Word study

Intention

5 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word

The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: intentions, intention. 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 “intention” 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)

  • כָּלָה kâlâhbe complete, at an end, finished, accomplished, spenttranslated this way 2 times of its 206 uses · Strong’s H3615Verb  ·  Translated: finished 54, fail 12, consumed 9, completed 7

    1 Samuel 20:7 If he says, ‘Good,’ then your servant is safe, but if he is enraged, you will know he has evil intentions.

    1 Samuel 20:9 “Never!” Jonathan replied. “If I ever found out that my father had evil intentions against you, would I not tell you?”

    Full study and all 200 verses →
  • מַחֲשָׁבָה machăshâbâhthought, devicetranslated this way 2 times of its 52 uses · Strong’s H4284Noun  ·  Translated: thoughts 15, plans 10, artistic 3, schemes 3

    1 Chronicles 29:18 O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep this desire forever in the intentions of the hearts of Your people, and direct their hearts toward You.

    Jeremiah 51:29 The earth quakes and writhes because the LORD’s intentions against Babylon stand: to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.

    Full study and all 48 verses →
  • עֵצָה êtsâhcounsel, advicetranslated this way 1 time of its 88 uses · Strong’s H6098Noun  ·  Translated: counsel 33, advice 11, plans 11, plan 6

    Proverbs 20:5 The intentions of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.

    Full study and all 84 verses →
  • לֵב lêbinner man, mind, will, hearttranslated this way 1 time of its 526 uses · Strong’s H3820Noun  ·  Translated: heart 326, hearts 78, mind 30, judgment 11

    Proverbs 17:16 Why should the fool have money in his hand with no intention of buying wisdom?

    Full study and all 495 verses →
  • דָּמָה dâmâhbe like, resembletranslated this way 1 time of its 30 uses · Strong’s H1819Verb  ·  Translated: like 9, compare 4, liken 3, planned 2

    Isaiah 10:7 But this is not his intention; this is not his plan. For it is in his heart to destroy and cut off many nations.

    Full study and all 28 verses →

Greek words (New Testament)

  • ἔννοια énnoiathought, intention, purposetranslated this way 1 time of its 2 uses · Strong’s G1771Noun  ·  Translated: intentions 1, resolve 1

    Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

    Full study and all 2 verses →
  • ἀλαζονεία alazoneíaboasting, show, arrogant displaytranslated this way 1 time of its 2 uses · Strong’s G212Noun  ·  Translated: proud intentions 1, pride 1

    James 4:16 As it is, you boast in your proud intentions. All such boasting is evil.

    Full study and all 2 verses →
How to study a word well
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
  4. 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.
  5. See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
  6. Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
  7. 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.