Word study
Oppose
3 Hebrew and 4 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: oppose, opposed, opposing, opposes. 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 “oppose” 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)
- שָׂטָן sâṭânadversarytranslated this way 2 times of its 26 uses · Strong’s H7854Noun · Translated: Satan 16, adversary 4, oppose 2Full study and all 23 verses →
Numbers 22:22 Then God’s anger was kindled because Balaam was going along, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding his donkey, and his two servants were with him.
Numbers 22:32 The angel of the LORD asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you, because your way is perverse before me.
- שָׂטַם sâṭambear a grudge, cherish animosity, againsttranslated this way 2 times of its 6 uses · Strong’s H7852Verb · Translated: held a grudge 1, hostility 1, bears a grudge 1, opposed 1Full study and all 6 verses →
Job 16:9 His anger has torn me and opposed me; He gnashes His teeth at me. My adversary pierces me with His eyes.
Job 30:21 You have ruthlessly turned on me; You oppose me with Your strong hand.
- עָמַד âmadtake one's stand, standtranslated this way 2 times of its 508 uses · Strong’s H5975Verb · Translated: stood 99, stand 95, standing 50, stands 12Full study and all 485 verses →
Ezra 10:15 (Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah, supported by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite, opposed this plan.)
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἀνθίστημι anthístēmiI take a stand against, oppose, resisttranslated this way 6 times of its 13 uses · Strong’s G436Verb · Translated: resist 5, opposed 3Full study and all 12 verses →
Acts 13:8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.
Romans 13:2 Consequently, whoever resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
- ἀντίκειμαι antíkeimaiI resist, opposetranslated this way 4 times of its 8 uses · Strong’s G480Verb · Translated: oppose 3, adversaries 2, opposed 1, averse 1Full study and all 8 verses →
1 Corinthians 16:9 because a great door for effective work has opened to me, even though many oppose me.
Galatians 5:17 For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want.
- ἀντιτάσσομαι antitássomaiI set myself against, resisttranslated this way 3 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s G498Verb · Translated: opposes 2, opposed 1, resists 1, resist 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Acts 18:6 But when they opposed and insulted him, he shook out his garments and told them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
James 4:6 But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- ἐναντίος enantíosopposite, opposed, contrary, the adversarytranslated this way 2 times of its 8 uses · Strong’s G1727Adjective · Translated: against 2Full study and all 8 verses →
Acts 26:9 So then, I too was convinced that I ought to do all I could to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
Titus 2:8 and wholesome speech that is above reproach, so that anyone who opposes us will be ashamed, having nothing bad to say about us.
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.