Word study
Guide
5 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: guide, guides, guided, guiding. 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 “guide” 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)
- נָחָה nâchâhlead, guidetranslated this way 12 times of its 39 uses · Strong’s H5148Verb · Translated: lead 14, led 7, guide 6, guided 3Full study and all 39 verses →
Exodus 13:21 And the LORD went before them in a pillar of cloud to guide their way by day, and in a pillar of fire to give them light by night, so that they could travel by day or night.
Nehemiah 9:19 You in Your great compassion did not forsake them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud never turned away from guiding them on their path; and by the night the pillar of fire illuminated the way they should go.
- נָהַג nâhagdrive, conducttranslated this way 6 times of its 30 uses · Strong’s H5090Verb · Translated: led 4, drive 3, drove 2, driving 2Full study and all 30 verses →
2 Samuel 6:3 They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart,
1 Chronicles 13:7 So they carried the ark of God from the house of Abinadab on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding the cart.
- נָהַל nâhallead, guide to a watering-place (or station), and cause to rest there; bring to a…translated this way 3 times of its 10 uses · Strong’s H5095Verb · Translated: guide 3Full study and all 10 verses →
Exodus 15:13 With loving devotion You will lead the people You have redeemed; with Your strength You will guide them to Your holy dwelling.
Psalm 31:3 For You are my rock and my fortress; lead me and guide me for the sake of Your name.
- דָּרַךְ dâraktread, marchtranslated this way 3 times of its 61 uses · Strong’s H1869Verb · Translated: bent 5, treads 4, tread 4, bend 4Full study and all 59 verses →
Psalm 25:5 Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; all day long I wait for You.
Isaiah 42:16 I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These things I will do for them, and I will not forsake them.
- אָשַׁר âshargo straight, go on, advancetranslated this way 3 times of its 16 uses · Strong’s H833Verb · Translated: blessed 2, walk 2, guide 2, call her blessed 2Full study and all 15 verses →
Proverbs 23:19 Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course.
Isaiah 3:12 Youths oppress My people, and women rule over them. O My people, your guides mislead you; they turn you from your paths.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ὁδηγός hodēgósa leader, guidetranslated this way 5 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s G3595Noun · Translated: guides 3, guide 2Full study and all 5 verses →
Matthew 15:14 Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
Acts 1:16 “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit foretold through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide for those who arrested Jesus.
- ὁδηγέω hodēgéōI lead, guidetranslated this way 2 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s G3594Verb · Translated: lead 2, leads 1, guide 1, guides 1Full study and all 5 verses →
John 16:13 However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come.
Acts 8:31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
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.