Word study
Form
7 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: formed, form, forms, forming. 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 “form” 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)
- יָצַר yâtsarform, fashiontranslated this way 21 times of its 62 uses · Strong’s H3335Verb · Translated: formed 17, potter 9, potter's 5, Maker 5Full study and all 55 verses →
Genesis 2:7 Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.
Psalm 94:9 He who affixed the ear, can He not hear? He who formed the eye, can He not see?
- תְּמוּנָה temûnâhlikeness, formtranslated this way 8 times of its 10 uses · Strong’s H8544Noun · Translated: form 8, anything 1, presence 1Full study and all 10 verses →
Numbers 12:8 I speak with him face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you unafraid to speak against My servant Moses?”
Deuteronomy 4:12 And the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of the words but saw no form; there was only a voice.
- דְּמוּת demûthlikeness, similitudetranslated this way 4 times of its 23 uses · Strong’s H1823Noun · Translated: likeness 9, form 4, like 2, figure 2Full study and all 21 verses →
Ezekiel 1:5 and within it was the form of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: They had a human form,
Ezekiel 1:10 The form of their faces was that of a man, and each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and also the face of an eagle.
- עָשָׂה âsâhdo, maketranslated this way 3 times of its 2,478 uses · Strong’s H6213Verb · Translated: done 292, made 265, make 143, did 112Full study and all 2,206 verses →
- כּוּן kûnbe firmtranslated this way 3 times of its 213 uses · Strong’s H3559Verb · Translated: established 43, prepared 23, prepare 16, establish 15Full study and all 204 verses →
Job 31:15 Did not He who made me in the womb also make them? Did not the same One form us in the womb?
Psalm 65:6 You formed the mountains by Your power, having girded Yourself with might.
- תֹּאַר tôaroutline, formtranslated this way 3 times of its 9 uses · Strong’s H8389Noun · Translated: form 3Full study and all 9 verses →
Esther 2:7 And Mordecai had brought up Hadassah (that is, Esther), the daughter of his uncle, because she did not have a father or mother. The young woman was lovely in form and appearance, and when her father and mother had died, Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter.
Isaiah 52:14 Just as many were appalled at Him— His appearance was disfigured beyond that of any man, and His form was marred beyond human likeness—
- קָשַׁר qâsharbind, league together, conspiretranslated this way 2 times of its 44 uses · Strong’s H7194Verb · Translated: conspired 18, Tie 4, tied 3, bind 3Full study and all 44 verses →
2 Kings 12:20 And the servants of Joash rose up and formed a conspiracy and killed him at Beth-millo, on the road down to Silla.
2 Chronicles 25:27 From the time that Amaziah turned from following the LORD, a conspiracy was formed against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But men were sent after him to Lachish, and they killed him there.
Greek words (New Testament)
- μορφή morphḗform, shape, outward appearancetranslated this way 3 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G3444Noun · Translated: form 3Full study and all 3 verses →
Mark 16:12 After this, Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them as they walked along in the country.
Philippians 2:6 Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
- εἶδος eîdosvisible form, shape, appearance, kindtranslated this way 3 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s G1491Noun · Translated: form 3, appearance 1, sight 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Luke 3:22 and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in a bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
John 5:37 And the Father who sent Me has Himself testified about Me. You have never heard His voice nor seen His form,
- πλάσσω plássōI form, mouldtranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s G4111Verb · Translated: formed 2Full study and all 2 verses →
Romans 9:20 But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this?”
1 Timothy 2:13 For Adam was formed first, and then Eve.
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.
What the Bible says about form: passages by topic →
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.