Word study
Deny
5 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: deny, denied, denies, denying. 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 “deny” 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)
- כָּחַשׁ kâchashbe disappointing, deceive, fail, grow leantranslated this way 5 times of its 22 uses · Strong’s H3584Verb · Translated: cower 4, denied 2, lied 2, deny 2Full study and all 22 verses →
Genesis 18:15 But Sarah was afraid, so she denied it and said, “I did not laugh.” “No,” replied the LORD, “but you did laugh.”
Joshua 24:27 And Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone. It will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words the LORD has spoken to us, and it will be a witness against you if you ever deny your God.”
- נָטָה nâṭâhstretch out, spread out, extend, incline, bendtranslated this way 5 times of its 215 uses · Strong’s H5186Verb · Translated: incline 24, stretch 23, stretched 21, outstretched 19Full study and all 207 verses →
Exodus 23:6 You shall not deny justice to the poor in their lawsuits.
Deuteronomy 16:19 Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
- מָנַע mânawithhold, hold backtranslated this way 3 times of its 29 uses · Strong’s H4513Verb · Translated: withheld 7, withhold 5, denied 2, withholds 2Full study and all 29 verses →
Numbers 24:11 Therefore, flee at once to your home! I said I would reward you richly, but instead the LORD has denied your reward.”
1 Kings 20:7 Then the king of Israel summoned all the elders of the land and said, “Please take note and see that this man is looking for trouble, for when he demanded my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold, I did not deny him.”
- שׁוּב shûbturn back, returntranslated this way 3 times of its 1,007 uses · Strong’s H7725Verb · Translated: return 218, returned 105, restore 62, turn 56Full study and all 920 verses →
1 Kings 2:16 So now I have just one request of you; do not deny me.” “State your request,” she told him.
1 Kings 2:20 “I have just one small request of you,” she said. “Do not deny me.” “Make your request, my mother,” the king replied, “for I will not deny you.”
- עָנָה ânâhbe occupied, busied withtranslated this way 2 times of its 80 uses · Strong’s H6031Verb · Translated: afflicted 15, humble 12, oppress 5, afflict 4Full study and all 78 verses →
Numbers 30:13 Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow or any sworn pledge to deny herself.
Isaiah 58:5 Is this the fast I have chosen: a day for a man to deny himself, to bow his head like a reed, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast and a day acceptable to the LORD?
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἀρνέομαι arnéomaiI deny, repudiatetranslated this way 27 times of its 32 uses · Strong’s G720Verb · Translated: deny 10, denied 10, denies 5, rejected 3Full study and all 29 verses →
Matthew 10:33 But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.
Mark 14:68 But he denied it. “I do not know or even understand what you are talking about,” he said. Then he went out to the gateway, and the rooster crowed.
- ἀπαρνέομαι aparnéomaiI deny, disown, disregardtranslated this way 11 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s G533Verb · Translated: deny 7, never deny 2, denied 2Full study and all 11 verses →
Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
Mark 8:34 Then Jesus called the crowd to Him along with His disciples, and He told them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
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.