Word study
Quickly
7 Hebrew and 5 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “quickly”. 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 “quickly” 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 21 times of its 66 uses · Strong’s H4116Verb · Translated: quickly 20, hurried 9, Hurry 6, swift 4Full study and all 61 verses →
Genesis 24:18 “Drink, my lord,” she replied, and she quickly lowered her jar to her hands and gave him a drink.
Exodus 10:16 Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you.
- מְהֵרָה mehêrâhhaste, speedtranslated this way 11 times of its 19 uses · Strong’s H4120Adverb · Translated: quickly 10, speedily 3, once 2Full study and all 19 verses →
Numbers 16:46 Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense. Go quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, because wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has begun.”
Joshua 8:19 and as soon as he did so, the men in ambush rose quickly from their position. They rushed forward, entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire.
- מַהֵר mahêrhurrying, in a hurrytranslated this way 10 times of its 17 uses · Strong’s H4118Adverb · Translated: quickly 10, swiftly 2, once 2, immediately 1Full study and all 16 verses →
Exodus 32:8 How quickly they have turned aside from the way that I commanded them! They have made for themselves a molten calf and have bowed down to it. They have sacrificed to it and said, ‘These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’”
Deuteronomy 4:26 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live long upon it, but will be utterly destroyed.
- חוּשׁ chûshhaste, make hastetranslated this way 5 times of its 18 uses · Strong’s H2363Verb · Translated: hurry 4, come quickly 3Full study and all 18 verses →
Deuteronomy 32:35 Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”
Psalm 22:19 But You, O LORD, be not far off; O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
- רוּץ rûtsruntranslated this way 3 times of its 103 uses · Strong’s H7323Verb · Translated: ran 22, run 21, guards 11, couriers 6Full study and all 92 verses →
Genesis 41:14 So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, who was quickly brought out of the dungeon. After he had shaved and changed his clothes, he went in before Pharaoh.
2 Kings 4:22 And the woman called her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may go quickly to the man of God and return.”
- בָּהַל bâhalalarm, dismaytranslated this way 2 times of its 37 uses · Strong’s H926Verb · Translated: terrified 8, dismayed 7, terror 3, rushed 2Full study and all 37 verses →
Esther 2:9 And the young woman pleased him and obtained his favor, so he quickly provided her with beauty treatments and the special diet. He assigned to her seven select maidservants from the palace and transferred her with them to the best place in the harem.
Ecclesiastes 7:9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger settles in the lap of a fool.
- מְאֹד meôdmuchness, force, abundance, exceedinglytranslated this way 2 times of its 195 uses · Strong’s H3966Adverb · Translated: greatly 28, very 12, was very 8, exceedingly 8Full study and all 186 verses →
Jeremiah 49:30 Run! Escape quickly! Lie low, O residents of Hazor,” declares the LORD, “for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has drawn up a plan against you; he has devised a strategy against you.
Zephaniah 1:14 The great Day of the LORD is near — near and coming quickly. Listen, the Day of the LORD! Then the cry of the mighty will be bitter.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ταχέως tachéōssoon, quickly, hastilytranslated this way 5 times of its 9 uses · Strong’s G5030Adverb · Translated: quickly 5, soon 2, shortly 1, quick 1Full study and all 9 verses →
Luke 14:21 The servant returned and reported all this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’
John 11:31 When the Jews who were in the house consoling Mary saw how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
- εὐθέως euthéōsimmediately, soontranslated this way 4 times of its 73 uses · Strong’s G2112Adverb · Translated: immediately 27, once 21, soon 9, quickly 4Full study and all 72 verses →
Matthew 13:5 Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow.
Mark 1:28 And the news about Jesus spread quickly through the whole region of Galilee.
- ταχύ tachýquickly, speedilytranslated this way 3 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s G5035Adverb · Translated: soon 4, quickly 3, shortly 2, turn around 1Full study and all 11 verses →
Matthew 5:25 Reconcile quickly with your adversary, while you are still on the way to court. Otherwise, he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.
John 11:29 And when Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Him.
- σκανδαλίζω skandalízōI cause to stumbletranslated this way 2 times of its 29 uses · Strong’s G4624Verb · Translated: fall away 8, causes you to sin 7, causes 3, took offense 2Full study and all 27 verses →
Matthew 13:21 But since he has no root, he remains for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.
Mark 4:17 But they themselves have no root, and they remain for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
- τάχος táchosquickness, speedtranslated this way 2 times of its 6 uses · Strong’s G5034Noun · Translated: soon 4, quickly 2Full study and all 6 verses →
Acts 12:7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his wrists.
Acts 22:18 and saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem quickly, because the people here will not accept your testimony about Me.’
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.