Word study

Firm

4 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word

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

  • אָמַן âmanconfirm, supporttranslated this way 3 times of its 104 uses · Strong’s H539Verb  ·  Translated: believe 24, faithful 14, trust 8, believed 7

    Isaiah 7:9 The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all.’”

    Isaiah 22:23 I will drive him like a peg into a firm place, and he will be a throne of glory for the house of his father.

    Full study and all 98 verses →
  • כּוּן kûnbe firmtranslated this way 2 times of its 213 uses · Strong’s H3559Verb  ·  Translated: established 43, prepared 23, prepare 16, establish 15

    Joshua 3:17 The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed over the dry ground, until the entire nation had crossed the Jordan.

    Psalm 40:2 He lifted me up from the pit of despair, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm.

    Full study and all 204 verses →
  • עָמַד âmadtake one's stand, standtranslated this way 2 times of its 508 uses · Strong’s H5975Verb  ·  Translated: stood 99, stand 95, standing 50, stands 12Full study and all 485 verses →
  • יָצַק yâtsaqpour, cast, flowtranslated this way 2 times of its 50 uses · Strong’s H3332Verb  ·  Translated: pour 12, cast 10, poured 8, anointed 2

    Job 11:15 then indeed you will lift up your face without blemish; you will stand firm and unafraid.

    Job 41:23 The folds of his flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable.

    Full study and all 48 verses →

Greek words (New Testament)

  • στήκω stḗkōI stand fast, perseveretranslated this way 6 times of its 10 uses · Strong’s G4739Verb  ·  Translated: stand firm 5, stood 1, stand 1, uphold 1

    1 Corinthians 16:13 Be on the alert. Stand firm in the faith. Be men of courage. Be strong.

    Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery.

    Full study and all 10 verses →
  • ἵστημι hístēmiI cause to stand, standtranslated this way 5 times of its 152 uses · Strong’s G2476Verb  ·  Translated: standing 39, stood 37, stand 29, set 4

    1 Corinthians 10:12 So the one who thinks he is standing firm should be careful not to fall.

    2 Corinthians 1:24 Not that we lord it over your faith, but we are fellow workers with you for your joy, because it is by faith that you stand firm.

    Full study and all 148 verses →
  • στερεός stereóssolid, firm, steadfasttranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G4731Adjective  ·  Translated: firm 2, solid 2

    2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity.”

    1 Peter 5:9 Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.

    Full study and all 4 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.