Word study
Consent
4 Hebrew and 6 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: consent, consented, consenting. 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 “consent” 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)
- אָבָה âbâhbe willing, consenttranslated this way 3 times of its 35 uses · Strong’s H14Verb · Translated: unwilling 8, would 5, willing 5, yield 2Full study and all 34 verses →
Judges 11:17 Then Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us pass through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent messengers to the king of Moab, but he would not consent. So Israel stayed in Kadesh.
1 Kings 20:8 And the elders and the people all said, “Do not listen to him or consent to his terms.”
- אוּת ûthconsent, agreetranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s H225Verb · Translated: consent 2, agree 1, agreed 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Genesis 34:15 We will consent to this on one condition, that you become circumcised like us — every one of your males.
Genesis 34:23 Will not their livestock, their possessions, and all their animals become ours? Only let us consent to them, and they will dwell among us.”
- עָשָׂה âsâhdo, maketranslated this way 1 time of its 2,478 uses · Strong’s H6213Verb · Translated: done 292, made 265, make 143, did 112Full study and all 2,206 verses →
Genesis 42:20 Then bring your youngest brother to me so that your words can be verified, that you may not die.” And to this they consented.
- שָׁמַע shâmaheartranslated this way 1 time of its 1,132 uses · Strong’s H8085Verb · Translated: heard 311, hear 253, listen 218, obey 60Full study and all 1,063 verses →
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἐπαγγελία epangelíaa promisetranslated this way 1 time of its 51 uses · Strong’s G1860Noun · Translated: promise 29, promised 12, promises 8, consent 1Full study and all 49 verses →
Acts 23:21 Do not let them persuade you, because more than forty men are waiting to ambush him. They have bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him; they are ready now, awaiting your consent.”
- σύμφωνος sýmphōnosharmonious, agreeing withtranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s G4859Adjective · Translated: mutual consent 1Full study and its 1 verse →
1 Corinthians 7:5 Do not deprive each other, except by mutual consent and for a time, so you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan will not tempt you through your lack of self-control.
- γνώμη gnṓmēopinion, counsel, judgment, intentiontranslated this way 1 time of its 8 uses · Strong’s G1106Noun · Translated: judgment 2, purpose 2, decided 1, conviction 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Philemon 1:14 But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that your goodness will not be out of compulsion, but by your own free will.
- ἐξομολογέω exomologéōI consent fully, confesstranslated this way 1 time of its 10 uses · Strong’s G1843Verb · Translated: praise 3, confess 3, Confessing 3, consented 1Full study and all 10 verses →
Luke 22:6 Judas consented, and began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus to them in the absence of a crowd.
- συγκατατίθεμαι synkatatíthemaiI give a vote with, assent totranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s G4784Verb · Translated: consented 1Full study and its 1 verse →
Luke 23:51 who had not consented to their decision or action. He was from the Judean town of Arimathea and was waiting for the kingdom of God.
- συνευδοκέω syneudokéōI consent, agree, am of one mind withtranslated this way 1 time of its 6 uses · Strong’s G4909Verb · Translated: willing 2, consenting 1, giving approval 1, giving my approval 1Full study and all 6 verses →
Luke 11:48 So you are witnesses consenting to the deeds of your fathers: They killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.
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.