Word study

Control

9 Hebrew and 7 Greek words behind this English word

The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: control, controlled, controls. 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 “control” 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)

  • מָשַׁל mâshalrule, have dominion, reigntranslated this way 2 times of its 79 uses · Strong’s H4910Verb  ·  Translated: rule 27, ruler 16, ruled 6, rules 6

    Proverbs 16:32 He who is slow to anger is better than a warrior, and he who controls his temper is greater than one who captures a city.

    Daniel 11:43 He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and over all the riches of Egypt, and the Libyans and Cushites will also submit to him.

    Full study and all 74 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

    Genesis 45:1 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Send everyone away from me!” So none of them were with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers.

    Full study and all 7 verses →
  • פָּרַע pâraact as leader, lead (?)translated this way 1 time of its 16 uses · Strong’s H6544Verb  ·  Translated: hang loose 2

    Exodus 32:25 Moses saw that the people were out of control, for Aaron had let them run wild and become a laughingstock to their enemies.

    Full study and all 15 verses →
  • מָלַךְ mâlakbe or become king, or queen, reigntranslated this way 1 time of its 340 uses · Strong’s H4427Verb  ·  Translated: reigned 132, became king 68, reign 36, king 32

    1 Kings 11:24 and had gathered men to himself. When David killed the Zobaites, Rezon captained a band of raiders and went to Damascus, where they settled and gained control.

    Full study and all 283 verses →
  • מַעְצָר matsârrestraint, controltranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s H4623Noun  ·  Translated: control 1

    Proverbs 25:28 Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who does not control his temper.

    Full study and its 1 verse →
  • יָד yâdhandtranslated this way 1 time of its 1,403 uses · Strong’s H3027Noun  ·  Translated: hand 664, hands 349, through 64, power 22Full study and all 1,290 verses →
  • נָתַן nâthangive, put, settranslated this way 1 time of its 1,957 uses · Strong’s H5414Verb  ·  Translated: give 326, gave 206, given 187, put 135Full study and all 1,785 verses →
  • מֶמְשָׁלָה memshâlâhrule, dominion, realmtranslated this way 1 time of its 17 uses · Strong’s H4475Noun  ·  Translated: dominion 8, rule 4, authority 2, forces 1

    Jeremiah 34:1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, all his army, all the earthly kingdoms under his control, and all the other nations were fighting against Jerusalem and all its surrounding cities.

    Full study and all 16 verses →
  • בָּלַם bâlamcurb, hold intranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s H1102Verb  ·  Translated: controlled 1

    Psalm 32:9 Do not be like the horse or mule, which have no understanding; they must be controlled with bit and bridle to make them come to you.

    Full study and its 1 verse →

Greek words (New Testament)

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.