Word study
Matter
6 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: matter, matters. 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 “matter” 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)
- דָּבָר dâbârspeech, wordtranslated this way 33 times of its 1,244 uses · Strong’s H1697Noun · Translated: word 342, words 299, acts 51, Chronicles 42Full study and all 1,120 verses →
Genesis 21:11 Now this matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son Ishmael.
Leviticus 4:13 Now if the whole congregation of Israel strays unintentionally and the matter escapes the notice of the assembly so that they violate any of the LORD’s commandments and incur guilt by doing what is forbidden,
- מָה mâhwhat? how? aughttranslated this way 4 times of its 708 uses · Strong’s H4100Interrogative · Translated: what 313, why 183, how 80, many 5Full study and all 618 verses →
Judges 18:23 When they called out after them, the Danites turned to face them and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you that you have called out such a company?”
2 Samuel 18:22 Ahimaaz son of Zadok, however, persisted and said to Joab, “No matter what, please let me also run behind the Cushite!” “My son,” Joab replied, “why do you want to run, since you will not receive a reward?”
- זֹאת zôththistranslated this way 3 times of its 559 uses · Strong’s H2063Pronoun · Translated: this 333, of this 33, in this 26, and this 15Full study and all 534 verses →
- מִלָּה millâhword, thingtranslated this way 3 times of its 22 uses · Strong’s H4406Noun · Translated: words 3, matter 3, word 2, command 2Full study and all 20 verses →
Daniel 2:17 Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
Daniel 7:28 Thus ends the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and my face turned pale. But I kept the matter to myself.”
- אֲשֶׁר ăsherparticle of relationtranslated this way 2 times of its 3,225 uses · Strong’s H834Pronoun · Translated: that 886, who 451, as 247, which 160Full study and all 2,844 verses →
- דֵּן dênthistranslated this way 2 times of its 42 uses · Strong’s H1836Pronoun · Translated: this 24, matter 2, with this 2, therefore 2Full study and all 38 verses →
Ezra 4:22 See that you do not neglect this matter. Why allow this threat to increase and the royal interests to suffer?
Ezra 5:5 But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, so that they were not stopped until a report was sent to Darius and written instructions about this matter were returned.
Greek words (New Testament)
- λόγος lógosa word, speech, divine utterance, analogytranslated this way 3 times of its 311 uses · Strong’s G3056Noun · Translated: word 142, words 52, message 32, account 10Full study and all 298 verses →
Mark 9:10 So they kept this matter to themselves, discussing what it meant to rise from the dead.
- ῥῆμα rhēmaa thing spokentranslated this way 2 times of its 60 uses · Strong’s G4487Noun · Translated: words 19, word 17, message 6, statement 4Full study and all 58 verses →
Matthew 18:16 But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’
2 Corinthians 13:1 This is the third time I am coming to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”
- οὗτος hoûtosthis, he, she, ittranslated this way 2 times of its 1,042 uses · Strong’s G3778Demonstrative Pronoun · Translated: this 534, these 121, things 105, he 31Full study and all 976 verses →
Mark 10:10 When they were back inside the house, the disciples asked Jesus about this matter.
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.