Word study

Lead

27 Hebrew and 15 Greek words behind this English word

The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: led, lead, leads, leading. 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 “lead” 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)

  • נָחָה nâchâhlead, guidetranslated this way 21 times of its 39 uses · Strong’s H5148Verb  ·  Translated: lead 14, led 7, guide 6, guided 3

    Genesis 24:27 saying, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not withheld His kindness and faithfulness from my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”

    Exodus 13:17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road through the land of the Philistines, though it was shorter. For God said, “If the people face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”

    Full study and all 39 verses →
  • הָלַךְ hâlakgo, come, walktranslated this way 18 times of its 1,461 uses · Strong’s H1980Verb  ·  Translated: go 338, went 173, walk 116, Come 84Full study and all 1,299 verses →
  • יָצָא yâtsâgo or come outtranslated this way 12 times of its 1,035 uses · Strong’s H3318Verb  ·  Translated: brought 108, went 103, go 82, came 78

    Genesis 19:16 But when Lot hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters. And they led them safely out of the city, because of the LORD’s compassion for them.

    Full study and all 975 verses →
  • נָהַג nâhagdrive, conducttranslated this way 9 times of its 30 uses · Strong’s H5090Verb  ·  Translated: led 4, drive 3, drove 2, driving 2

    Exodus 3:1 Meanwhile, Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

    1 Chronicles 20:1 In the spring, at the time when kings march out to war, Joab led out the army and ravaged the land of the Ammonites. He came to Rabbah and besieged it, but David remained in Jerusalem. And Joab attacked Rabbah and demolished it.

    Full study and all 30 verses →
  • עָלָה âlâhgo up, ascend, climbtranslated this way 9 times of its 873 uses · Strong’s H5927Verb  ·  Translated: go 118, went 107, brought 56, come 42

    Exodus 33:12 Then Moses said to the LORD, “Look, You have been telling me, ‘Lead this people up,’ but You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have found favor in My sight.’

    Numbers 20:5 Why have you led us up out of Egypt to bring us to this wretched place? It is not a place of grain, figs, vines, or pomegranates — and there is no water to drink!”

    Full study and all 807 verses →
  • עוֹפֶרֶת ôpherethleadtranslated this way 9 times of its 9 uses · Strong’s H5777Noun  ·  Translated: lead 8, like lead 1

    Exodus 15:10 But You blew with Your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

    Numbers 31:22 Only the gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead—

    Full study and all 9 verses →
  • בּוֹא bôcome in, come, go in, gotranslated this way 7 times of its 2,442 uses · Strong’s H935Verb  ·  Translated: come 358, came 298, bring 209, brought 201

    Exodus 32:21 “What did this people do to you,” Moses asked Aaron, “that you have led them into so great a sin?”

    Deuteronomy 6:23 But He brought us out from there to lead us in and give us the land that He had sworn to our fathers.

    Full study and all 2,217 verses →
  • תָּעָה tââherrtranslated this way 7 times of its 49 uses · Strong’s H8582Verb  ·  Translated: astray 5, go astray 4, wandered 3, stray 3

    2 Kings 21:9 But the people did not listen and Manasseh led them astray, so that they did greater evil than the nations that the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.

    Proverbs 12:26 A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the ways of the wicked lead them astray.

    Full study and all 45 verses →
  • עַם ampeopletranslated this way 6 times of its 1,751 uses · Strong’s H5971Noun  ·  Translated: people 1,346, peoples 111, troops 89, nations 65

    Exodus 13:18 So God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the Israelites left the land of Egypt arrayed for battle.

    Full study and all 1,601 verses →
  • יָבַל yâbalconduct, bear alongtranslated this way 6 times of its 18 uses · Strong’s H2986Verb  ·  Translated: bring 5, led 4, carried 3

    Psalm 45:14 In colorful garments she is led to the king; her virgin companions are brought before you.

    Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.

    Full study and all 18 verses →
  • עָבַר âbarpass over, through, by, pass ontranslated this way 6 times of its 542 uses · Strong’s H5674Verb  ·  Translated: pass 62, crossed 57, cross 52, passed 35Full study and all 487 verses →
  • פָּנִים pânîmface, beforetranslated this way 4 times of its 1,836 uses · Strong’s H6440Noun  ·  Translated: before 448, face 222, presence 147, before you 123Full study and all 1,671 verses →
  • יָרַד yâradcome or go down, descendtranslated this way 3 times of its 372 uses · Strong’s H3381Verb  ·  Translated: went 56, go 55, come 35, came 26

    1 Samuel 30:15 “Will you lead me to these raiders?” David asked. And the man replied, “Swear to me by God that you will not kill me or deliver me into the hand of my master, and I will lead you to them.”

