Word study
Instead
7 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “instead”. 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 “instead” 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)
- כִּי kîburning, brandingtranslated this way 25 times of its 3,991 uses · Strong’s H3588Conjunction · Translated: for 1,770, that 572, because 523, when 194Full study and all 3,583 verses →
Genesis 35:10 And God said to him, “Though your name is Jacob, you will no longer be called Jacob. Instead, your name will be Israel.” So God named him Israel.
Exodus 23:24 You must not bow down to their gods or serve them or follow their practices. Instead, you are to demolish them and smash their sacred stones to pieces.
- תַּחַת tachaththe under parttranslated this way 18 times of its 465 uses · Strong’s H8478Preposition · Translated: place 126, under 106, for 34, beneath 29Full study and all 421 verses →
Judges 15:2 “I was sure that you thoroughly hated her,” said her father, “so I gave her to one of the men who accompanied you. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead.”
2 Samuel 18:33 The king was shaken and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he walked, he cried out, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
- לֹא lônottranslated this way 8 times of its 4,657 uses · Strong’s H3808Adverb · Translated: no 309, not 269, never 218, will not 156Full study and all 3,775 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.
- הָלַךְ hâlakgo, come, walktranslated this way 3 times of its 1,461 uses · Strong’s H1980Verb · Translated: go 338, went 173, walk 116, Come 84Full study and all 1,299 verses →
- גַּם gamalso, moreover, yeatranslated this way 2 times of its 625 uses · Strong’s H1571Conjunction · Translated: even 107, and 100, also 64, too 43Full study and all 565 verses →
2 Samuel 19:30 And Mephibosheth said to the king, “Instead, since my lord the king has safely come to his own house, let Ziba take it all!”
Nehemiah 5:16 Instead, I devoted myself to the construction of the wall, and all my servants were gathered there for the work; we did not acquire any land.
- נָסַךְ nâsakpour outtranslated this way 2 times of its 27 uses · Strong’s H5258Verb · Translated: poured 9, pour 6, pouring drink offerings 2, instead 2Full study and all 24 verses →
2 Samuel 23:16 So the three mighty men broke through the Philistine camp, drew water from the well near the gate of Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out to the LORD,
1 Chronicles 11:18 So the Three broke through the Philistine camp, drew water from the well at the gate of Bethlehem, and brought it back to David. But he refused to drink it; instead, he poured it out to the LORD,
- יָעַץ yâatsadvise, counseltranslated this way 2 times of its 75 uses · Strong’s H3289Verb · Translated: counselor 11, counselors 9, advise 6, consulted 5Full study and all 69 verses →
1 Kings 12:8 But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders; instead, he consulted the young men who had grown up with him and served him.
2 Chronicles 10:8 But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders; instead, he consulted the young men who had grown up with him and served him.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἀλλά allábut, excepttranslated this way 49 times of its 565 uses · Strong’s G235Conjunction · Translated: but 433, Instead 49, However 9, contrary 8Full study and all 541 verses →
Matthew 5:15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
Mark 2:22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into new wineskins.”
- δέ début, on the other hand, andtranslated this way 6 times of its 1,642 uses · Strong’s G1161Conjunction · Translated: but 784, and 340, now 117, then 101Full study and all 1,541 verses →
- μᾶλλον mâllonmore, rathertranslated this way 5 times of its 64 uses · Strong’s G3123Adverb · Translated: more 30, rather 16, Instead 5, louder 2Full study and all 62 verses →
Matthew 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Mark 5:26 She had borne much agony under the care of many physicians and had spent all she had, but to no avail. Instead, her condition had only grown worse.
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.