Word study
Comprehend
3 Hebrew and 4 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: comprehend, comprehending, comprehended. 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 “comprehend” 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)
- בִּין bîndiscerntranslated this way 3 times of its 166 uses · Strong’s H995Verb · Translated: understand 27, discerning 16, understanding 12, consider 10Full study and all 160 verses →
Deuteronomy 32:29 If only they were wise, they would understand it; they would comprehend their fate.
Proverbs 1:2 for gaining wisdom and discipline, for comprehending words of insight,
- יָדַע yâdaknowtranslated this way 3 times of its 914 uses · Strong’s H3045Verb · Translated: know 453, known 53, knows 48, knew 38Full study and all 863 verses →
- מָצָא mâtsâattain to, findtranslated this way 2 times of its 436 uses · Strong’s H4672Verb · Translated: found 197, find 87, finds 13, present 7Full study and all 411 verses →
Greek words (New Testament)
- αἰσθάνομαι aisthánomaiI perceivetranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s G143Verb · Translated: comprehend 1Full study and its 1 verse →
Luke 9:45 But they did not understand this statement. It was veiled from them so that they could not comprehend it, and they were afraid to ask Him about it.
- γινώσκω ginṓskōI come to know, learn, realizetranslated this way 1 time of its 220 uses · Strong’s G1097Verb · Translated: know 95, understand 19, known 15, knew 12Full study and all 205 verses →
Luke 18:34 But the disciples did not understand any of these things. The meaning was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend what He was saying.
- καταλαμβάνω katalambánōI seize tight hold of, overtake, comprehendtranslated this way 1 time of its 15 uses · Strong’s G2638Verb · Translated: caught 2, overtake 2Full study and all 14 verses →
Ephesians 3:18 will have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth
- ἀκούω akoúōI hear, listentranslated this way 1 time of its 422 uses · Strong’s G191Verb · Translated: heard 192, hear 98, listen 37, hearing 21Full study and all 394 verses →
Hebrews 4:2 For we also received the good news just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, since they did not share the faith of those who comprehended it.
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.