Word study
Fold
11 Hebrew and 1 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: folds, fold, folding, folded. 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 “fold” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- גְּדֵרָה gedêrâhwalltranslated this way 3 times of its 8 uses · Strong’s H1448Noun · Translated: folds 2, walls 2, sheepfolds 1, built folds 1Full study and all 8 verses →
Numbers 32:24 Build cities for your little ones and folds for your flocks, but do what you have promised.”
Zephaniah 2:6 So the seacoast will become a land of pastures, with wells for shepherds and folds for sheep.
- כָּנָף kânâphwing, extremitytranslated this way 2 times of its 96 uses · Strong’s H3671Noun · Translated: wings 53, wing 12, corners 4, corner 3Full study and all 79 verses →
Ezekiel 5:3 But you are to take a few strands of hair and secure them in the folds of your garment.
Haggai 2:12 If a man carries consecrated meat in the fold of his garment, and it touches bread, stew, wine, oil, or any other food, does that item become holy?’” “No,” replied the priests.
- כָּפַל kâphaldouble, double overtranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s H3717Verb · Translated: folded over double 2, double 1, strike two times 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Exodus 28:16 It must be square when folded over double, a span long and a span wide.
Exodus 39:9 It was square when folded over double, a span long and a span wide.
- חִבֻּק chibbuqa clasping, foldingtranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s H2264Noun · Translated: folding 2Full study and all 2 verses →
Proverbs 6:10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,
Proverbs 24:33 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,
- שִׁשִּׁי shishshîsixthtranslated this way 1 time of its 28 uses · Strong’s H8345Number · Translated: sixth 26, fold the sixth 1, sixth month 1Full study and all 26 verses →
Exodus 26:9 Join five of the curtains into one set and the other six into another. Then fold the sixth curtain over double at the front of the tent.
- מִכְלָאָה miklââhpentranslated this way 1 time of its 3 uses · Strong’s H4356Noun · Translated: pens 1, sheepfolds 1, fold 1Full study and all 3 verses →
Habakkuk 3:17 Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls,
- חֹצֶן chôtsenbosomtranslated this way 1 time of its 2 uses · Strong’s H2684Noun · Translated: folds of my robe 1, arms 1Full study and all 2 verses →
Nehemiah 5:13 I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, “May God likewise shake out of his house and possessions every man who does not keep this promise. May such a man be shaken out and have nothing!” The whole assembly said, “Amen,” and they praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised.
- לְבוּשׁ lebûshgarment, clothing, raimenttranslated this way 1 time of its 32 uses · Strong’s H3830Noun · Translated: clothing 7, garments 4, robe 4, garment 3Full study and all 32 verses →
Job 38:14 The earth takes shape like clay under a seal; its hills stand out like the folds of a garment.
- מַפָּל mappâlrefuse, hanging partstranslated this way 1 time of its 2 uses · Strong’s H4651Noun · Translated: folds 1, even the chaff 1Full study and all 2 verses →
Job 41:23 The folds of his flesh are tightly joined; they are firm and immovable.
- חָבַק châbaqclasp, embracetranslated this way 1 time of its 13 uses · Strong’s H2263Verb · Translated: embraced 3, embrace 3, huddle 2, embraces 2Full study and all 12 verses →
Ecclesiastes 4:5 The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh.
- גָּלִיל gâlîlturning, foldingtranslated this way 1 time of its 3 uses · Strong’s H1550Noun · Translated: folding 1, rings 1, rods 1Full study and all 3 verses →
1 Kings 6:34 The two doors were made of cypress wood, and each had two folding panels.
Greek words (New Testament)
- αὐλή aulḗcourt-yard, fore-court, palace, housetranslated this way 1 time of its 11 uses · Strong’s G833Noun · Translated: courtyard 8, palace 1, house 1, fold 1Full study and all 11 verses →
John 10:16 I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them in as well, and they will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock and one shepherd.
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.