Word study
Dominion
4 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: dominion, dominions. 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 “dominion” 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)
- שׇׁלְטָן sholṭândominiontranslated this way 11 times of its 14 uses · Strong’s H7985Noun · Translated: dominion 10, dominion endures 1, part 1, authority to rule 1Full study and all 9 verses →
Daniel 4:3 How great are His signs, how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; His dominion endures from generation to generation.
Daniel 4:22 you, O king, are that tree! For you have become great and strong; your greatness has grown to reach the sky, and your dominion extends to the ends of the earth.
- מֶמְשָׁלָה memshâlâhrule, dominion, realmtranslated this way 8 times of its 17 uses · Strong’s H4475Noun · Translated: dominion 8, rule 4, authority 2, forces 1Full study and all 16 verses →
1 Kings 9:19 as well as all the store cities that Solomon had for his chariots and horses — whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout the land of his dominion.
2 Kings 20:13 And Hezekiah received the envoys and showed them all that was in his treasure house — the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil, as well as his armory— all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his palace or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.
- יָד yâdhandtranslated this way 2 times of its 1,403 uses · Strong’s H3027Noun · Translated: hand 664, hands 349, through 64, power 22Full study and all 1,290 verses →
2 Samuel 8:3 David also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah, who had marched out to restore his dominion along the Euphrates River.
- רָדָה râdâhhave dominion, rule, dominatetranslated this way 2 times of its 26 uses · Strong’s H7287Verb · Translated: rule 12, dominion 2, supervisors 2Full study and all 25 verses →
1 Kings 4:24 For Solomon had dominion over everything west of the Euphrates — over all the kingdoms from Tiphsah to Gaza — and he had peace on all sides.
Nehemiah 9:28 But as soon as they had rest, they again did evil in Your sight. So You abandoned them to the hands of their enemies, who had dominion over them. When they cried out to You again, You heard from heaven, and You delivered them many times in Your compassion.
Greek words (New Testament)
- κυριότης kyriótēslordship, domination, dignitytranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G2963Noun · Translated: authority 2, dominion 1, dominions 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Ephesians 1:21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
Colossians 1:16 For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things were created through Him and for Him.
- κράτος krátosdominion, strength, powertranslated this way 2 times of its 12 uses · Strong’s G2904Noun · Translated: power 5, dominion 2Full study and all 12 verses →
1 Timothy 6:16 He alone is immortal and dwells in unapproachable light. No one has ever seen Him, nor can anyone see Him. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.
Jude 1:25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.
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 dominion: 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.