Word study
Design
6 Hebrew and 1 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: design, designed. 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 “design” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- צוּרָה tsûrâhform, fashiontranslated this way 3 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s H6699Noun · Translated: design 3, forms 1Full study and its 1 verse →
Ezekiel 43:11 and if they are ashamed of all they have done, then make known to them the design of the temple— its arrangement and its exits and entrances— its whole design along with all its statutes, forms, and laws. Write it down in their sight, so that they may keep its complete design and all its statutes and may carry them out.
- חָשַׁב châshabthink, accounttranslated this way 2 times of its 118 uses · Strong’s H2803Verb · Translated: considered 10, regarded 7, devise 7, devised 6Full study and all 117 verses →
Exodus 31:4 to design artistic works in gold, silver, and bronze,
Exodus 35:32 to design artistic works in gold, silver, and bronze,
- מַעֲשֶׂה maăsehdeed, worktranslated this way 2 times of its 223 uses · Strong’s H4639Noun · Translated: work 71, works 38, deeds 8, made 7Full study and all 211 verses →
1 Kings 7:28 This was the design of the stands: They had side panels attached to uprights,
1 Kings 7:31 The opening to each stand inside the crown at the top was one cubit deep, with a round opening like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half wide. And around its opening were engravings, but the panels of the stands were square, not round.
- מַחֲשָׁבָה machăshâbâhthought, devicetranslated this way 2 times of its 52 uses · Strong’s H4284Noun · Translated: thoughts 15, plans 10, artistic 3, schemes 3Full study and all 48 verses →
2 Chronicles 2:14 He is the son of a woman from the daughters of Dan, and his father is a man of Tyre. He is skilled in work with gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple, blue, and crimson yarn, and fine linen. He is experienced in every kind of engraving and can execute any design that is given him. He will work with your craftsmen and with those of my lord, your father David.
2 Chronicles 26:15 And in Jerusalem he made skillfully designed devices to shoot arrows and catapult large stones from the towers and corners. So his fame spread far and wide, for he was helped tremendously until he became powerful.
- תַּבְנִית tabnîthconstruction, pattern, figuretranslated this way 1 time of its 16 uses · Strong’s H8403Noun · Translated: plans 3, likeness 2Full study and all 15 verses →
Exodus 25:9 You must make the tabernacle and design all its furnishings according to the pattern I show you.
- שָׁנָה shânâhchangetranslated this way 1 time of its 22 uses · Strong’s H8138Verb · Translated: change 2Full study and all 21 verses →
Esther 1:7 Beverages were served in an array of goblets of gold, each with a different design, and the royal wine flowed freely, according to the king’s bounty.
Greek words (New Testament)
- θέλω thélōI will, wish, desiretranslated this way 2 times of its 207 uses · Strong’s G2309Verb · Translated: want 65, wants 21, willing 16, wanted 15Full study and all 198 verses →
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.
What the Bible says about design: passages by topic →
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.