Word study
Many
15 Hebrew and 6 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “many”. 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 “many” 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)
- רַב rabmuch, many, greattranslated this way 182 times of its 445 uses · Strong’s H7227Adjective · Translated: many 171, great 65, captain 24, long 14Full study and all 426 verses →
Genesis 13:6 But the land was unable to support both of them while they stayed together, for they had so many possessions that they were unable to coexist.
Exodus 19:21 and the LORD said to him, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the LORD, lest many of them perish.
- רֹב rôbmultitude, abundance, greatnesstranslated this way 29 times of its 142 uses · Strong’s H7230Noun · Translated: many 28, abundance 22, great 18, abundant 10Full study and all 138 verses →
1 Kings 7:47 Solomon left all these articles unweighed, because there were so many. The weight of the bronze could not be determined.
1 Chronicles 22:15 You also have many workers: stonecutters, masons, carpenters, and men skilled in every kind of work —
- רָבָה râbâhbe, or become, much, many, greattranslated this way 21 times of its 219 uses · Strong’s H7235Verb · Translated: multiply 39, multiplied 23, many 15, much 10Full study and all 207 verses →
Deuteronomy 3:5 All these cities were fortified with high walls and gates and bars, and there were many more unwalled villages.
Joshua 22:8 saying, “Return to your homes with your great wealth, with immense herds of livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and very many clothes. Divide with your brothers the spoil of your enemies.”
- רָבַב râbabbe or become, many, muchtranslated this way 8 times of its 21 uses · Strong’s H7231Verb · Translated: many 8, multiply 3, more numerous 2Full study and all 21 verses →
1 Samuel 25:10 But Nabal asked them, “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many servants these days are breaking away from their masters.
Psalm 25:19 Consider my enemies, for they are many, and they hate me with vicious hatred.
- הָמוֹן hâmônsound, murmur, roar, crowd, abundancetranslated this way 6 times of its 81 uses · Strong’s H1995Noun · Translated: multitude 12, army 10, multitudes 8, many 6Full study and all 77 verses →
Genesis 17:4 “As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.
2 Chronicles 11:23 Rehoboam also acted wisely by dispersing some of his sons throughout the districts of Judah and Benjamin, and to all the fortified cities. He gave them abundant provisions and sought many wives for them.
- מָה mâhwhat? how? aughttranslated this way 5 times of its 708 uses · Strong’s H4100Interrogative · Translated: what 313, why 183, how 80, many 5Full study and all 618 verses →
Genesis 47:8 “How many years have you lived?” Pharaoh asked.
2 Samuel 19:34 But Barzillai replied, “How many years of my life remain, that I should go up to Jerusalem with the king?
- פַּס pasflattranslated this way 4 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s H6446Noun · Translated: many colors 4Full study and all 4 verses →
Genesis 37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons, because Joseph had been born to him in his old age; so he made him a robe of many colors.
2 Samuel 13:18 So Amnon’s attendant threw her out and bolted the door behind her. Now Tamar was wearing a robe of many colors, because this is what the king’s virgin daughters wore.
- יוֹם yômdaytranslated this way 3 times of its 2,013 uses · Strong’s H3117Noun · Translated: day 1,009, days 524, today 141, time 72Full study and all 1,744 verses →
- גָּדוֹל gâdôlgreattranslated this way 2 times of its 501 uses · Strong’s H1419Adjective · Translated: great 262, large 33, high 20, loud 14Full study and all 477 verses →
Genesis 15:14 But I will judge the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will depart with many possessions.
- מִסְפָּר mispârnumber, taletranslated this way 2 times of its 113 uses · Strong’s H4557Noun · Translated: number 35, according to the number 13, counting 13, few 9Full study and all 111 verses →
Numbers 15:12 This is how you must prepare each one, no matter how many.
