Word study
Constant
5 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “constant”. 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 “constant” 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)
- טָרַד ṭâradpursue, chase, be continuoustranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s H2956Verb · Translated: like a constant 1, constant 1Full study and all 2 verses →
Proverbs 19:13 A foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.
Proverbs 27:15 A constant dripping on a rainy day and a contentious woman are alike —
- תְּלוּנָה telûnâhmurmuringtranslated this way 1 time of its 8 uses · Strong’s H8519Noun · Translated: grumbling 5, grumblings 1, complaints 1, constant grumbling 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Numbers 17:5 The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid Myself of the constant grumbling of the Israelites against you.”
- אֵיתָן êthânperennial, ever-flowingtranslated this way 1 time of its 10 uses · Strong’s H386Adjective · Translated: established 2Full study and all 10 verses →
Job 33:19 A man is also chastened on his bed with pain and constant distress in his bones,
- הָלַךְ hâlakgo, come, walktranslated this way 1 time of its 1,461 uses · Strong’s H1980Verb · Translated: go 338, went 173, walk 116, Come 84Full study and all 1,299 verses →
- תָּמִיד tâmîdcontinuitytranslated this way 1 time of its 99 uses · Strong’s H8548Adverb · Translated: always 26, regular 20, continually 14, regularly 7Full study and all 99 verses →
Nahum 3:19 There is no healing for your injury; your wound is severe. All who hear the news of you applaud your downfall, for who has not experienced your constant cruelty?
Greek words (New Testament)
- προσδοκάω prosdokáōI expect, awaittranslated this way 1 time of its 16 uses · Strong’s G4328Verb · Translated: look 3, waiting 3, expecting 3, expect 2Full study and all 15 verses →
Acts 27:33 Right up to daybreak, Paul kept urging them all to eat: “Today is your fourteenth day in constant suspense, without taking any food.
- παραδιατριβή paradiatribḗuseless debatetranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s G3859Noun · Translated: constant friction 1Full study and its 1 verse →
1 Timothy 6:5 and constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain.
- ἕξις héxiscondition, state, habittranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s G1838Noun · Translated: constant use 1Full study and its 1 verse →
Hebrews 5:14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained their senses to distinguish good from evil.
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.