Word study
Once
13 Hebrew and 6 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “once”. 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 “once” 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)
- יָסַף yâsaphaddtranslated this way 12 times of its 202 uses · Strong’s H3254Verb · Translated: again 36, add 23, longer 20, severely 12Full study and all 198 verses →
Genesis 18:29 Once again Abraham spoke to the LORD, “Suppose forty are found there?” He answered, “On account of the forty, I will not do it.”
Numbers 22:25 And the donkey saw the angel of the LORD and pressed herself against the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat her once again.
- עוֹד ôda going round, continuancetranslated this way 12 times of its 390 uses · Strong’s H5750Adverb · Translated: longer 80, still 63, again 52, more 38Full study and all 372 verses →
Genesis 29:34 Once again Leah conceived and gave birth to a son, and she said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” So he was named Levi.
2 Samuel 21:15 Once again the Philistines waged war against Israel, and David and his servants went down and fought against the Philistines. But David became exhausted.
- אֶחָד echâdonetranslated this way 8 times of its 855 uses · Strong’s H259Number · Translated: one 278, first 43, and one 43, a 36Full study and all 688 verses →
Exodus 30:10 Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on the horns of the altar. Throughout your generations he shall make atonement on it annually with the blood of the sin offering of atonement. The altar is most holy to the LORD.”
Leviticus 16:34 This is to be a permanent statute for you, to make atonement once a year for the Israelites because of all their sins.” And all this was done as the LORD had commanded Moses.
- קוּם qûmarise, stand up, standtranslated this way 7 times of its 594 uses · Strong’s H6965Verb · Translated: rise 68, got 61, set 44, Get 42Full study and all 570 verses →
Genesis 27:43 So now, my son, obey my voice and flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran.
1 Samuel 23:4 Once again, David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him: “Go at once to Keilah, for I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.”
- פַּעַם paambeat, foot, anvil, occurrencetranslated this way 6 times of its 105 uses · Strong’s H6471Noun · Translated: times 42, time 15, feet 9, twice 6Full study and all 102 verses →
Genesis 18:32 Finally, Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak once more. Suppose ten are found there?” And He answered, “On account of the ten, I will not destroy it.”
Joshua 6:11 So he had the ark of the LORD carried around the city, circling it once. And the people returned to the camp and spent the night there.
- שׁוּב shûbturn back, returntranslated this way 5 times of its 1,007 uses · Strong’s H7725Verb · Translated: return 218, returned 105, restore 62, turn 56Full study and all 920 verses →
Joshua 5:2 At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel once again.”
2 Chronicles 19:4 Jehoshaphat lived in Jerusalem, and once again he went out among the people from Beersheba to the hill country of Ephraim and turned them back to the LORD, the God of their fathers.
- נָתַן nâthangive, put, settranslated this way 4 times of its 1,957 uses · Strong’s H5414Verb · Translated: give 326, gave 206, given 187, put 135Full study and all 1,785 verses →
Genesis 40:21 Pharaoh restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.
- הָלַךְ hâlakgo, come, walktranslated this way 3 times of its 1,461 uses · Strong’s H1980Verb · Translated: go 338, went 173, walk 116, Come 84Full study and all 1,299 verses →
Genesis 43:8 And Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and we will go at once, so that we may live and not die— neither we, nor you, nor our children.
Exodus 32:7 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.
- 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 →
- עַתָּה attâhnowtranslated this way 2 times of its 428 uses · Strong’s H6258Adverb · Translated: now 178, therefore 47, and now 41, but now 31Full study and all 402 verses →
Numbers 24:11 Therefore, flee at once to your home! I said I would reward you richly, but instead the LORD has denied your reward.”
Daniel 10:20 “Do you know why I have come to you?” he said. “I must return at once to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I have gone forth, behold, the prince of Greece will come.
- מַהֵר mahêrhurrying, in a hurrytranslated this way 2 times of its 17 uses · Strong’s H4118Adverb · Translated: quickly 10, swiftly 2, once 2, immediately 1Full study and all 16 verses →
Deuteronomy 7:22 The LORD your God will drive out these nations before you little by little. You will not be enabled to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals would multiply around you.
Deuteronomy 9:12 And the LORD said to me, “Get up and go down from here at once, for your people, whom you brought out of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. How quickly they have turned aside from the way that I commanded them! They have made for themselves a molten image.”
- מְהֵרָה mehêrâhhaste, speedtranslated this way 2 times of its 19 uses · Strong’s H4120Adverb · Translated: quickly 10, speedily 3, once 2Full study and all 19 verses →
2 Samuel 17:21 After the men had gone, Ahimaaz and Jonathan climbed up out of the well and went to inform King David, saying, “Get up and cross over the river at once, for Ahithophel has given this advice against you.”
2 Kings 1:11 So the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. And the captain said to Elijah, “Man of God, the king declares, ‘Come down at once!’”
- הָיָה hâyâhfall out, come to pass, become, betranslated this way 2 times of its 2,848 uses · Strong’s H1961Verb · Translated: will be 206, become 178, came 169, was 151Full study and all 2,573 verses →
Greek words (New Testament)
- εὐθέως euthéōsimmediately, soontranslated this way 21 times of its 73 uses · Strong’s G2112Adverb · Translated: immediately 27, once 21, soon 9, quickly 4Full study and all 72 verses →
Matthew 4:20 And at once they left their nets and followed Him.
Mark 1:12 At once the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness,
- πάλιν pálinagain, further, on the other handtranslated this way 15 times of its 106 uses · Strong’s G3825Adverb · Translated: again 74, once 10, back 9, once more 5Full study and all 103 verses →
Matthew 13:47 Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea and caught all kinds of fish.
Mark 3:1 Once again Jesus entered the synagogue, and a man with a withered hand was there.
- ἅπαξ hápaxonce, once for alltranslated this way 10 times of its 12 uses · Strong’s G530Adverb · Translated: once 8, again 2, Once more 2Full study and all 12 verses →
2 Corinthians 11:25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open sea.
Hebrews 9:7 But only the high priest entered the second room, and then only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.
- ποτέ potéat one time or othertranslated this way 6 times of its 22 uses · Strong’s G4218Particle · Translated: Once 6, formerly 4, last 2, time 2Full study and all 21 verses →
Romans 7:9 Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.
Galatians 1:23 They only heard the account: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”
- ἐφάπαξ ephápaxonce, once for alltranslated this way 5 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s G2178Adverb · Translated: once 5Full study and all 5 verses →
Romans 6:10 The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God.
1 Corinthians 15:6 After that, He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
- παραχρῆμα parachrēmainstantly, immediatelytranslated this way 4 times of its 17 uses · Strong’s G3916Adverb · Translated: immediately 9, once 4, quickly 1, imminently 1Full study and all 17 verses →
Luke 4:39 and He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and began to serve them.
Acts 3:7 Taking him by the right hand, Peter helped him up, and at once the man’s feet and ankles were made strong.
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.