Word study

Quick

5 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word

The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “quick”. 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 “quick” 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)

  • מָהַר mâharhastentranslated this way 1 time of its 66 uses · Strong’s H4116Verb  ·  Translated: quickly 20, hurried 9, Hurry 6, swift 4

    Genesis 18:6 So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Prepare three seahs of fine flour, knead it, and bake some bread.”

    Full study and all 61 verses →
  • לָוָה lâvâhjointranslated this way 1 time of its 26 uses · Strong’s H3867Verb  ·  Translated: join 8, lend 4, borrow 2, joined 2

    Psalm 37:26 They are ever generous and quick to lend, and their children are a blessing.

    Full study and all 22 verses →
  • בָּהַל bâhalalarm, dismaytranslated this way 1 time of its 37 uses · Strong’s H926Verb  ·  Translated: terrified 8, dismayed 7, terror 3, rushed 2

    Ecclesiastes 5:2 Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few.

    Full study and all 37 verses →
  • מַדָּע maddâknowledge, thoughttranslated this way 1 time of its 6 uses · Strong’s H4093Noun  ·  Translated: knowledge 4, thoughts 1, quick 1

    Daniel 1:4 young men without blemish, handsome, gifted in all wisdom, knowledgeable, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace— and to teach them the language and literature of the Chaldeans.

    Full study and all 6 verses →
  • קָדַם qâdamcome or be in front, meettranslated this way 1 time of its 26 uses · Strong’s H6923Verb  ·  Translated: come 5, confronted 4, confront 3, meet 2

    Jonah 4:2 So he prayed to the LORD, saying, “O LORD, is this not what I said while I was still in my own country? This is why I was so quick to flee toward Tarshish. I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion — One who relents from sending disaster.

    Full study and all 25 verses →

Greek words (New Testament)

  • ταχύ tachýquickly, speedilytranslated this way 1 time of its 11 uses · Strong’s G5035Adverb  ·  Translated: soon 4, quickly 3, shortly 2, turn around 1

    Luke 15:22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

    Full study and all 11 verses →
  • ταχέως tachéōssoon, quickly, hastilytranslated this way 1 time of its 9 uses · Strong’s G5030Adverb  ·  Translated: quickly 5, soon 2, shortly 1, quick 1

    1 Timothy 5:22 Do not be too quick in the laying on of hands and thereby share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.

    Full study and all 9 verses →
  • ταχύς tachýsquick, swifttranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s G5036Adjective  ·  Translated: quick 1

    James 1:19 My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,

    Full study and its 1 verse →
How to study a word well
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
  4. 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.
  5. See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
  6. Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
  7. 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.