Word study
Loss
6 Hebrew and 5 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “loss”. 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 “loss” 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)
- שְׁכוֹל shekôlbereavement, loss of childrentranslated this way 2 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s H7908Noun · Translated: loss of children 2, bereavement 1Full study and all 3 verses →
Isaiah 47:8 So now hear this, O lover of luxury who sits securely, who says to herself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me. I will never be a widow or know the loss of children.’
Isaiah 47:9 These two things will overtake you in a moment, in a single day: loss of children, and widowhood. They will come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the potency of your spells.
- חָטָא châṭâmisstranslated this way 1 time of its 233 uses · Strong’s H2398Verb · Translated: sinned 73, sin 33, committed 26, sins 21Full study and all 217 verses →
Genesis 31:39 I did not bring you anything torn by wild beasts; I bore the loss myself. And you demanded payment from me for what was stolen by day or night.
- שָׂכָר sâkârhire, wagestranslated this way 1 time of its 26 uses · Strong’s H7939Noun · Translated: wages 13, reward 6Full study and all 24 verses →
Exodus 22:15 If the owner was present, no restitution is required. If the animal was rented, the fee covers the loss.
- אָב âbfathertranslated this way 1 time of its 1,167 uses · Strong’s H1Noun · Translated: father 518, fathers 341, father's 129, families 72Full study and all 1,040 verses →
- נוּד nûdmove to and fro, wander, flutter, shew grieftranslated this way 1 time of its 24 uses · Strong’s H5110Verb · Translated: Flee 3, wanderer 2, grieve 2, mourn 2Full study and all 24 verses →
Jeremiah 22:10 Do not weep for him who is dead; do not mourn his loss. Weep bitterly for him who is exiled, for he will never return to see his native land.
- נְזַק nezaqsuffer injurytranslated this way 1 time of its 4 uses · Strong’s H5142Verb · Translated: suffer 1, harmful 1, interests to suffer 1, suffer loss 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Daniel 6:2 and over them three administrators, including Daniel, to whom these satraps were accountable so that the king would not suffer loss.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ζημία zēmíadamage, losstranslated this way 4 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G2209Noun · Translated: loss 4Full study and all 4 verses →
Acts 27:10 “Men, I can see that our voyage will be filled with disaster and great loss, not only to ship and cargo, but to our own lives as well.”
Philippians 3:7 But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ.
- περί períabout, concerning, aroundtranslated this way 1 time of its 283 uses · Strong’s G4012Preposition · Translated: about 143, for 49, around 15, of 10Full study and all 269 verses →
John 11:19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them in the loss of their brother.
- ἀπορέω aporéōI am in difficulties, am at my wits endtranslated this way 1 time of its 6 uses · Strong’s G639Verb · Translated: perplexed 3, greatly perplexed 1, puzzling 1, loss 1Full study and all 6 verses →
Acts 25:20 Since I was at a loss as to how to investigate these matters, I asked if he was willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried there on these charges.
- ἀποβολή apobolḗa casting away, rejection, losstranslated this way 1 time of its 2 uses · Strong’s G580Noun · Translated: loss 1, rejection 1Full study and all 2 verses →
Acts 27:22 But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because you will not experience any loss of life, but only of the ship.
- ζημιόω zēmióōI inflict loss upon, punishtranslated this way 1 time of its 6 uses · Strong’s G2210Verb · Translated: forfeit 2, forfeits 1, suffer loss 1, harmed 1Full study and all 6 verses →
1 Corinthians 3:15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as if through the flames.
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.