Word study
Copy
7 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: copy, copied, copies. 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 “copy” 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)
- פַּרְשֶׁגֶן parshegencopytranslated this way 3 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s H6572Noun · Translated: copy 3, text 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Esther 3:14 A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued in every province and published to all the people, so that they would be ready on that day.
Esther 4:8 Mordecai also gave Hathach a copy of the written decree issued in Susa for the destruction of the Jews, to show and explain to Esther, urging her to approach the king, implore his favor, and plead before him for her people.
- מִשְׁנֶה mishnehdouble, copy, secondtranslated this way 2 times of its 34 uses · Strong’s H4932Noun · Translated: second 11, double 4, Second District 4, twice 2Full study and all 33 verses →
Deuteronomy 17:18 When he is seated on his royal throne, he must write for himself a copy of this instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.
Joshua 8:32 And there in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua inscribed on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written.
- מִצְוָה mitsvâhcommandmenttranslated this way 1 time of its 180 uses · Strong’s H4687Noun · Translated: commandments 133, command 17, commandment 12, according to the command 4Full study and all 176 verses →
Jeremiah 32:11 Then I took the deed of purchase— the sealed copy with its terms and conditions, as well as the open copy—
- גָּלָה gâlâhuncover, removetranslated this way 1 time of its 170 uses · Strong’s H1540Verb · Translated: revealed 14, uncovered 13, exiled 12, sexual relations 11Full study and all 161 verses →
Jeremiah 32:11 Then I took the deed of purchase— the sealed copy with its terms and conditions, as well as the open copy—
- חָתַם châthamseal, affix seal, seal uptranslated this way 1 time of its 26 uses · Strong’s H2856Verb · Translated: sealed 12, seal 6Full study and all 23 verses →
Jeremiah 32:14 “This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Take these deeds— both the sealed copy and the open copy of the deed of purchase— and put them in a clay jar to preserve them for a long time.
- סֵפֶר sêphermissive, document, writing, booktranslated this way 1 time of its 174 uses · Strong’s H5612Noun · Translated: Book 107, scroll 19, letter 14, letters 13Full study and all 168 verses →
Jeremiah 32:14 “This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Take these deeds— both the sealed copy and the open copy of the deed of purchase— and put them in a clay jar to preserve them for a long time.
- עָתַק âthaqmove, proceed, advancetranslated this way 1 time of its 9 uses · Strong’s H6275Verb · Translated: moved 3Full study and all 9 verses →
Proverbs 25:1 These are additional proverbs of Solomon, which were copied by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah:
Greek words (New Testament)
- ὑπόδειγμα hypódeigmaa figure, copy, exampletranslated this way 2 times of its 6 uses · Strong’s G5262Noun · Translated: example 3, pattern 1, copy 1, copies 1Full study and all 6 verses →
Hebrews 8:5 The place where they serve is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”
Hebrews 9:23 So it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
- ἀντίτυπον antítypontypical of, representing by type or patterntranslated this way 1 time of its 2 uses · Strong’s G499Adjective · Translated: copy 1, symbolizes 1Full study and all 2 verses →
Hebrews 9:24 For Christ did not enter a man-made copy of the true sanctuary, but He entered heaven itself, now to appear on our behalf in the presence of God.
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.