Word study
Describe
5 Hebrew and 5 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: described, describe, describing. 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 “describe” 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)
- דָבַר dâbarspeaktranslated this way 3 times of its 1,113 uses · Strong’s H1696Verb · Translated: speak 209, said 157, spoken 142, spoke 110Full study and all 1,025 verses →
Genesis 20:8 Early the next morning Abimelech got up and summoned all his servants; and when he described to them all that had happened, the men were terrified.
Exodus 32:34 Now go, lead the people to the place I described. Behold, My angel shall go before you. But on the day I settle accounts, I will punish them for their sin.”
- נָגַד nâgadbe conspicuoustranslated this way 2 times of its 360 uses · Strong’s H5046Verb · Translated: tell 83, told 67, reported 31, declare 18Full study and all 339 verses →
Genesis 42:29 When they reached their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they described to him all that had happened to them:
Ezekiel 43:10 As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel, so that they may be ashamed of their iniquities. Let them measure the plan,
- פָּתַר pâtharinterprettranslated this way 1 time of its 7 uses · Strong’s H6622Verb · Translated: interpret 3, interpreted 2, interpretation 1, described 1Full study and all 6 verses →
Genesis 40:22 But Pharaoh hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had described to them in his interpretation.
- סָפַר sâpharcounttranslated this way 1 time of its 154 uses · Strong’s H5608Verb · Translated: scribe 41, count 19, told 15, declare 13Full study and all 150 verses →
Job 15:17 Listen to me and I will inform you. I will describe what I have seen,
- מָלַל mâlalspeak, utter, saytranslated this way 1 time of its 5 uses · Strong’s H4448Verb · Translated: told 1, go on saying 1, speak 1, describe 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Psalm 106:2 Who can describe the mighty acts of the LORD or fully proclaim His praise?
Greek words (New Testament)
- διηγέομαι diēgéomaiI relate in full, describetranslated this way 4 times of its 8 uses · Strong’s G1334Verb · Translated: described 3, tell anyone 1, describe 1, reported 1Full study and all 8 verses →
Mark 5:16 Those who had seen it described what had happened to the demon-possessed man and also to the pigs.
Luke 8:39 “Return home and describe how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and proclaimed all over the town how much Jesus had done for him.
- ἔπω épōto speak or say (by word or writing)translated this way 2 times of its 962 uses · Strong’s G2036Verb · Translated: said 426, asked 95, told 88, replied 69Full study and all 891 verses →
- γράφω gráphōI writetranslated this way 2 times of its 186 uses · Strong’s G1125Verb · Translated: written 112, write 34, wrote 16, writing 14Full study and all 177 verses →
Revelation 22:18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of prophecy in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.
Revelation 22:19 And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and the holy city, which are described in this book.
- λαλέω laléōI speak, saytranslated this way 1 time of its 291 uses · Strong’s G2980Verb · Translated: speak 69, spoke 36, speaking 31, spoken 27Full study and all 268 verses →
Luke 24:36 While they were describing these events, Jesus Himself stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”
- ἐξηγέομαι exēgéomaiI explain, make declarationtranslated this way 1 time of its 6 uses · Strong’s G1834Verb · Translated: told 2, made 1, explained 1, describing 1Full study and all 6 verses →
Acts 15:12 The whole assembly fell silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.
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.