Word study
Promote
7 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: promoted, promote, promotes, promoting. 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 “promote” 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)
- נָשָׂא nâsâlift, take, carrytranslated this way 1 time of its 642 uses · Strong’s H5375Verb · Translated: bear 49, lift 45, lifted 41, carried 38Full study and all 601 verses →
Esther 5:11 Haman recounted to them his glorious wealth, his many sons, and all the ways the king had honored and promoted him over the other officials and servants.
- רְבָה rebâhgrow greattranslated this way 1 time of its 6 uses · Strong’s H7236Verb · Translated: grew large 2, promoted 1, become great 1, grown 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Daniel 2:48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.
- צְלַח tselachprospertranslated this way 1 time of its 4 uses · Strong’s H6744Verb · Translated: prospered 2, prospering 1, promoted 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Daniel 3:30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
- פּוּק pûqbring out, furnish, promotetranslated this way 1 time of its 7 uses · Strong’s H6329Verb · Translated: obtains 3, promote 1, supplying 1, acquires 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Psalm 140:8 Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; do not promote their evil plans, lest they be exalted. Selah
- רוּם rûmbe high, exalted, risetranslated this way 1 time of its 185 uses · Strong’s H7311Verb · Translated: exalted 23, exalt 18, lift 14, raised 10Full study and all 180 verses →
Proverbs 14:29 A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man promotes folly.
- יָסַף yâsaphaddtranslated this way 1 time of its 202 uses · Strong’s H3254Verb · Translated: again 36, add 23, longer 20, severely 12Full study and all 198 verses →
Proverbs 16:21 The wise in heart are called discerning, and pleasant speech promotes instruction.
- בָּקַשׁ bâqashseektranslated this way 1 time of its 222 uses · Strong’s H1245Verb · Translated: seek 78, sought 21, seeking 13, search 13Full study and all 212 verses →
Proverbs 17:9 Whoever conceals an offense promotes love, but he who brings it up separates friends.
Greek words (New Testament)
- πρός prósto, towards, withtranslated this way 1 time of its 549 uses · Strong’s G4314Preposition · Translated: to 359, with 43, for 32, against 20Full study and all 508 verses →
- παρέχω paréchōI offer, providetranslated this way 1 time of its 15 uses · Strong’s G3930Verb · Translated: bothering 2Full study and all 15 verses →
1 Timothy 1:4 or devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculation rather than the stewardship of God’s work, which is by faith.
- καταγγέλλω katangéllōI declare openly, preachtranslated this way 1 time of its 18 uses · Strong’s G2605Verb · Translated: proclaimed 6, proclaiming 4, proclaim 4, preach 2Full study and all 18 verses →
Acts 16:21 by promoting customs that are unlawful for us Romans to adopt or practice.”
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.