Word study
Nearly
1 Hebrew and 5 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “nearly”. 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 “nearly” or one of its forms.
Compare the Greek words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- אַיִן ayinnothing, noughttranslated this way 1 time of its 744 uses · Strong’s H369Adverb · Translated: there is no 55, no 54, without 54, nothing 40Full study and all 660 verses →
Greek words (New Testament)
- σχεδόν schedónnearly, almosttranslated this way 3 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G4975Adverb · Translated: nearly 3Full study and all 3 verses →
Acts 13:44 On the following Sabbath, nearly the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.
Hebrews 9:22 According to the law, in fact, nearly everything must be purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
- πρός prósto, towards, withtranslated this way 1 time of its 549 uses · Strong’s G4314Preposition · Translated: to 359, with 43, for 32, against 20Full study and all 508 verses →
Luke 24:29 But they pleaded with Him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.” So He went in to stay with them.
- προκόπτω prokóptōI advance, make progresstranslated this way 1 time of its 6 uses · Strong’s G4298Verb · Translated: grew 1, nearly 1, advancing 1, will 1Full study and all 6 verses →
Romans 13:12 The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
- παραπλήσιον paraplḗsionnear to, nearlytranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s G3897Adverb · Translated: nearly 1Full study and its 1 verse →
Philippians 2:27 He was sick indeed, nearly unto death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.
- ἐγγίζω engízōI come near, approachtranslated this way 1 time of its 40 uses · Strong’s G1448Verb · Translated: near 11, approached 8, approaching 6, drew near 4Full study and all 39 verses →
Philippians 2:30 because he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for your deficit of service to me.
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.