Word study

Outcry

6 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word

The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “outcry”. 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 “outcry” 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)

  • זַעַק zaaqshriek, outcrytranslated this way 4 times of its 16 uses · Strong’s H2201Noun  ·  Translated: cry 8, outcry 4, lamentation 1, cry for help 1

    Genesis 18:20 Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great. Because their sin is so grievous,

    Nehemiah 5:6 When I heard their outcry and these complaints, I became extremely angry,

    Full study and all 16 verses →
  • צַעֲקָה tsaăqâhcry, outcrytranslated this way 4 times of its 19 uses · Strong’s H6818Noun  ·  Translated: cry 9, outcry 3, cries 2

    Genesis 18:21 I will go down to see if their actions fully justify the outcry that has reached Me. If not, I will find out.”

    Nehemiah 5:1 About that time there was a great outcry from the people and their wives against their fellow Jews.

    Full study and all 18 verses →
  • קוֹל qôlsound, voicetranslated this way 1 time of its 425 uses · Strong’s H6963Noun  ·  Translated: voice 197, sound 63, voices 22, thunder 11

    1 Samuel 4:14 Eli heard the outcry and asked, “Why this commotion?” So the man hurried over and reported to Eli.

    Full study and all 378 verses →
  • שַׁוְעָה shavâhcry for helptranslated this way 1 time of its 11 uses · Strong’s H7775Noun  ·  Translated: cry 5, cry for help 3, cry for deliverance 1, outcry 1

    1 Samuel 5:12 Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.

    Full study and all 11 verses →
  • צְוָחָה tsevâchâhoutcrytranslated this way 1 time of its 4 uses · Strong’s H6682Noun  ·  Translated: cry 2, cry of lament 1, outcry 1

    Jeremiah 46:12 The nations have heard of your shame, and your outcry fills the earth, because warrior stumbles over warrior and both of them have fallen together.”

    Full study and all 4 verses →
  • מִלָּה millâhword, thingtranslated this way 1 time of its 22 uses · Strong’s H4406Noun  ·  Translated: words 3, matter 3, word 2, command 2

    Daniel 5:10 Hearing the outcry of the king and his nobles, the queen entered the banquet hall. “O king, may you live forever!” she said. “Do not let your thoughts terrify you, or your face grow pale.

    Full study and all 20 verses →

Greek words (New Testament)

  • ἐπιφωνέω epiphōnéōI call out, shouttranslated this way 1 time of its 4 uses · Strong’s G2019Verb  ·  Translated: kept shouting 1, began to shout 1, shouting 1, outcry 1

    Acts 22:24 the commander ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks. He directed that Paul be flogged and interrogated to determine the reason for this outcry against him.

    Full study and all 4 verses →
  • κραυγή kraugḗa shout, clamor, outcrytranslated this way 1 time of its 6 uses · Strong’s G2906Noun  ·  Translated: cry 1, voice 1, clamor 1, outcry 1

    Ephesians 4:31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.

    Full study and all 6 verses →
How to study a word well
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
  4. 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.
  5. See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
  6. Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
  7. 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.