Word study
Mean
4 Hebrew and 5 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: means, meaning, mean. 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 “mean” 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)
- לֹא lônottranslated this way 7 times of its 4,657 uses · Strong’s H3808Adverb · Translated: no 309, not 269, never 218, will not 156Full study and all 3,775 verses →
- פִּתְרוֹן pithrôninterpretationtranslated this way 2 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s H6623Noun · Translated: meaning 2, interpretation 2, interpretations 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Genesis 40:5 both of these men — the Egyptian king’s cupbearer and baker, who were being held in the prison — had a dream on the same night, and each dream had its own meaning.
Genesis 41:11 One night both the chief baker and I had dreams, and each dream had its own meaning.
- פַּרְעֹה ParôhPharaohtranslated this way 2 times of its 265 uses · Strong’s H6547Noun · Translated: Pharaoh 199, Pharaoh's 54, surely as pharaoh 2, means of pharaoh 2Full study and all 234 verses →
Exodus 14:4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. But I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” So this is what the Israelites did.
Exodus 14:17 And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. Then I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army and chariots and horsemen.
- מָה mâhwhat? how? aughttranslated this way 2 times of its 708 uses · Strong’s H4100Interrogative · Translated: what 313, why 183, how 80, many 5Full study and all 618 verses →
1 Kings 22:21 Then a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will entice him.’ ‘By what means?’ asked the LORD.
2 Chronicles 18:20 Then a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD, and said, ‘I will entice him.’ ‘By what means?’ asked the LORD.
Greek words (New Testament)
- εἰμί eimíI am, existtranslated this way 16 times of its 2,236 uses · Strong’s G1510Verb · Translated: is 523, are 214, was 183, am 83Full study and all 1,922 verses →
Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).
Matthew 9:13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
- μεθερμηνεύω methermēneúōI translate, interprettranslated this way 6 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s G3177Verb · Translated: means 5, translated 1, meaning 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Mark 5:41 Taking her by the hand, Jesus said, “Talitha koum!” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”
John 1:38 Jesus turned and saw them following. “What do you want?” He asked. They said to Him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are You staying?”
- λέγω légōI say, speaktranslated this way 4 times of its 993 uses · Strong’s G3004Verb · Translated: said 216, tell 164, say 105, saying 86Full study and all 936 verses →
- ἐπί epíon, to, against, on the basis of, attranslated this way 2 times of its 784 uses · Strong’s G1909Preposition · Translated: on 288, to 87, in 83, at 48Full study and all 696 verses →
- ἑρμηνεύω hermēneúōI translate, interprettranslated this way 2 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G2059Verb · Translated: means 2, translated 1Full study and all 3 verses →
John 9:7 Then He told him, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came back seeing.
Hebrews 7:2 and Abraham apportioned to him a tenth of everything. First, his name means “king of righteousness.” Then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.”
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.