Word study
Radiant
3 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “radiant”. 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 “radiant” 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)
- קָרַן qâransend out raystranslated this way 3 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s H7160Verb · Translated: radiant 2, become radiant 1, horns 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Exodus 34:29 And when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was unaware that his face had become radiant from speaking with the LORD.
Exodus 34:30 Aaron and all the Israelites looked at Moses, and behold, his face was radiant. And they were afraid to approach him.
- נָהַר nâharflow, streamtranslated this way 3 times of its 6 uses · Strong’s H5102Verb · Translated: stream 3, radiant 2, radiant with joy 1Full study and all 6 verses →
Psalm 34:5 Those who look to Him are radiant with joy; their faces shall never be ashamed.
Isaiah 60:5 Then you will look and be radiant, and your heart will tremble and swell with joy, because the riches of the sea will be brought to you, and the wealth of the nations will come to you.
- בַּר barcorntranslated this way 1 time of its 7 uses · Strong’s H1249Adjective · Translated: pure 3, radiant 1, empty 1, favorite 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Psalm 19:8 The precepts of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart; the commandments of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.
Greek words (New Testament)
- φωτεινός phōteinósbright, luminous, full of lighttranslated this way 1 time of its 5 uses · Strong’s G5460Adjective · Translated: full of light 2, bright 1, light 1, radiant 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Luke 11:36 So if your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, you will be radiant, as though a lamp were shining on you.”
- ἀστράπτω astráptōI flash, am lustroustranslated this way 1 time of its 2 uses · Strong’s G797Verb · Translated: flashes 1, radiant 1Full study and all 2 verses →
Luke 24:4 While they were puzzling over this, suddenly two men in radiant apparel stood beside them.
- λαμπρός lamprósshining, magnificent, brighttranslated this way 1 time of its 9 uses · Strong’s G2986Adjective · Translated: fine 3, bright 3, radiant 1, splendor 1Full study and all 9 verses →
Acts 10:30 Cornelius answered: “Four days ago I was in my house praying at this, the ninth hour. Suddenly a man in radiant clothing stood before 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.