Jeremiah 11:13 Your gods are indeed as numerous as your cities, O Judah; the altars of shame you have set up— the altars to burn incense to Baal— are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’
- עַד adas far as, even to, up to, until, whiletranslated this way 2 times of its 1,111 uses · Strong’s H5704Preposition · Translated: until 348, to 278, far 48, forever 43Full study and all 1,024 verses →
- שַׂגִּיא saggîlargetranslated this way 2 times of its 12 uses · Strong’s H7690Adjective · Translated: great 3, many 2, abundant 2Full study and all 12 verses →
Ezra 5:11 And this is the answer they returned: “We are servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and completed.
Daniel 2:48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.
- עָצוּם âtsûmmighty, numeroustranslated this way 2 times of its 31 uses · Strong’s H6099Adjective · Translated: mighty 6, powerful 5, strong 5, mightier 3Full study and all 31 verses →
Psalm 35:18 Then I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among many people.
Proverbs 7:26 For she has brought many down to death; her slain are many in number.
- דּוֹר dôrperiod, generation, dwellingtranslated this way 2 times of its 150 uses · Strong’s H1755Noun · Translated: generation 53, generations to come 30, generations 28, descendants 5Full study and all 124 verses →
Psalm 61:6 Increase the days of the king’s life; may his years span many generations.
Isaiah 61:4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins; they will restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.
- כָּבַד kâbadbe heavy, weighty, burdensome, honouredtranslated this way 2 times of its 109 uses · Strong’s H3513Verb · Translated: honor 19, honored 11, heavy 10, hardened 6Full study and all 105 verses →
Nahum 3:15 There the fire will devour you; the sword will cut you down and consume you like a young locust. Make yourself many like the young locust; make yourself many like the swarming locust!
Greek words (New Testament)
- πολύς polýsmuch, many, oftentranslated this way 190 times of its 338 uses · Strong’s G4183Adjective · Translated: many 172, great 37, large 32, much 31Full study and all 307 verses →
Matthew 3:7 But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his place of baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
Mark 1:34 And He healed many who were ill with various diseases and drove out many demons. But He would not allow the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.
- πόσος pósoshow much, how great, how manytranslated this way 11 times of its 27 uses · Strong’s G4214Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun · Translated: much 12, many 10Full study and all 27 verses →
Matthew 15:34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
Mark 6:38 “Go and see how many loaves you have,” He told them. And after checking, they said, “Five — and two fish.”
- πλείων pleíōnmore, greatertranslated this way 7 times of its 52 uses · Strong’s G4119Adjective · Translated: more 19, greater 7, many 5, most 5Full study and all 51 verses →
Luke 11:53 As Jesus went on from there, the scribes and Pharisees began to oppose Him bitterly and to ply Him with questions about many things,
Acts 2:40 With many other words he testified, and he urged them, “Be saved from this corrupt generation.”
- ἱκανός hikanóssufficient, worthy, many, muchtranslated this way 5 times of its 38 uses · Strong’s G2425Adjective · Translated: worthy 5, large 5, many 5, long 4Full study and all 38 verses →
Acts 9:23 After many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him,
Romans 15:23 But now that there are no further opportunities for me in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to visit you,
- ὅσος hósoshow much, how great, how manytranslated this way 4 times of its 88 uses · Strong’s G3745Personal / Relative Pronoun · Translated: whatever 13, all who 10, much 10, all 6Full study and all 79 verses →
Matthew 22:9 Go therefore to the crossroads and invite to the banquet as many as you can find.’
Mark 3:28 Truly I tell you, the sons of men will be forgiven all sins and blasphemies, as many as they utter.
- τοσοῦτος tosoûtosso greattranslated this way 4 times of its 20 uses · Strong’s G5118Demonstrative Pronoun · Translated: many 4, great 3, price 2Full study and all 18 verses →
John 6:9 “Here is a boy with five barley loaves and two small fish. But what difference will these make among so many?”
1 Corinthians 14:10 Assuredly, there are many different languages in the world, yet none of them is without meaning.
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.