Word study

Especially

3 Hebrew and 6 Greek words behind this English word

The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “especially”. 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 “especially” 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)

  • יְרִיחוֹ YerîchôJerichotranslated this way 1 time of its 57 uses · Strong’s H3405Noun  ·  Translated: Jericho 46, across from jericho 7, especially jericho 1, near jericho 1

    Joshua 2:1 Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim, saying, “Go, inspect the land, especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.

    Full study and all 53 verses →
  • רַק raqthintranslated this way 1 time of its 97 uses · Strong’s H7535Adverb  ·  Translated: only 27, but 24, Nevertheless 8, However 7

    Judges 3:2 if only to teach warfare to the subsequent generations of Israel, especially to those who had not known it formerly:

    Full study and all 96 verses →
  • כֵּן kênright, veritable, honesttranslated this way 1 time of its 461 uses · Strong’s H3651Adverb  ·  Translated: Therefore 159, so 111, this 24, way 13Full study and all 451 verses →

Greek words (New Testament)

  • μάλιστα málistamost of all, especiallytranslated this way 10 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s G3122Adverb  ·  Translated: especially 10, specially 1

    Acts 25:26 I have nothing definite to write to our sovereign about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after this inquiry I may have something to write.

    Galatians 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.

    Full study and all 11 verses →
  • καί kaíand, even, also, namelytranslated this way 1 time of its 6,414 uses · Strong’s G2532Conjunction  ·  Translated: and 5,245, then 262, also 157, even 101Full study and all 4,279 verses →
  • ὀδυνάω odynáōI torment, paintranslated this way 1 time of its 3 uses · Strong’s G3600Verb  ·  Translated: agony 2, especially grieved 1

    Acts 20:38 They were especially grieved by his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.

    Full study and all 3 verses →
  • μᾶλλον mâllonmore, rathertranslated this way 1 time of its 64 uses · Strong’s G3123Adverb  ·  Translated: more 30, rather 16, Instead 5, louder 2

    1 Corinthians 14:1 Earnestly pursue love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.

    Full study and all 62 verses →
  • περισσῶς perissōsgreatly, exceedinglytranslated this way 1 time of its 10 uses · Strong’s G4057Adverb  ·  Translated: louder 2, more 2

    2 Corinthians 1:12 For this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in relation to you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God — not in worldly wisdom, but in the grace of God.

    Full study and all 9 verses →
  • παρακαλέω parakaléōI summon, entreat, admonish, comforttranslated this way 1 time of its 106 uses · Strong’s G3870Verb  ·  Translated: urge 20, encourage 14, begged 13, urged 7

    Hebrews 13:19 And I especially urge you to pray that I may be restored to you soon.

    Full study and all 104 verses →
How to study a word well
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
  4. 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.
  5. See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
  6. Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
  7. 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.