Word study
Glad
5 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “glad”. 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 “glad” 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)
- שָׂמַח sâmachrejoice, be gladtranslated this way 30 times of its 152 uses · Strong’s H8055Verb · Translated: rejoice 50, glad 27, rejoiced 20, gloat 6Full study and all 147 verses →
Exodus 4:14 Then the anger of the LORD burned against Moses, and He said, “Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I know that he can speak well, and he is now on his way to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.
1 Chronicles 16:31 Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice. Let them say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns!’
- טוֹב ṭôbpleasant, agreeable, goodtranslated this way 3 times of its 538 uses · Strong’s H2896Adjective · Translated: good 249, better 72, prosperity 19, good things 12Full study and all 499 verses →
1 Kings 8:66 On the fifteenth day Solomon sent the people away. So they blessed the king and went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good things that the LORD had done for His servant David and for His people Israel.
- שׂוּשׂ sûsexult, rejoicetranslated this way 3 times of its 27 uses · Strong’s H7797Verb · Translated: rejoice 10, glad 3, exult 2, rejoice greatly 2Full study and all 24 verses →
Isaiah 35:1 The wilderness and the dry land will be glad; the desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose.
Lamentations 1:21 People have heard my groaning, but there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that You have caused it. May You bring the day You have announced, so that they may become like me.
- יָטַב yâṭabbe good, well, glad, pleasingtranslated this way 2 times of its 110 uses · Strong’s H3190Verb · Translated: good 14, well 8, pleased 8, go well 6Full study and all 106 verses →
Judges 18:20 So the priest was glad and took the ephod, the household idols, and the graven image, and went with the people.
Ecclesiastes 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.
- גִּיל gîlrejoicetranslated this way 2 times of its 43 uses · Strong’s H1523Verb · Translated: rejoice 35, glad 2, exult 2Full study and all 43 verses →
Psalm 31:7 I will be glad and rejoice in Your loving devotion, for You have seen my affliction; You have known the anguish of my soul.
Joel 2:23 Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for He has given you the autumn rains for your vindication. He sends you showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.
Greek words (New Testament)
- χαίρω chaírōI rejoice, am gladtranslated this way 6 times of its 71 uses · Strong’s G5463Verb · Translated: rejoice 26, rejoiced 7, Greetings 6, glad 6Full study and all 65 verses →
Luke 15:32 But it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it and was glad.”
- ἀγαλλιάω agalliáōI exult, am full of joytranslated this way 2 times of its 10 uses · Strong’s G21Verb · Translated: rejoiced 3, glad 2, rejoices 2, bask 1Full study and all 10 verses →
Matthew 5:12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.
Revelation 19:7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him the glory. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready.
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.