Word study
Plot
7 Hebrew and 1 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: plot, plots, plotted, plotting. 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 “plot” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- חָשַׁב châshabthink, accounttranslated this way 11 times of its 118 uses · Strong’s H2803Verb · Translated: considered 10, regarded 7, devise 7, devised 6Full study and all 117 verses →
Nehemiah 6:6 that read: “It is reported among the nations— and Geshem agrees— that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and this is why you are building the wall. According to these reports, you are to become their king,
Esther 9:24 For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the Pur (that is, the lot) to crush and destroy them.
- חֶלְקָה chelqâhportiontranslated this way 5 times of its 28 uses · Strong’s H2513Noun · Translated: field 9, plot 3, portion 2, plot of ground 2Full study and all 24 verses →
Genesis 33:19 And the plot of ground where he pitched his tent, he purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of silver.
Joshua 24:32 And the bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up out of Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the plot of land that Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of silver. So it became an inheritance for Joseph’s descendants.
- חֵלֶק chêleqportion, tract, territorytranslated this way 3 times of its 64 uses · Strong’s H2506Noun · Translated: portion 35, share 9, portions 3, plot 3Full study and all 61 verses →
2 Kings 9:10 And on the plot of ground at Jezreel the dogs will devour Jezebel, and there will be no one to bury her.’” Then the young prophet opened the door and ran.
2 Kings 9:36 So they went back and told Jehu, who replied, “This is the word of the LORD, which He spoke through His servant Elijah the Tishbite: ‘On the plot of ground at Jezreel the dogs will devour the flesh of Jezebel.
- יָעַץ yâatsadvise, counseltranslated this way 3 times of its 75 uses · Strong’s H3289Verb · Translated: counselor 11, counselors 9, advise 6, consulted 5Full study and all 69 verses →
Psalm 83:5 For with one mind they plot together; they form an alliance against You—
Isaiah 7:5 For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted your ruin, saying:
- מַחֲשָׁבָה machăshâbâhthought, devicetranslated this way 3 times of its 52 uses · Strong’s H4284Noun · Translated: thoughts 15, plans 10, artistic 3, schemes 3Full study and all 48 verses →
Lamentations 3:60 You have seen all their malice, all their plots against me.
Daniel 11:25 And with a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South, who will mobilize a very large and powerful army but will not withstand the plots devised against him.
- הָגָה hâgâhmoan, growl, utter, speak, musetranslated this way 2 times of its 24 uses · Strong’s H1897Verb · Translated: moan 4, meditate 2Full study and all 24 verses →
Psalm 2:1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
Psalm 38:12 Those who seek my life lay snares; those who wish me harm speak destruction, plotting deceit all day long.
- זָמַם zâmamconsider, purpose, devisetranslated this way 2 times of its 13 uses · Strong’s H2161Verb · Translated: resolved 3, planned 2Full study and all 13 verses →
Psalm 31:13 For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side. They conspire against me and plot to take my life.
Proverbs 30:32 If you have foolishly exalted yourself or if you have plotted evil, put your hand over your mouth.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἐπιβουλή epiboulḗa plot, design againsttranslated this way 4 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G1917Noun · Translated: plot 3, plots 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Acts 9:24 but Saul learned of their plot. Day and night they watched the city gates in order to kill him.
Acts 20:3 where he stayed three months. And when the Jews formed a plot against him as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia.
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.