Word study
Incur
4 Hebrew and 1 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: incur, incurs, incurred. 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 “incur” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- אָשַׁם âshamoffend, be guiltytranslated this way 8 times of its 33 uses · Strong’s H816Verb · Translated: guilty 8, incur guilt 3, incurs guilt 2, guilt 2Full study and all 32 verses →
Leviticus 4:13 Now if the whole congregation of Israel strays unintentionally and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly so that they violate any of the LORD’s commandments and incur guilt by doing what is forbidden,
2 Chronicles 19:10 For every dispute that comes before you from your brothers who dwell in their cities— whether it regards bloodshed or some other violation of law, commandments, statutes, or ordinances— you are to warn them, so that they will not incur guilt before the LORD and wrath will not come upon you and your brothers. Do this, and you will not incur guilt.
- נָשָׂא nâsâlift, take, carrytranslated this way 4 times of its 642 uses · Strong’s H5375Verb · Translated: bear 49, lift 45, lifted 41, carried 38Full study and all 601 verses →
Exodus 28:43 Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die. This is to be a permanent statute for Aaron and his descendants.’’
Leviticus 19:17 You must not harbor hatred against your brother in your heart. Directly rebuke your neighbor, so that you will not incur guilt on account of him.
- אַשְׁמָה ashmâhwrong-doing, guiltinesstranslated this way 1 time of its 19 uses · Strong’s H819Noun · Translated: guilt 13Full study and all 17 verses →
Leviticus 6:7 In this way the priest will make atonement for him before the LORD, and he will be forgiven for anything he may have done to incur guilt.”
- חָשַׁב châshabthink, accounttranslated this way 1 time of its 118 uses · Strong’s H2803Verb · Translated: considered 10, regarded 7, devise 7, devised 6Full study and all 117 verses →
Leviticus 17:4 instead of bringing it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to present it as an offering to the LORD before His tabernacle— that man shall incur bloodguilt. He has shed blood and must be cut off from among his people.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἔχω échōI have, hold, possesstranslated this way 1 time of its 624 uses · Strong’s G2192Verb · Translated: has 63, have 52, with 35, you have 29Full study and all 560 verses →
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.