Word study
Judge
6 Hebrew and 5 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: judge, judges, judged, judging. 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 “judge” 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)
- שָׁפַט shâphaṭjudge, governtranslated this way 139 times of its 199 uses · Strong’s H8199Verb · Translated: judge 81, judges 35, judged 15, vindicate 7Full study and all 181 verses →
Genesis 16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be upon you! I delivered my servant into your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me.”
Exodus 2:14 But the man replied, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you planning to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “This thing I have done has surely become known.”
- דִּין dînjudgetranslated this way 9 times of its 23 uses · Strong’s H1777Verb · Translated: judge 7, vindicate 3, contend 2, judges 2Full study and all 23 verses →
Genesis 15:14 But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions.
1 Samuel 2:10 Those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder from heaven against them. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth and will give power to His king. He will exalt the horn of His anointed.”
- מִשְׁפָּט mishpâṭjudgmenttranslated this way 4 times of its 406 uses · Strong’s H4941Noun · Translated: justice 111, ordinances 73, judgments 40, judgment 40Full study and all 394 verses →
Deuteronomy 1:17 Show no partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. And bring to me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.”
2 Chronicles 19:8 Moreover, Jehoshaphat appointed in Jerusalem some of the Levites, priests, and heads of the Israelite families to judge on behalf of the LORD and to settle disputes. And they lived in Jerusalem.
- אֱלֹהִים ĕlôhîmGodtranslated this way 4 times of its 2,563 uses · Strong’s H430Noun · Translated: God 2,295, gods 202, God's 18, judges 4Full study and all 2,240 verses →
Exodus 21:6 then his master is to bring him before the judges. And he shall take him to the door or doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he shall serve his master for life.
Exodus 22:8 If the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges to determine whether he has taken his neighbor’s property.
- יָכַח yâkachdecide, adjudge, provetranslated this way 2 times of its 56 uses · Strong’s H3198Verb · Translated: rebuke 13, rebukes 3, appointed 2, judge 2Full study and all 54 verses →
Genesis 31:37 You have searched all my goods! Have you found anything that belongs to you? Put it here before my brothers and yours, that they may judge between the two of us.
1 Chronicles 12:17 And David went out to meet them, saying, “If you have come to me in peace to help me, my heart will be united with you; but if you have come to betray me to my enemies when my hands are free of violence, may the God of our fathers see it and judge you.”
- דְּתָבָר dethâbârjudgetranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s H1884Noun · Translated: judges 2Full study and all 2 verses →
Daniel 3:2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other officials of the provinces to attend the dedication of the statue he had set up.
Daniel 3:3 So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.
Greek words (New Testament)
- κρίνω krínōI judge, decide, think goodtranslated this way 67 times of its 114 uses · Strong’s G2919Verb · Translated: judge 43, judged 12, judges 7, decided 5Full study and all 98 verses →
Matthew 7:1 “Do not judge, or you will be judged.
Luke 6:37 Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
- κριτής kritḗsa judgetranslated this way 19 times of its 19 uses · Strong’s G2923Noun · Translated: judge 15, judges 4Full study and all 17 verses →
Matthew 5:25 Reconcile quickly with your adversary, while you are still on the way to court. Otherwise, he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.
Luke 11:19 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.
- ἀνακρίνω anakrínōI examine, inquire intotranslated this way 4 times of its 16 uses · Strong’s G350Verb · Translated: examined 5, judges 2, raising questions 2Full study and all 14 verses →
1 Corinthians 2:15 The spiritual man judges all things, but he himself is not subject to anyone’s judgment.
1 Corinthians 4:3 I care very little, however, if I am judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.
- δικαστής dikastḗsa judgetranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s G1348Noun · Translated: judge 2Full study and all 2 verses →
Acts 7:27 But the man who was abusing his neighbor pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?
Acts 7:35 This Moses, whom they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ is the one whom God sent to be their ruler and redeemer through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.
- κρίμα krímaa judgment, verdict, lawsuittranslated this way 2 times of its 27 uses · Strong’s G2917Noun · Translated: judgment 15, condemnation 5Full study and all 27 verses →
James 3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
Revelation 20:4 Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
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.
What the Bible says about judge: passages by topic →
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.