Word study
Lavish
5 Hebrew and 4 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: lavish, lavished. 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 “lavish” 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)
- רָבָה râbâhbe, or become, much, many, greattranslated this way 2 times of its 219 uses · Strong’s H7235Verb · Translated: multiply 39, multiplied 23, many 15, much 10Full study and all 207 verses →
Proverbs 6:35 He will not be appeased by any ransom, or persuaded by lavish gifts.
Hosea 2:8 For she does not acknowledge that it was I who gave her grain, new wine, and oil, who lavished on her silver and gold — which they crafted for Baal.
- רֹב rôbmultitude, abundance, greatnesstranslated this way 1 time of its 142 uses · Strong’s H7230Noun · Translated: many 28, abundance 22, great 18, abundant 10Full study and all 138 verses →
1 Chronicles 22:5 And David said, “My son Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly magnificent — famous and glorious throughout all lands. Therefore I must make preparations for it.” So David made lavish preparations before his death.
- שֶׁמֶן shemenfat, oiltranslated this way 1 time of its 191 uses · Strong’s H8081Noun · Translated: oil 144, olive oil 22, olive 4, perfume 3Full study and all 175 verses →
Isaiah 25:6 On this mountain the LORD of Hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all the peoples, a feast of aged wine, of choice meat, of finely aged wine.
- בָּזַר bâzarscattertranslated this way 1 time of its 2 uses · Strong’s H967Verb · Translated: Scatter 1, lavish 1Full study and all 2 verses →
Daniel 11:24 In a time of peace, he will invade the richest provinces and do what his fathers and forefathers never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers, and he will plot against the strongholds — but only for a time.
- שָׁפַךְ shâphakpour out, pourtranslated this way 1 time of its 112 uses · Strong’s H8210Verb · Translated: pour 35, shed 26, poured 19, build 6Full study and all 108 verses →
Ezekiel 16:15 But because of your fame, you trusted in your beauty and played the harlot. You lavished your favors on everyone who passed by, and your beauty was theirs for the asking.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἐπιχορηγέω epichorēgéōI supply, providetranslated this way 1 time of its 5 uses · Strong’s G2023Verb · Translated: supplies 1, lavish 1, supported 1, add 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Galatians 3:5 Does God lavish His Spirit on you and work miracles among you because you practice the law, or because you hear and believe?
- ἐπιβλέπω epiblépōI look with favor ontranslated this way 1 time of its 3 uses · Strong’s G1914Verb · Translated: looked with favor 1, look 1, lavish attention 1Full study and all 3 verses →
James 2:3 If you lavish attention on the man in fine clothes and say, “Here is a seat of honor,” but say to the poor man, “You must stand” or “Sit at my feet,”
- πλουσίως plousíōsrichly, abundantlytranslated this way 1 time of its 4 uses · Strong’s G4146Adverb · Translated: richly 2, abundantly 1, lavish 1Full study and all 4 verses →
2 Peter 1:11 and you will receive a lavish reception into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
- περισσεύω perisseúōI exceed, am left overtranslated this way 1 time of its 37 uses · Strong’s G4052Verb · Translated: left 5, abound 5, excel 5, abundance 3Full study and all 33 verses →
Ephesians 1:8 that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
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.