Word study
Deceitfully
6 Hebrew words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “deceitfully”. 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 “deceitfully” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- מִרְמָה mirmâhdeceit, treacherytranslated this way 4 times of its 39 uses · Strong’s H4820Noun · Translated: deceit 17, deceitful 7, deceitfully 4, dishonest 4Full study and all 38 verses →
Genesis 27:35 But Isaac replied, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.”
Psalm 24:4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear deceitfully.
- הָתַל hâthaldeceive, mocktranslated this way 1 time of its 10 uses · Strong’s H2048Verb · Translated: mocked 3, deceive 2Full study and all 9 verses →
Exodus 8:29 “As soon as I leave you,” Moses said, “I will pray to the LORD, so that tomorrow the swarms of flies will depart from Pharaoh and his officials and his people. But Pharaoh must not act deceitfully again by refusing to let the people go and sacrifice to the LORD.”
- נֵכֶל nêkelwiliness, craft, knaverytranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s H5231Noun · Translated: deceitfully 1Full study and its 1 verse →
Numbers 25:18 For they assailed you deceitfully when they seduced you in the matter of Peor and their sister Cozbi, the daughter of the Midianite leader, the woman who was killed on the day the plague came because of Peor.”
- בָּגַד bâgadact or deal treacherouslytranslated this way 1 time of its 46 uses · Strong’s H898Verb · Translated: faithless 11, betrayed 6, unfaithful 5, broken faith 3Full study and all 38 verses →
Judges 9:23 God sent a spirit of animosity between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem and caused them to treat Abimelech deceitfully,
- רְמִיָּה remîâhdeceit, treacherytranslated this way 1 time of its 15 uses · Strong’s H7423Noun · Translated: deceit 4, deceitful 3, like a faulty 2, Idle 2Full study and all 15 verses →
Job 13:7 Will you speak wickedly on God’s behalf or speak deceitfully for Him?
- מְזִמָּה mezimmâhpurpose, discretion, devicetranslated this way 1 time of its 18 uses · Strong’s H4209Noun · Translated: schemes 4, discretion 4, plan 2, purposes 2Full study and all 18 verses →
Psalm 139:20 who speak of You deceitfully; Your enemies take Your name in vain.
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.