Word study
Dress
5 Hebrew and 6 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: dressed, dress, dressing. 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 “dress” 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)
- לָבַשׁ lâbashput on (a garment), wear, clothe, be clothedtranslated this way 13 times of its 109 uses · Strong’s H3847Verb · Translated: clothed 28, put 22, wear 13, clothe 12Full study and all 102 verses →
1 Samuel 17:38 Then Saul clothed David in his own tunic, put a bronze helmet on his head, and dressed him in armor.
1 Kings 22:10 Dressed in royal attire, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them.
- חָגַר châgargird, gird on, gird oneselftranslated this way 3 times of its 42 uses · Strong’s H2296Verb · Translated: put 8, around 3, strapped 3, armed 3Full study and all 40 verses →
2 Samuel 20:8 And while they were at the great stone in Gibeon, Amasa joined them. Now Joab was dressed in military attire, with a dagger strapped to his belt. And as he stepped forward, he slipped the dagger from its sheath.
Jeremiah 6:26 O daughter of my people, dress yourselves in sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with bitter wailing, as you would for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.
- גָּזִית gâzîtha cutting, hewingtranslated this way 3 times of its 9 uses · Strong’s H1496Noun · Translated: dressed stone 2, cut 2Full study and all 9 verses →
1 Kings 5:17 And the king commanded them to quarry large, costly stones to lay the foundation of the temple with dressed stones.
1 Kings 6:36 Solomon built the inner courtyard with three rows of dressed stone and one row of trimmed cedar beams.
- מַחְצֵב machtsêbhewingtranslated this way 3 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s H4274Noun · Translated: dressed 3Full study and all 3 verses →
2 Kings 12:12 masons, and stonecutters. They also purchased timber and dressed stone to repair the damage to the house of the LORD, and they paid the other expenses of the temple repairs.
2 Chronicles 34:11 They also gave money to the carpenters and builders to buy dressed stone, as well as timbers for couplings and beams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to deteriorate.
- רָפָא râphâhealtranslated this way 2 times of its 65 uses · Strong’s H7495Verb · Translated: heal 22, healed 16, heals 5, physicians 3Full study and all 61 verses →
Jeremiah 6:14 They dress the wound of My people with very little care, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace at all.
Jeremiah 8:11 They dress the wound of the daughter of My people with very little care, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace at all.
Greek words (New Testament)
- περιβάλλω peribállōI cast around, clothetranslated this way 7 times of its 23 uses · Strong’s G4016Verb · Translated: dressed 6, clothed 5, adorned 2, clothe 2Full study and all 23 verses →
Mark 16:5 When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
Luke 23:11 And even Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked Him. Dressing Him in a fine robe, they sent Him back to Pilate.
- ἐνδύω endýōI put on, clothetranslated this way 4 times of its 25 uses · Strong’s G1746Verb · Translated: put 7, clothed 6, dressed 3, wear 2Full study and all 25 verses →
Matthew 22:11 But when the king came in to see the guests, he spotted a man who was not dressed in wedding clothes.
Revelation 1:13 and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe, with a golden sash around His chest.
- ζώννυμι zṓnnymiI girdtranslated this way 3 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G2224Verb · Translated: dressed 1, dress 1, Get dressed 1Full study and all 2 verses →
John 21:18 Truly, truly, I tell you, when you were young, you dressed yourself and walked where you wanted; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”
Acts 12:8 “Get dressed and put on your sandals,” said the angel. Peter did so, and the angel told him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”
- ἀμφιέννυμι amphiénnymiI put on, clothetranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G294Verb · Translated: clothes 2, dressed 2Full study and all 4 verses →
Matthew 11:8 Otherwise, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Look, those who wear fine clothing are found in kings’ palaces.
Luke 7:25 Otherwise, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Look, those who wear elegant clothing and live in luxury are found in palaces.
- ἐνδιδύσκω endidýskōI put on, clothetranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s G1737Verb · Translated: dressed 2Full study and all 2 verses →
Mark 15:17 They dressed Him in a purple robe, twisted together a crown of thorns, and set it on His head.
Luke 16:19 Now there was a rich man dressed in purple and fine linen, who lived each day in joyous splendor.
- περιζώννυμι perizṓnnymiI gird roundtranslated this way 2 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s G4024Verb · Translated: dress himself to serve 1, dress 1, buckled around 1, around 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Luke 12:37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds on watch when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve and will have them recline at the table, and he himself will come and wait on them.
Luke 17:8 Instead, won’t he tell him, ‘Prepare my meal and dress yourself to serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you may eat and drink’?
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 dress: 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.