled 2, tried to make 1

    Luke 14:23 So the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.

    Acts 28:19 But when the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, even though I have no charge to bring against my nation.

    Full study and all 9 verses →
  • συνέχω synéchōI press together, confine, compel, am afflicted withtranslated this way 1 time of its 12 uses · Strong’s G4912Verb  ·  Translated: suffering 3

    2 Corinthians 5:14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died.

    Full study and all 12 verses →
  • δέω déōI bindtranslated this way 1 time of its 43 uses · Strong’s G1210Verb  ·  Translated: bound 18, tied 4, bind 3, tie 2

    Acts 20:22 And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.

    Full study and all 40 verses →
How to study a word well
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
  4. 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.
  5. See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
  6. Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
  7. 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.