Word study
Prince
7 Hebrew and 1 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: princes, prince. 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 “prince” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- שַׂר sarchieftain, chief, ruler, official, captain, princetranslated this way 76 times of its 401 uses · Strong’s H8269Noun · Translated: commanders 74, officials 67, princes 63, commander 39Full study and all 366 verses →
Numbers 21:18 The princes dug the well; the nobles of the people hollowed it out with their scepters and with their staffs.” From the wilderness the Israelites went on to Mattanah,
Judges 5:15 The princes of Issachar were with Deborah, and Issachar was with Barak, rushing into the valley at his heels. In the clans of Reuben there was great indecision.
- נָשִׂיא nâsîone lifted uptranslated this way 37 times of its 126 uses · Strong’s H5387Noun · Translated: leader 44, leaders 29, prince 26, princes 9Full study and all 119 verses →
Genesis 25:16 These were the sons of Ishmael, and these were their names by their villages and encampments — twelve princes of their tribes.
Ezra 1:8 Cyrus king of Persia had them brought out by the hand of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.
- נָדִיב nâdîbinclined, generous, nobletranslated this way 7 times of its 29 uses · Strong’s H5081Adjective · Translated: nobles 9, willing 4, princes 4, prince 3Full study and all 26 verses →
1 Samuel 2:8 He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. He seats them among princes and bestows on them a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s, and upon them He has set the world.
Psalm 113:8 to seat them with nobles, with the princes of His people.
- נָגִיד nâgîdleadertranslated this way 6 times of its 43 uses · Strong’s H5057Noun · Translated: ruler 17, leader 6, prince 5, chief official 3Full study and all 43 verses →
2 Chronicles 11:22 Rehoboam appointed Abijah son of Maacah as chief prince among his brothers, intending to make him king.
Job 31:37 I would give account of all my steps; I would approach Him like a prince.)—
- נְסִיךְ nesîklibationtranslated this way 2 times of its 6 uses · Strong’s H5257Noun · Translated: princes 2, leaders 2, drink offerings 1, metal images 1Full study and all 6 verses →
Joshua 13:21 all the cities of the plateau and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon until Moses killed him and the chiefs of Midian (Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba), the princes of Sihon who lived in the land.
Psalm 83:11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, and all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
- רָזַן râzanbe weighty, judicious, commandingtranslated this way 2 times of its 6 uses · Strong’s H7336Verb · Translated: rulers 3, princes 2, and 1Full study and all 6 verses →
Judges 5:3 Listen, O kings! Give ear, O princes! I will sing to the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD, the God of Israel.
Isaiah 40:23 He brings the princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth meaningless.
- נָזִיר nâzîrone consecrated, devotedtranslated this way 2 times of its 16 uses · Strong’s H5139Noun · Translated: Nazirite 9, prince 2, untended vines 2, dignitaries 1Full study and all 16 verses →
Genesis 49:26 The blessings of your father have surpassed the blessings of the ancient mountains and the bounty of the everlasting hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince of his brothers.
Deuteronomy 33:16 with the choice gifts of the land and everything in it, and with the favor of Him who dwelt in the burning bush. May these rest on the head of Joseph and crown the brow of the prince of his brothers.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἄρχων árchōna ruler, prince, leadertranslated this way 7 times of its 37 uses · Strong’s G758Noun · Translated: rulers 14, prince 7, ruler 6, synagogue leader 2Full study and all 36 verses →
Matthew 9:34 But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that He drives out demons.”
Mark 3:22 And the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and, “By the prince of the demons He drives out demons.”
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.