Word study
Insult
4 Hebrew and 4 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: insults, insult, insulted. 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 “insult” 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)
- חָרַף châraphreproachtranslated this way 3 times of its 41 uses · Strong’s H2778Verb · Translated: taunted 9, defy 7, taunt 4, taunts 3Full study and all 40 verses →
Psalm 55:12 For it is not an enemy who insults me; that I could endure. It is not a foe who rises against me; from him I could hide.
Proverbs 17:5 He who mocks the poor insults their Maker; whoever gloats over calamity will not go unpunished.
- חֶרְפָּה cherpâhreproachtranslated this way 3 times of its 72 uses · Strong’s H2781Noun · Translated: reproach 30, disgrace 16, shame 6, scorn 6Full study and all 72 verses →
Psalm 69:9 because zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult You have fallen on me.
Lamentations 3:61 O LORD, You have heard their insults, all their plots against me —
- קָלוֹן qâlônignominy, dishonourtranslated this way 2 times of its 17 uses · Strong’s H7036Noun · Translated: shame 10, disgrace 3, dishonor 1, insult 1Full study and all 17 verses →
Proverbs 12:16 A fool’s anger is known at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.
Proverbs 22:10 Drive out the mocker, and conflict will depart; even quarreling and insults will cease.
- גִּדּוּף giddûphvilificationtranslated this way 2 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s H1421Noun · Translated: insults 2, reproach 1Full study and all 3 verses →
Isaiah 51:7 Listen to Me, you who know what is right, you people with My law in your hearts: Do not fear the scorn of men; do not be broken by their insults.
Zephaniah 2:8 “I have heard the reproach of Moab and the insults of the Ammonites, who have taunted My people and threatened their borders.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ὀνειδίζω oneidízōI reproach, revile, upbraidtranslated this way 4 times of its 9 uses · Strong’s G3679Verb · Translated: insult 3, berated 2, denounce 1, rebuked 1Full study and all 9 verses →
Matthew 5:11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
Luke 6:22 Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man.
- ὑβρίζω hybrízōI insulttranslated this way 2 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s G5195Verb · Translated: mistreated 1, insult 1, insulted 1, mistreat 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Luke 11:45 One of the experts in the law told Him, “Teacher, when You say these things, You insult us as well.”
Luke 18:32 He will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon.
- λοιδορέω loidoréōI revile, abusetranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G3058Verb · Translated: heaped insults 1, dare you insult 1, vilified 1, heaped abuse 1Full study and all 4 verses →
John 9:28 Then they heaped insults on him and said, “You are His disciple; we are disciples of Moses.
Acts 23:4 But those standing nearby said, “How dare you insult the high priest of God!”
- λοιδορία loidoríareviling, abusetranslated this way 2 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G3059Noun · Translated: insult 2, slander 1Full study and all 2 verses →
1 Peter 3:9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
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.