Word study
Prophet
5 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: prophet, prophets. 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 “prophet” 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)
- נָבִיא nâbîspokesman, speaker, prophettranslated this way 306 times of its 311 uses · Strong’s H5030Noun · Translated: prophet 157, prophets 145, old prophet 2, prophesy 2Full study and all 286 verses →
Genesis 20:7 Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet; he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, be aware that you will surely die — you and all who belong to you.”
Exodus 7:1 The LORD answered Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.
- נְבִיא nebîprophettranslated this way 3 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s H5029Noun · Translated: prophets 2, Later 1, prophet 1Full study and all 3 verses →
Ezra 5:1 Later, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah son of Iddo prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them.
Ezra 5:2 Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak rose up and began to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. And the prophets of God were with them, helping them.
- אָמַר âmarutter, saytranslated this way 2 times of its 4,555 uses · Strong’s H559Verb · Translated: said 1,531, says 576, say 352, replied 341Full study and all 3,827 verses →
- נָבָא nâbâprophesytranslated this way 2 times of its 114 uses · Strong’s H5012Verb · Translated: prophesy 50, prophesied 25, prophesying 22, prophesies 9Full study and all 101 verses →
Jeremiah 29:26 ‘The LORD has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada, to be the chief officer in the house of the LORD, responsible for any madman who acts like a prophet — you must put him in stocks and neck irons.
Jeremiah 29:27 So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you?
- בַּד badbrag, lie, liartranslated this way 2 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s H907Noun · Translated: boasting 2, false prophets 2, babbling 1, limbs 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Isaiah 44:25 who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who confounds the wise and turns their knowledge into nonsense,
Jeremiah 50:36 A sword is against her false prophets, and they will become fools. A sword is against her warriors, and they will be filled with terror.
Greek words (New Testament)
- προφήτης prophḗtēsa prophet, poettranslated this way 143 times of its 143 uses · Strong’s G4396Noun · Translated: prophets 79, prophet 62, prophet's 2Full study and all 137 verses →
Matthew 1:22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
Mark 1:2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: “Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You, who will prepare Your way.”
- ψευδοπροφήτης pseudoprophḗtēsa false prophettranslated this way 11 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s G5578Noun · Translated: false prophets 7, false prophet 4Full study and all 11 verses →
Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
Mark 13:22 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.
- προφητικός prophētikósprophetictranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s G4397Adjective · Translated: prophets 2Full study and all 2 verses →
Romans 16:26 but now revealed and made known through the writings of the prophets by the command of the eternal God, in order to lead all nations to the obedience that comes from faith —
2 Peter 1:19 We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
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.