Word study
Drew
6 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “drew”. 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 “drew” 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)
- קָרַב qârabcome near, approachtranslated this way 7 times of its 276 uses · Strong’s H7126Verb · Translated: present 65, bring 18, approached 16, presented 14Full study and all 258 verses →
Genesis 47:29 When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise to show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt,
Leviticus 9:5 So they took what Moses had commanded to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and the whole congregation drew near and stood before the LORD.
- שָׁאַב shâabdrawtranslated this way 4 times of its 19 uses · Strong’s H7579Verb · Translated: draw water 5, draw 5, carriers 3, drew 3Full study and all 18 verses →
Genesis 24:45 And before I had finished praying in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her jar on her shoulder, and she went down to the spring and drew water. So I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’
1 Samuel 7:6 When they had gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted, and there they confessed, “We have sinned against the LORD.” And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.
- מָשָׁה mâshâhdrawtranslated this way 3 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s H4871Verb · Translated: drew 3Full study and all 3 verses →
Exodus 2:10 When the child had grown older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses and explained, “I drew him out of the water.”
2 Samuel 22:17 He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters.
- שָׁלַף shâlaphdraw out, offtranslated this way 2 times of its 20 uses · Strong’s H8025Verb · Translated: drawn 5, Draw 4, armed 3, drew 2Full study and all 20 verses →
2 Samuel 24:9 And Joab reported to the king the total number of the troops. In Israel there were 800,000 men of valor who drew the sword, and in Judah there were 500,000.
1 Chronicles 21:5 And Joab reported to David the total number of the troops. In all Israel there were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword, including 470,000 in Judah.
- מָשַׁךְ mâshakdraw, dragtranslated this way 2 times of its 34 uses · Strong’s H4900Verb · Translated: draw 3, drew 2, tall 2, Extend 2Full study and all 34 verses →
1 Kings 22:34 However, a certain man drew his bow without taking special aim, and he struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So the king said to his charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded!”
2 Chronicles 18:33 However, a certain man drew his bow without taking special aim, and he struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So the king said to his charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded!”
- סוּת sûthincite, allure, instigatetranslated this way 2 times of its 18 uses · Strong’s H5496Verb · Translated: urged 3, stirred 2, incited 2, mislead 2Full study and all 18 verses →
2 Chronicles 18:31 When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they said, “This is the king of Israel!” So they turned to fight against him, but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him. God drew them away from him.
Job 36:16 Indeed, He drew you from the jaws of distress to a spacious and broad place, to a table full of richness.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἐγγίζω engízōI come near, approachtranslated this way 4 times of its 40 uses · Strong’s G1448Verb · Translated: near 11, approached 8, approaching 6, drew near 4Full study and all 39 verses →
Matthew 21:34 When the harvest time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit.
Luke 18:35 As Jesus drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting beside the road, begging.
- σπάω spáōI draw (as a sword)translated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s G4685Verb · Translated: drew 2Full study and all 2 verses →
Mark 14:47 And one of the bystanders drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
Acts 16:27 When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, presuming that the prisoners had escaped.
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.