Word study
Honor
11 Hebrew and 7 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: honor, honored, honors, honoring. 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 “honor” 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)
- כָּבַד kâbadbe heavy, weighty, burdensome, honouredtranslated this way 41 times of its 109 uses · Strong’s H3513Verb · Translated: honor 19, honored 11, heavy 10, hardened 6Full study and all 105 verses →
Exodus 14:4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. But I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” So this is what the Israelites did.
Numbers 22:17 for I will honor you richly and do whatever you say. So please come and put a curse on this people for me!’”
- כָּבוֹד kâbôdabundance, honour, glorytranslated this way 32 times of its 198 uses · Strong’s H3519Noun · Translated: glory 124, honor 30, glorious 14, splendor 5Full study and all 188 verses →
1 Samuel 2:8 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them among princes and bestows on them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s, and upon them He has set the world.
1 Kings 3:13 Moreover, I will give you what you did not request — both riches and honor — so that during all your days no man in any kingdom will be your equal.
- יְקָר yeqârpreciousness, price, honourtranslated this way 7 times of its 15 uses · Strong’s H3366Noun · Translated: honor 7Full study and all 14 verses →
Esther 6:3 The king inquired, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this act?” “Nothing has been done for him,” replied the king’s attendants.
Esther 6:6 Haman entered, and the king asked him, “What should be done for the man whom the king is delighted to honor?” Now Haman thought to himself, “Whom would the king be delighted to honor more than me?”
- רֹאשׁ rôshheadtranslated this way 3 times of its 570 uses · Strong’s H7218Noun · Translated: head 200, heads 113, chief 31, top 29Full study and all 530 verses →
1 Samuel 9:22 Then Samuel took Saul and his servant, brought them into the hall, and seated them in the place of honor among those who were invited — about thirty in all.
1 Kings 21:9 In the letters she wrote: “Proclaim a fast and give Naboth a seat of honor among the people.
- הָדָר hâdârornament, splendour, honourtranslated this way 3 times of its 30 uses · Strong’s H1926Noun · Translated: splendor 15, majesty 6, majestic 3, honor 3Full study and all 29 verses →
Psalm 8:5 You made him a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor.
Proverbs 31:25 Strength and honor are her clothing, and she can laugh at the days to come.
- פָּאַר pâarbeautify, glorifytranslated this way 2 times of its 14 uses · Strong’s H6286Verb · Translated: glorified 3, honor 2, adorn 2Full study and all 14 verses →
Exodus 8:9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “You may have the honor over me. When shall I pray for you and your officials and your people that the frogs (except for those in the Nile) may be taken away from you and your houses?”
Ezra 7:27 Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who has put into the heart of the king to so honor the house of the LORD in Jerusalem,
- תִּפְאָרָה tiphârâhbeauty, glorytranslated this way 2 times of its 49 uses · Strong’s H8597Noun · Translated: glory 14, splendor 10, glorious 8, beauty 3Full study and all 49 verses →
Deuteronomy 26:19 that He will set you high in praise and name and honor above all the nations He has made, and that you will be a holy people to the LORD your God, as He has promised.
Judges 4:9 “I will certainly go with you,” Deborah replied, “but the road you are taking will bring you no honor, because the LORD will be selling Sisera into the hand of a woman.” So Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh,
- נָתַן nâthangive, put, settranslated this way 2 times of its 1,957 uses · Strong’s H5414Verb · Translated: give 326, gave 206, given 187, put 135Full study and all 1,785 verses →
- הוֹד hôdsplendour, majesty, vigourtranslated this way 2 times of its 24 uses · Strong’s H1935Noun · Translated: splendor 9, majesty 3, glory 2Full study and all 24 verses →
Job 40:10 Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor, and clothe yourself with honor and glory.
Daniel 11:21 In his place a despicable person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come in a time of peace and seize the kingdom by intrigue.
- הֲדַר hădarhonour, majestytranslated this way 2 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s H1923Noun · Translated: honor 2, majesty 1Full study and all 3 verses →
Daniel 4:36 At the same time my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne, and surpassing greatness was added to me.
Daniel 5:18 As for you, O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness, glory and honor.
- גָּדַל gâdalgrow up, become greattranslated this way 2 times of its 115 uses · Strong’s H1431Verb · Translated: great 14, grew 10, grown 7, greater 7Full study and all 114 verses →
Esther 3:1 After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him to a position above all the princes who were with him.
Esther 5:11 Haman recounted to them his glorious wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored and promoted him over the other officials and servants.
Greek words (New Testament)
- τιμή timḗa price, honortranslated this way 27 times of its 41 uses · Strong’s G5092Noun · Translated: honor 26, price 3, proceeds 3, value 2Full study and all 40 verses →
John 4:44 Now He Himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.
Romans 2:7 To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life.
- τιμάω timáōI value at a price, honortranslated this way 18 times of its 19 uses · Strong’s G5091Verb · Translated: honor 16, need not honor 1, honored 1, Treat everyone with high regard 1Full study and all 15 verses →
Matthew 15:4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
Mark 7:6 Jesus answered them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.
- πρωτοκλισία prōtoklisíathe chief place at a banquettranslated this way 5 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s G4411Noun · Translated: places of honor 4, place of honor 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Matthew 23:6 They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues,
Mark 12:39 and to have the chief seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.
- δοξάζω doxázōI glorify, honor, bestow glory ontranslated this way 3 times of its 61 uses · Strong’s G1392Verb · Translated: glorified 26, glorify 18, glorifying 4, honored 2Full study and all 53 verses →
Matthew 6:2 So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.
1 Corinthians 12:26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
- ἄτιμος átimoswithout honor, despisedtranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G820Adjective · Translated: without honor 2, dishonored 1, less honorable 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Matthew 13:57 And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own household is a prophet without honor.”
Mark 6:4 Then Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his own household is a prophet without honor.”
- δόξα dóxahonor, renown, glory splendortranslated this way 2 times of its 163 uses · Strong’s G1391Noun · Translated: glory 131, glorious 18, praise 3, splendor 3Full study and all 149 verses →
Luke 14:10 But when you are invited, go and sit in the last place, so that your host will come and tell you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in front of everyone at the table with you.
2 Corinthians 8:19 More than that, this brother was chosen by the churches to accompany us with the gracious offering we administer to honor the Lord Himself and to show our eagerness to help.
- τίμιος tímiosof great price, precious, honoredtranslated this way 2 times of its 13 uses · Strong’s G5093Adjective · Translated: precious 8, honored 2, value 1, with 1Full study and all 12 verses →
Acts 5:34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a short time.
Hebrews 13:4 Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
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.