Word study

Redemption

4 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word

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

  • גְּאֻלָּה geullâhkin (?), redemptiontranslated this way 9 times of its 13 uses · Strong’s H1353Noun  ·  Translated: redemption 6, right of redemption 2, redeemed 2, redeem his land 1

    Leviticus 25:24 Thus for every piece of property you possess, you must provide for the redemption of the land.

    Ruth 4:6 The kinsman-redeemer replied, “I cannot redeem it myself, or I would jeopardize my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption, because I cannot redeem it.”

    Full study and all 12 verses →
  • פָּדוּי pâdûyransomtranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s H6302Noun  ·  Translated: redeem 1, redemption price 1, number redeemed 1, redemption 1

    Numbers 3:48 Give the money to Aaron and his sons as the redemption price for the excess among the Israelites.”

    Numbers 3:51 And Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons in obedience to the word of the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded him.

    Full study and all 4 verses →
  • פִּדְיוֹם pidyômransomtranslated this way 2 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s H6306Noun  ·  Translated: redemption 2, redeem 1

    Numbers 3:49 So Moses collected the redemption money from those in excess of the number redeemed by the Levites.

    Psalm 49:8 For the redemption of his soul is costly, and never can payment suffice,

    Full study and all 3 verses →
  • פְּדוּת pedûthransomtranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s H6304Noun  ·  Translated: redemption 2, distinction 1, redeem 1

    Psalm 111:9 He has sent redemption to His people; He has ordained His covenant forever; holy and awesome is His name.

    Psalm 130:7 O Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is loving devotion, and with Him is redemption in abundance.

    Full study and all 4 verses →

Greek words (New Testament)

  • ἀπολύτρωσις apolýtrōsisredemption, deliverancetranslated this way 8 times of its 10 uses · Strong’s G629Noun  ·  Translated: redemption 8, redeem 1, release 1

    Luke 21:28 When these things begin to happen, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

    Romans 3:24 and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

    Full study and all 10 verses →
  • λύτρωσις lýtrōsisliberation, deliverance, releasetranslated this way 2 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G3085Noun  ·  Translated: redemption 2, redeemed 1

    Luke 2:38 Coming forward at that moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the Child to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.

    Hebrews 9:12 He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption.

    Full study and all 3 verses →
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.

What the Bible says about redemption: passages by topic →

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.