Word study
Opposite
7 Hebrew and 1 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “opposite”. 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 “opposite” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- נֶגֶד negedwhat is conspicuous or in fronttranslated this way 15 times of its 142 uses · Strong’s H5048Preposition · Translated: before 24, before me 11, opposite 11, presence 9Full study and all 135 verses →
Joshua 3:16 the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
1 Kings 21:10 But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them testify, ‘You have cursed both God and the king!’ Then take him out and stone him to death.”
- פָּנִים pânîmface, beforetranslated this way 5 times of its 1,836 uses · Strong’s H6440Noun · Translated: before 448, face 222, presence 147, before you 123Full study and all 1,671 verses →
Exodus 14:2 “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. You are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal-zephon.
Exodus 14:9 The Egyptians— all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops— pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi-hahiroth, opposite Baal-zephon.
- נֹכַח nôkachfronttranslated this way 5 times of its 21 uses · Strong’s H5227Preposition · Translated: facing 4, opposite 3, before 3, in 2Full study and all 20 verses →
Exodus 26:35 And place the table outside the veil on the north side of the tabernacle, and put the lampstand opposite the table, on the south side.
Judges 19:10 But the man was unwilling to spend the night. He got up and departed, and arrived opposite Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), with his two saddled donkeys and his concubine.
- עַל alheighttranslated this way 5 times of its 4,859 uses · Strong’s H5921Preposition · Translated: on 777, over 297, in 218, against 216Full study and all 3,996 verses →
- מוּל mûlfront, in front oftranslated this way 3 times of its 30 uses · Strong’s H4136Preposition · Translated: front 15, opposite 3, facing 2, toward 2Full study and all 28 verses →
Deuteronomy 1:1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan — in the Arabah opposite Suph — between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
Deuteronomy 3:29 So we stayed in the valley opposite Beth-peor.
- צַד tsadsidetranslated this way 2 times of its 31 uses · Strong’s H6654Noun · Translated: side 13, sides 6, beside 4, opposite sides 2Full study and all 27 verses →
Exodus 30:4 And make two gold rings below the molding on opposite sides to hold the poles used to carry it.
Exodus 37:27 He made two gold rings below the molding on opposite sides to hold the poles used to carry it.
- הֶפֶךְ hephekthe contrary, contrariness, perversitytranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s H2016Noun · Translated: opposite 2Full study and its 1 verse →
Ezekiel 16:34 So your prostitution is the opposite of that of other women: No one solicited your favors, and you paid a fee instead of receiving one; so you are the very opposite!
Greek words (New Testament)
- κατέναντι katénantiopposite, in front oftranslated this way 2 times of its 8 uses · Strong’s G2713Preposition · Translated: ahead 3, opposite 2, before 2, presence 1Full study and all 8 verses →
Mark 12:41 As Jesus was sitting opposite the treasury, He watched the crowd putting money into it. And many rich people put in large amounts.
Mark 13:3 While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately,
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.