Word study
Faithful
7 Hebrew and 1 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “faithful”. 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 “faithful” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- אָמַן âmanconfirm, supporttranslated this way 14 times of its 104 uses · Strong’s H539Verb · Translated: believe 24, faithful 14, trust 8, believed 7Full study and all 98 verses →
Numbers 12:7 But this is not so with My servant Moses; he is faithful in all My house.
Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His covenant of loving devotion for a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.
- אֵמוּן êmûntrusting, faithfulnesstranslated this way 5 times of its 8 uses · Strong’s H529Noun · Translated: faithful 5, unfaithfulness 1, honest 1, trustworthy 1Full study and all 8 verses →
2 Samuel 20:19 I am among the peaceable and faithful in Israel, but you are trying to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up the LORD’s inheritance?”
Psalm 12:1 For the choirmaster. According to Sheminith. A Psalm of David. Help, O LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men.
- חָסִיד châsîdkind, pioustranslated this way 3 times of its 31 uses · Strong’s H2623Noun · Translated: saints 16, godly 9, faithful 3, Holy 1Full study and all 31 verses →
1 Samuel 2:9 He guards the steps of His faithful ones, but the wicked perish in darkness; for by his own strength shall no man prevail.
2 Samuel 22:26 To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;
- אֶמֶת emethfirmness, faithfulness, truthtranslated this way 3 times of its 125 uses · Strong’s H571Noun · Translated: truth 37, faithfulness 35, true 20, faithfully 10Full study and all 123 verses →
Nehemiah 7:2 Then I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem, along with Hananiah the commander of the fortress, because he was a faithful man who feared God more than most.
Psalm 146:6 the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He remains faithful forever.
- אֱמוּנָה ĕmûnâhfirmness, steadfastness, fidelitytranslated this way 3 times of its 47 uses · Strong’s H530Noun · Translated: faithfulness 22, faithfully 6, truth 6, faithful 3Full study and all 47 verses →
Psalm 119:86 All Your commandments are faithful; I am persecuted without cause— help me!
Proverbs 28:20 A faithful man will abound with blessings, but one eager to be rich will not go unpunished.
- חָסַד châsadbe good, kindtranslated this way 2 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s H2616Verb · Translated: show yourself faithful 2, bring shame 1Full study and all 3 verses →
2 Samuel 22:26 To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;
Psalm 18:25 To the faithful You show Yourself faithful, to the blameless You show Yourself blameless;
- חֶסֶד chesedgoodness, kindnesstranslated this way 2 times of its 247 uses · Strong’s H2617Noun · Translated: loving devotion 175, kindness 31, according to your loving devotion 6, favor 4Full study and all 241 verses →
Psalm 25:10 All the LORD’s ways are loving and faithful to those who keep His covenant and His decrees.
Proverbs 31:26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
Greek words (New Testament)
- πιστός pistóstrustworthy, faithful, believingtranslated this way 45 times of its 67 uses · Strong’s G4103Adjective · Translated: faithful 45, trustworthy 6, believe 4, believers 4Full study and all 63 verses →
Matthew 24:45 Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the others their food at the proper time?
Luke 12:42 And the Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their portion at the proper time?
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.