Word study
Poor
8 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “poor”. 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 “poor” 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)
- דַּל dallow, weak, poor, thintranslated this way 40 times of its 47 uses · Strong’s H1800Adjective · Translated: poor 37, poor man 3, weak 2Full study and all 46 verses →
Exodus 23:3 And do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.
Leviticus 14:21 If, however, the person is poor and cannot afford these offerings, he is to take one male lamb as a guilt offering to be waved to make atonement for him, along with a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with olive oil for a grain offering, a log of olive oil,
- עָנִי ânîpoor, afflicted, humble, meektranslated this way 35 times of its 76 uses · Strong’s H6041Adjective · Translated: poor 33, afflicted 22, oppressed 7, humble 4Full study and all 74 verses →
Exodus 22:25 If you lend money to one of My people among you who is poor, you must not act as a creditor to him; you are not to charge him interest.
Leviticus 19:10 You must not strip your vineyard bare or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God.
- רוּשׁ rûshbe in want, poortranslated this way 21 times of its 24 uses · Strong’s H7326Verb · Translated: poor 15, poor man 5, go lacking 1, oppressed 1Full study and all 24 verses →
1 Samuel 18:23 But when Saul’s servants relayed these words to David, he replied, “Does it seem trivial in your sight to be the son-in-law of the king? I am a poor man and lightly esteemed.”
2 Samuel 12:1 Then the LORD sent Nathan to David, and when he arrived, he said, “There were two men in a certain city, one rich and the other poor.
- אֶבְיוֹן ebyônin want, needy, poortranslated this way 14 times of its 61 uses · Strong’s H34Adjective · Translated: needy 45, poor 13, poor man 1, needy man 1Full study and all 58 verses →
Exodus 23:6 You shall not deny justice to the poor in their lawsuits.
Deuteronomy 15:4 There will be no poor among you, however, because the LORD will surely bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance,
- עָנָו ânâvpoor, afflicted, humble, meektranslated this way 5 times of its 20 uses · Strong’s H6035Adjective · Translated: humble 7, poor 5, oppressed 2, lowly 2Full study and all 19 verses →
Job 24:4 They push the needy off the road and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
Psalm 22:26 The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the LORD will praise Him. May your hearts live forever!
- מִסְכֵּן miskênpoortranslated this way 4 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s H4542Adjective · Translated: poor 4Full study and all 3 verses →
Ecclesiastes 4:13 Better is a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take a warning.
Ecclesiastes 9:15 Now a poor wise man was found in the city, and he saved the city by his wisdom. Yet no one remembered that poor man.
- מַחְסוֹר machsôrneed, thing needed, povertytranslated this way 2 times of its 13 uses · Strong’s H4270Noun · Translated: need 4, poverty 3, lack 2, become poor 2Full study and all 13 verses →
Proverbs 11:24 One gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor.
Proverbs 21:17 He who loves pleasure will become poor; the one who loves wine and oil will never be rich.
- יָרַשׁ yârashtake possession of, inherit, dispossesstranslated this way 2 times of its 230 uses · Strong’s H3423Verb · Translated: possess 72, drive 27, take possession 21, driven 12Full study and all 204 verses →
Proverbs 20:13 Do not love sleep, or you will grow poor; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of food.
Proverbs 30:9 Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.
Greek words (New Testament)
- πτωχός ptōchóspoor, destitutetranslated this way 27 times of its 34 uses · Strong’s G4434Adjective · Translated: poor 27, to 4, beggar 2, worthless 1Full study and all 34 verses →
Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mark 10:21 Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said to him, “There is one thing you lack: Go, sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
- ἐλεημοσύνη eleēmosýnēalms-giving, charitytranslated this way 3 times of its 8 uses · Strong’s G1654Noun · Translated: alms 2, gifts to the poor 2, giving 1, poor 1Full study and all 8 verses →
Luke 12:33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
Acts 10:4 Cornelius stared at him in fear and asked, “What is it, Lord?” The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have ascended as a memorial offering before God.
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.
What the Bible says about poor: passages by topic →
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.