Word study
Concern
3 Hebrew and 5 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: concerning, concern, concerned, concerns. 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 “concern” 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)
- עַל alheighttranslated this way 33 times of its 4,859 uses · Strong’s H5921Preposition · Translated: on 777, over 297, in 218, against 216Full study and all 3,996 verses →
Genesis 12:20 Then Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning Abram, and they sent him away with his wife and all his possessions.
Genesis 24:9 So the servant placed his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.
- אֵל êlmotion totranslated this way 17 times of its 4,199 uses · Strong’s H413Preposition · Translated: to 1,941, to me 285, to you 149, to him 137Full study and all 3,455 verses →
- 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 →
Genesis 39:6 So Potiphar left all that he owned in Joseph’s care; he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,
Job 9:21 Though I am blameless, I have no concern for myself; I despise my own life.
Greek words (New Testament)
- περί períabout, concerning, aroundtranslated this way 9 times of its 283 uses · Strong’s G4012Preposition · Translated: about 143, for 49, around 15, of 10Full study and all 269 verses →
Matthew 4:6 “If You are the Son of God,” he said, “throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command His angels concerning You, and they will lift You up in their hands, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’”
Mark 12:26 But concerning the dead rising, have you not read about the burning bush in the Book of Moses, how God told him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?
- μεριμνάω merimnáōI am anxious, distractedtranslated this way 5 times of its 19 uses · Strong’s G3309Verb · Translated: worry 9, concerned 4, worrying 2Full study and all 17 verses →
1 Corinthians 7:32 I want you to be free from concern. The unmarried man is concerned about the work of the Lord, how he can please the Lord.
1 Corinthians 7:33 But the married man is concerned about the affairs of this world, how he can please his wife,
- μέλω mélōit is a care, it concernstranslated this way 3 times of its 10 uses · Strong’s G3199Verb · Translated: seek favor 2, concern 2Full study and all 10 verses →
Acts 18:17 At this, the crowd seized Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the judgment seat. But none of this was of concern to Gallio.
1 Corinthians 7:21 Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let it concern you— but if you can gain your freedom, take the opportunity.
- ὑπέρ hypérin behalf of, abovetranslated this way 2 times of its 145 uses · Strong’s G5228Preposition · Translated: for 88, behalf 9, about 7, more 5Full study and all 131 verses →
Romans 9:27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the Israelites is like the sand of the sea, only the remnant will be saved.
2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him, we ask you, brothers,
- φρονέω phronéōI think, judge, observetranslated this way 2 times of its 22 uses · Strong’s G5426Verb · Translated: mind 4, think 2Full study and all 19 verses →
Philippians 4:10 Now I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned, but you had no opportunity to show 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.