Word study
Ponder
7 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: ponder, pondered, ponders. 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 “ponder” 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)
- שִׂיחַ sîachmuse, complaintranslated this way 2 times of its 20 uses · Strong’s H7878Verb · Translated: meditate 6, ponder 2, tell 2, speak 2Full study and all 20 verses →
Judges 5:10 You who ride white donkeys, who sit on saddle blankets, and you who travel the road, ponder
Psalm 77:12 I will reflect on all You have done and ponder Your mighty deeds.
- שָׂכַל sâkalbe prudenttranslated this way 2 times of its 61 uses · Strong’s H7919Verb · Translated: wise 11, prosper 5, understand 5, prospered 3Full study and all 61 verses →
Psalm 64:9 Then all mankind will fear and proclaim the work of God; so they will ponder what He has done.
Psalm 101:2 I will ponder the way that is blameless — when will You come to me? I will walk in my house with integrity of heart.
- בִּין bîndiscerntranslated this way 2 times of its 166 uses · Strong’s H995Verb · Translated: understand 27, discerning 16, understanding 12, consider 10Full study and all 160 verses →
Psalm 119:95 The wicked wait to destroy me, but I will ponder Your testimonies.
Isaiah 14:16 Those who see you will stare; they will ponder your fate: “Is this the man who shook the earth and made the kingdoms tremble,
- 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 →
Proverbs 15:28 The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked blurts out evil.
Isaiah 33:18 Your mind will ponder the former terror: “Where is he who tallies? Where is he who weighs? Where is he who counts the towers?”
- חָפַשׂ châphassearchtranslated this way 1 time of its 23 uses · Strong’s H2664Verb · Translated: search 4, disguised 4, disguise 2Full study and all 20 verses →
Psalm 77:6 At night I remembered my song; in my heart I mused, and my spirit pondered:
- דָּרַשׁ dârashresort to, seektranslated this way 1 time of its 160 uses · Strong’s H1875Verb · Translated: seek 47, inquire 29, sought 14, search 6Full study and all 151 verses →
Psalm 111:2 Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them.
- אָזַן âzanweigh, test, provetranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s H239Verb · Translated: pondered 1Full study and its 1 verse →
Ecclesiastes 12:9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also taught the people knowledge; he pondered, searched out, and arranged many proverbs.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἐνθυμέομαι enthyméomaiI meditate upon, reflect upontranslated this way 1 time of its 3 uses · Strong’s G1760Verb · Translated: pondered 1, harbor 1, continued to reflect 1Full study and all 3 verses →
Matthew 1:20 But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
- συμβάλλω symbállōI ponder, encounter, confer or dispute withtranslated this way 1 time of its 5 uses · Strong’s G4820Verb · Translated: pondered 1, conferred 1, began to debate 1, help 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Luke 2:19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
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.