Word study
Human
2 Hebrew and 6 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “human”. 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 “human” 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)
- אָדָם âdâmman, mankindtranslated this way 20 times of its 509 uses · Strong’s H120Noun · Translated: man 311, men 75, mankind 21, human 18Full study and all 489 verses →
Leviticus 5:3 Or if he touches human uncleanness— anything by which one becomes unclean— even if he is unaware of it, when he realizes it, he is guilty.
Numbers 19:13 Anyone who touches a human corpse and fails to purify himself defiles the tabernacle of the LORD. That person must be cut off from Israel. He remains unclean, because the water of purification has not been sprinkled on him, and his uncleanness is still on him.
- יַד yadhandtranslated this way 2 times of its 15 uses · Strong’s H3028Noun · Translated: hand 10, hands 2, human hands 2, power 1Full study and all 15 verses →
Daniel 2:34 As you watched, a stone was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them.
Daniel 2:45 And just as you saw a stone being cut out of the mountain without human hands, and it shattered the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold, so the great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἄνθρωπος ánthrōposa man, one of the human racetranslated this way 10 times of its 479 uses · Strong’s G444Noun · Translated: man 290, men 127, people 14, man's 8Full study and all 444 verses →
John 5:34 Even though I do not accept human testimony, I say these things so that you may be saved.
Acts 5:38 So in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone. Let them go! For if their purpose or endeavor is of human origin, it will fail.
- ἀνθρώπινος anthrṓpinosbelonging to human beings, humantranslated this way 5 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s G442Adjective · Translated: human 4, human terms 1, common to man 1, man 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Acts 17:25 Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
Romans 6:19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to escalating wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.
- κατά katádown from, against, according to, throughout, duringtranslated this way 3 times of its 381 uses · Strong’s G2596Preposition · Translated: according 65, against 46, in 41, by 38Full study and all 349 verses →
1 Corinthians 1:26 Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth.
Galatians 3:15 Brothers, let me put this in human terms. Even a human covenant, once it is ratified, cannot be canceled or amended.
- χειροποίητος cheiropoíētosdone or made with handstranslated this way 2 times of its 6 uses · Strong’s G5499Adjective · Translated: man-made 2, made by human hands 1, made 1, human hands 1Full study and all 6 verses →
Acts 7:48 However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says:
Ephesians 2:11 Therefore remember that formerly you who are Gentiles in the flesh and called uncircumcised by the so-called circumcision (that done in the body by human hands) —
- σάρξ sárxflesh, bodytranslated this way 2 times of its 124 uses · Strong’s G4561Noun · Translated: flesh 81, body 15, people 4, in 4Full study and all 113 verses →
Romans 9:5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them proceeds the human descent of Christ, who is God over all, forever worthy of praise! Amen.
2 Corinthians 1:17 When I planned this, did I do it carelessly? Or do I make my plans by human standards, so as to say “Yes, yes” and also “No, no”?
- ἀχειροποίητος acheiropoíētosnot made by hand, not handmadetranslated this way 2 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G886Adjective · Translated: made without hands 1, built by human hands 1, human hands 1Full study and all 3 verses →
2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
Colossians 2:11 In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by Christ and not by human 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.