Word study
Dishonor
8 Hebrew and 4 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: dishonor, dishonored, dishonors, dishonoring. 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 “dishonor” 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)
- עֶרְוָה ervâhnakedness, pudendatranslated this way 1 time of its 37 uses · Strong’s H6172Noun · Translated: nakedness 16, sexual relations 8, shame 3, vulnerable 2Full study and all 34 verses →
Leviticus 18:8 You must not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; it would dishonor your father.
- גָּלָה gâlâhuncover, removetranslated this way 1 time of its 170 uses · Strong’s H1540Verb · Translated: revealed 14, uncovered 13, exiled 12, sexual relations 11Full study and all 161 verses →
Deuteronomy 22:30 A man is not to marry his father’s wife, so that he will not dishonor his father’s marriage bed.
- קָלוֹן qâlônignominy, dishonourtranslated this way 1 time of its 17 uses · Strong’s H7036Noun · Translated: shame 10, disgrace 3, dishonor 1, insult 1Full study and all 17 verses →
Proverbs 6:33 Wounds and dishonor will befall him, and his reproach will never be wiped away.
- עָנָה ânâhbe occupied, busied withtranslated this way 1 time of its 80 uses · Strong’s H6031Verb · Translated: afflicted 15, humble 12, oppress 5, afflict 4Full study and all 78 verses →
Deuteronomy 21:14 And if you are not pleased with her, you are to let her go wherever she wishes. But you must not sell her for money or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.
- עַרְוָה arvâhdishonourtranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s H6173Noun · Translated: dishonored 1Full study and its 1 verse →
Ezra 4:14 Now because we are in the service of the palace and it is not fitting for us to allow the king to be dishonored, we have sent to inform the king
- כָּלַם kâlambe humiliatedtranslated this way 1 time of its 38 uses · Strong’s H3637Verb · Translated: humiliated 9, ashamed 7, disgraced 3, blush 2Full study and all 38 verses →
Psalm 69:6 May those who hope in You not be ashamed through me, O Lord GOD of Hosts; may those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel.
- קָלָה qâlâhbelightly esteemed, dishonouredtranslated this way 1 time of its 7 uses · Strong’s H7034Verb · Translated: lightly esteemed 2, degraded 1, dishonors 1, gathered together 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Deuteronomy 27:16 ‘Cursed is he who dishonors his father or mother.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
- נָבֵל nâbêlbe senseless, foolishtranslated this way 1 time of its 24 uses · Strong’s H5034Verb · Translated: wither 4, fall 3, lose heart 2, fading 2Full study and all 21 verses →
Micah 7:6 For a son dishonors his father, a daughter rises against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies are the members of his own household.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἀτιμάζω atimázōI disgrace, dishonortranslated this way 4 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s G818Verb · Translated: dishonor 2, treated 1, treated him shamefully 1, suffering disgrace 1Full study and all 7 verses →
John 8:49 “I do not have a demon,” Jesus replied, “but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me.
Romans 1:24 Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity for the dishonoring of their bodies with one another.
- ἀτιμία atimíadisgrace, dishonortranslated this way 2 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s G819Noun · Translated: dishonor 2, dishonorable 1, common use 1, disgrace 1Full study and all 7 verses →
1 Corinthians 15:43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.
2 Corinthians 6:8 through glory and dishonor, slander and praise; viewed as imposters, yet genuine;
- καταισχύνω kataischýnōI shame, disgrace, put to utter confusiontranslated this way 2 times of its 13 uses · Strong’s G2617Verb · Translated: never be put to shame 2, put to shame 2, shame 2, dishonors 2Full study and all 12 verses →
1 Corinthians 11:4 Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head.
1 Corinthians 11:5 And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for it is just as if her head were shaved.
- ἄτιμος átimoswithout honor, despisedtranslated this way 1 time of its 4 uses · Strong’s G820Adjective · Translated: without honor 2, dishonored 1, less honorable 1Full study and all 4 verses →
1 Corinthians 4:10 We are fools for Christ, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are honored, but we are dishonored.
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.