Word study
Flatter
5 Hebrew and 1 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: flattering, flatter, flatters. 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 “flatter” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- כָּנָה kânâhbetitle, title, give an epithet or cognomentranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s H3655Verb · Translated: flatter 2, take 1, given you a title of honor 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Job 32:21 I will be partial to no one, nor will I flatter any man.
Job 32:22 For I do not know how to flatter, or my Maker would remove me in an instant.’’
- חֶלְקָה chelqâhportiontranslated this way 2 times of its 28 uses · Strong’s H2513Noun · Translated: field 9, plot 3, portion 2, plot of ground 2Full study and all 24 verses →
Psalm 12:2 They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.
Psalm 12:3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue.
- חָלָק châlâqsmoothtranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s H2509Adjective · Translated: flattering 2, smooth-skinned 1, smoother 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Proverbs 26:28 A lying tongue hates those it crushes, and a flattering mouth causes ruin.
Ezekiel 12:24 For there will be no more false visions or flattering divinations within the house of Israel,
- חָלַק châlaqdivide, sharetranslated this way 2 times of its 65 uses · Strong’s H2505Verb · Translated: divided 14, divide 9, distributed 4, dividing 3Full study and all 64 verses →
Proverbs 28:23 He who rebukes a man will later find more favor than one who flatters with his tongue.
Proverbs 29:5 A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.
- חֵלֶק chêleqportion, tract, territorytranslated this way 1 time of its 64 uses · Strong’s H2506Noun · Translated: portion 35, share 9, portions 3, plot 3Full study and all 61 verses →
Proverbs 7:21 With her great persuasion she entices him; with her flattering lips she lures him.
Greek words (New Testament)
- θαυμάζω thaumázōI wonder, admiretranslated this way 1 time of its 44 uses · Strong’s G2296Verb · Translated: amazed 19, marveled 8, surprised 5, amazement 4Full study and all 44 verses →
Jude 1:16 These men are discontented grumblers, following after their own lusts; their mouths spew arrogance; they flatter others for their own advantage.
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.