    1 Samuel 30:16 So he led David down, and there were the Amalekites spread out over all the land, eating, drinking, and celebrating the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and the land of Judah.

    Full study and all 341 verses →
  • רֹאשׁ rôshheadtranslated this way 3 times of its 570 uses · Strong’s H7218Noun  ·  Translated: head 200, heads 113, chief 31, top 29

    Deuteronomy 20:9 When the officers have finished addressing the army, they are to appoint commanders to lead it.

    Full study and all 530 verses →
  • שָׁגָה shâgâhgo astray, errtranslated this way 3 times of its 21 uses · Strong’s H7686Verb  ·  Translated: stray 4, strays unintentionally 2, captivated 2, led astray 2

    Proverbs 5:23 He dies for lack of discipline, led astray by his own great folly.

    Proverbs 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

    Full study and all 19 verses →
  • מַעֲלֶה maălehascenttranslated this way 3 times of its 15 uses · Strong’s H4608Noun  ·  Translated: Ascent 7, led 3

    Ezekiel 40:31 Its portico faced the outer court, and its side pillars were decorated with palm trees. Eight steps led up to it.

    Ezekiel 40:34 Its portico faced the outer court, and its side pillars were decorated with palm trees on each side. Eight steps led up to it.

    Full study and all 15 verses →
  • אַךְ aksurelytranslated this way 3 times of its 138 uses · Strong’s H389Adverb  ·  Translated: but 31, Surely 29, only 11, Nevertheless 7

    Proverbs 11:23 The desire of the righteous leads only to good, but the hope of the wicked brings wrath.

    Proverbs 14:23 There is profit in all labor, but mere talk leads only to poverty.

    Full study and all 135 verses →
  • נָהַל nâhallead, guide to a watering-place (or station), and cause to rest there; bring to a…translated this way 3 times of its 10 uses · Strong’s H5095Verb  ·  Translated: guide 3Full study and all 10 verses →
  • שַׂר sarchieftain, chief, ruler, official, captain, princetranslated this way 3 times of its 401 uses · Strong’s H8269Noun  ·  Translated: commanders 74, officials 67, princes 63, commander 39Full study and all 366 verses →
  • חַי chayalive, livingtranslated this way 3 times of its 485 uses · Strong’s H2416Noun  ·  Translated: life 112, lives 62, living 59, live 53Full study and all 441 verses →
  • קָשַׁר qâsharbind, league together, conspiretranslated this way 2 times of its 44 uses · Strong’s H7194Verb  ·  Translated: conspired 18, Tie 4, tied 3, bind 3Full study and all 44 verses →
  • דָּרַךְ dâraktread, marchtranslated this way 2 times of its 61 uses · Strong’s H1869Verb  ·  Translated: bent 5, treads 4, tread 4, bend 4Full study and all 59 verses →
  • לָקַח lâqachtaketranslated this way 2 times of its 938 uses · Strong’s H3947Verb  ·  Translated: take 247, took 245, taken 40, get 26Full study and all 890 verses →
  • נָטָה nâṭâhstretch out, spread out, extend, incline, bendtranslated this way 2 times of its 215 uses · Strong’s H5186Verb  ·  Translated: incline 24, stretch 23, stretched 21, outstretched 19Full study and all 207 verses →
  • שׁוּב shûbturn back, returntranslated this way 2 times of its 1,007 uses · Strong’s H7725Verb  ·  Translated: return 218, returned 105, restore 62, turn 56Full study and all 920 verses →
  • רִאשׁוֹן rishônformer, first, chieftranslated this way 2 times of its 171 uses · Strong’s H7223Adjective  ·  Translated: first 85, beginning 10, former 9, former things 6Full study and all 164 verses →
  • זָקֵן zâqênoldtranslated this way 2 times of its 175 uses · Strong’s H2205Adjective  ·  Translated: elders 118, old 23, elderly 5, aged 3Full study and all 169 verses →

Greek words (New Testament)

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.

What the Bible says about lead: 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.