Word study
Difficult
9 Hebrew and 1 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “difficult”. 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 “difficult” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- פָּלָא pâlâbe surpassing, extraordinarytranslated this way 5 times of its 70 uses · Strong’s H6381Verb · Translated: wonders 31, difficult 5, wonderful 3, fulfill 2Full study and all 68 verses →
Genesis 18:14 Is anything too difficult for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you — in about a year — and Sarah will have a son.”
Deuteronomy 17:8 If a case is too difficult for you to judge, whether the controversy within your gates is regarding bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults, you must go up to the place the LORD your God will choose.
- קָשָׁה qâshâhbe hard, severe, fiercetranslated this way 3 times of its 28 uses · Strong’s H7185Verb · Translated: stiffened 6, difficult 2, harden 2, stiffen 2Full study and all 28 verses →
Genesis 35:16 Later, they set out from Bethel, and while they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth, and her labor was difficult.
Deuteronomy 1:17 Show no partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. And bring to me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.”
- חִידָה chîdâhriddle, enigmatic, perplexing saying or questiontranslated this way 2 times of its 17 uses · Strong’s H2420Noun · Translated: riddle 10, riddles 2, difficult questions 2, things hidden 1Full study and all 17 verses →
1 Kings 10:1 Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to test him with difficult questions.
2 Chronicles 9:1 Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon, she came to test him with difficult questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan— with camels bearing spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and spoke with him about all that was on her mind.
- עָלַם âlamconcealtranslated this way 2 times of its 27 uses · Strong’s H5956Verb · Translated: ignore 5, even if he is unaware 3, hide 3, hidden 3Full study and all 27 verses →
1 Kings 10:3 And Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for the king to explain.
2 Chronicles 9:2 And Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too difficult for him to explain.
- כָּבֵד kâbêdheavytranslated this way 2 times of its 40 uses · Strong’s H3515Adjective · Translated: heavy 7, severe 6, large 4, great 4Full study and all 39 verses →
Ezekiel 3:5 For you are not being sent to a people of unfamiliar speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel —
Ezekiel 3:6 not to the many peoples of unfamiliar speech and difficult language whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.
- קְטַר qeṭarjoint, knottranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s H7001Noun · Translated: difficult problems 2Full study and all 2 verses →
Daniel 5:12 did this because Daniel, the one he named Belteshazzar, was found to have an extraordinary spirit, as well as knowledge, understanding, and the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve difficult problems. Summon Daniel, therefore, and he will give you the interpretation.”
Daniel 5:16 But I have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Therefore, if you can read this inscription and give me its interpretation, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”
- קָשֶׁה qâshehhard, severetranslated this way 1 time of its 35 uses · Strong’s H7186Adjective · Translated: stiff-necked 6, harshly 5, hard 3, stubborn 2Full study and all 35 verses →
Exodus 18:26 And they judged the people at all times; they would bring the difficult cases to Moses, but any minor issue they would judge themselves.
- אֵיתָן êthânperennial, ever-flowingtranslated this way 1 time of its 10 uses · Strong’s H386Adjective · Translated: established 2Full study and all 10 verses →
Proverbs 13:15 Good understanding wins favor, but the way of the faithless is difficult.
- יַקִּיר yaqqîrhonourable, difficulttranslated this way 1 time of its 2 uses · Strong’s H3358Adjective · Translated: honorable 1, difficult 1Full study and all 2 verses →
Daniel 2:11 What the king requests is so difficult that no one can tell it to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”
Greek words (New Testament)
- σκληρός sklēróshard, violent, harsh, sterntranslated this way 1 time of its 5 uses · Strong’s G4642Adjective · Translated: hard 2, difficult 1, strong 1, harsh 1Full study and all 5 verses →
John 6:60 On hearing it, many of His disciples said, “This is a difficult teaching. Who can accept it?”
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.