Word study
Foundation
8 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: foundation, foundations. 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 “foundation” 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)
- יָסַד yâsadestablish, found, fixtranslated this way 15 times of its 43 uses · Strong’s H3245Verb · Translated: founded 6, laid 4, laid the foundations 3, established 3Full study and all 42 verses →
Joshua 6:26 At that time Joshua invoked this solemn oath: “Cursed before the LORD is the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho; at the cost of his firstborn he will lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.”
1 Kings 5:17 And the king commanded them to quarry large, costly stones to lay the foundation of the temple with dressed stones.
- יְסוֹד yesôdfoundation, basetranslated this way 8 times of its 19 uses · Strong’s H3247Noun · Translated: base 9, foundations 6, Foundation 2, secure 1Full study and all 19 verses →
2 Chronicles 23:5 a third shall be at the royal palace, and a third at the Foundation Gate, while all the others are to be in the courtyards of the house of the LORD.
Job 4:19 how much more those who dwell in houses of clay, whose foundations are in the dust, who can be crushed like a moth!
- מוֹסָד môsâdfoundationtranslated this way 7 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s H4144Noun · Translated: foundations 7Full study and all 7 verses →
Deuteronomy 32:22 For a fire has been kindled by My anger, and it burns to the depths of Sheol; it consumes the earth and its produce, and scorches the foundations of the mountains.
Psalm 18:7 Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.
- מוֹסָדָה môsâdâhfoundationtranslated this way 5 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s H4146Noun · Translated: foundations 3, since the foundation 1, foundation 1Full study and all 5 verses →
2 Samuel 22:8 Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the heavens trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.
Psalm 18:15 The channels of the sea appeared, and the foundations of the world were exposed, at Your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
- אֹשׁ ôshfoundationtranslated this way 3 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s H787Noun · Translated: foundations 2, foundation 1Full study and all 3 verses →
Ezra 4:12 Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came from you to us have returned to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are restoring its walls and repairing its foundations.
Ezra 5:16 So this Sheshbazzar came and laid the foundation of the house of God in Jerusalem, and from that time until now it has been under construction, but it has not yet been completed.”
- מָכוֹן mâkônfixed or established place, foundationtranslated this way 3 times of its 16 uses · Strong’s H4349Noun · Translated: place 11, foundation 2, original site 1, foundations 1Full study and all 16 verses →
Psalm 89:14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; loving devotion and faithfulness go before You.
Psalm 97:2 Clouds and darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are His throne’s foundation.
- עַמּוּד ammûdpillar, columntranslated this way 2 times of its 104 uses · Strong’s H5982Noun · Translated: pillars 37, posts 34, pillar 27, foundations 2Full study and all 84 verses →
Job 9:6 He shakes the earth from its place, so that its foundations tremble.
Job 26:11 The foundations of heaven quake, astounded at His rebuke.
- מוּסָד mûsâdfoundation, foundation-layingtranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s H4143Noun · Translated: foundation was laid 1, foundation 1Full study and all 2 verses →
2 Chronicles 8:16 Thus all the work of Solomon was carried out, from the day the foundation was laid for the house of the LORD until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was completed.
Isaiah 28:16 So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.
Greek words (New Testament)
- θεμέλιος theméliosbelonging to the foundationtranslated this way 16 times of its 16 uses · Strong’s G2310Noun · Translated: foundation 12, foundations 4Full study and all 15 verses →
Luke 6:48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid his foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the torrent crashed against that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
Acts 16:26 Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. At once all the doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose.
- καταβολή katabolḗa foundation, depositing, sowingtranslated this way 10 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s G2602Noun · Translated: foundation 10, conceive 1Full study and all 11 verses →
Matthew 13:35 So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”
Luke 11:50 As a result, this generation will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world,
- θεμελιόω themelióōI found, lay the foundationtranslated this way 2 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s G2311Verb · Translated: foundation 1, grounded 1, established 1, laid the foundations 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Matthew 7:25 The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock.
Hebrews 1:10 And: “In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
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.