Word study
Profess
3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: profess, professed. 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 “profess” or one of its forms.
Compare the Greek words side by side
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἐπαγγέλλω epangéllōI promise, professtranslated this way 2 times of its 15 uses · Strong’s G1861Verb · Translated: promised 9Full study and all 15 verses →
1 Timothy 2:10 but with good deeds, as is proper for women who profess to worship God.
1 Timothy 6:21 which some have professed and thus swerved away from the faith. Grace be with you all.
- ὁμολογία homologíaa profession, confessiontranslated this way 2 times of its 6 uses · Strong’s G3671Noun · Translated: confession 3, profess 2, confess 1Full study and all 6 verses →
Hebrews 4:14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess.
Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.
- ὁμολογέω homologéōI confess, profess, acknowledge, praisetranslated this way 1 time of its 24 uses · Strong’s G3670Verb · Translated: confess 11, confesses 5Full study and all 21 verses →
Titus 1:16 They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.
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. Short definition: Dodson Greek Lexicon (2010, public domain). Full entry: G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922, public domain). Strong’s Greek Dictionary (1890) in the edition by Ulrik Sandborg-Petersen (CC0). 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.