Word study
Request
8 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: request, requested, requests, requesting. 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 “request” 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)
- שָׁאַל shâalask, inquiretranslated this way 20 times of its 165 uses · Strong’s H7592Verb · Translated: ask 31, asked 28, inquired 16, requested 7Full study and all 156 verses →
Genesis 32:29 And Jacob requested, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there.
Exodus 12:36 And the LORD gave the people such favor in the sight of the Egyptians that they granted their request. In this way they plundered the Egyptians.
- דָּבָר dâbârspeech, wordtranslated this way 11 times of its 1,244 uses · Strong’s H1697Noun · Translated: word 342, words 299, acts 51, Chronicles 42Full study and all 1,120 verses →
Genesis 34:19 The young man, who was the most respected of all his father’s household, did not hesitate to fulfill this request, because he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter.
Exodus 8:13 And the LORD did as Moses requested, and the frogs in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields died.
- בַּקָּשָׁה baqqâshâhrequest, entreatytranslated this way 8 times of its 8 uses · Strong’s H1246Noun · Translated: request 7, requests 1Full study and all 8 verses →
Ezra 7:6 this Ezra came up from Babylon. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses, which the LORD, the God of Israel, had given. The king had granted Ezra all his requests, for the hand of the LORD his God was upon him.
Esther 5:3 “What is it, Queen Esther?” the king inquired. “What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given to you.”
- שְׁאֵלָה sheêlâhrequest, thing asked fortranslated this way 4 times of its 12 uses · Strong’s H7596Noun · Translated: petition 7, request 4, the one 1Full study and all 12 verses →
1 Kings 2:16 So now I have just one request of you; do not deny me.” “State your request,” she told him.
Job 6:8 If only my request were granted and God would fulfill my hope:
- נָשָׂא nâsâlift, take, carrytranslated this way 2 times of its 642 uses · Strong’s H5375Verb · Translated: bear 49, lift 45, lifted 41, carried 38Full study and all 601 verses →
Genesis 19:21 “Very well,” he answered, “I will grant this request as well, and will not demolish the town you indicate.
- 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 →
- בָּקַשׁ bâqashseektranslated this way 2 times of its 222 uses · Strong’s H1245Verb · Translated: seek 78, sought 21, seeking 13, search 13Full study and all 212 verses →
Exodus 10:11 No, only the men may go and worship the LORD, since that is what you have been requesting.” And Moses and Aaron were driven from Pharaoh’s presence.
Nehemiah 2:4 “What is your request?” replied the king. So I prayed to the God of heaven
- בְּעָא beâask, seektranslated this way 2 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s H1156Verb · Translated: asked 2, petitions 2Full study and all 11 verses →
Daniel 2:23 To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, because You have given me wisdom and power. And now You have made known to me what we have requested, for You have made known to us the dream of the king.”
Daniel 2:49 And at Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.
Greek words (New Testament)
- αἰτέω aitéōI ask, request, beg, petitiontranslated this way 6 times of its 70 uses · Strong’s G154Verb · Translated: ask 35, asked 10, asks 9, asking 4Full study and all 67 verses →
Matthew 20:20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and knelt down to make a request of Him.
Mark 6:24 Then she went out and asked her mother, “What should I request?” And her mother answered, “The head of John the Baptist.”
- ἔπω épōto speak or say (by word or writing)translated this way 2 times of its 962 uses · Strong’s G2036Verb · Translated: said 426, asked 95, told 88, replied 69Full study and all 891 verses →
Matthew 8:21 Another of His disciples requested, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
- ἐρωτάω erōtáōI ask, question, requesttranslated this way 2 times of its 63 uses · Strong’s G2065Verb · Translated: ask 20, asked 18, question 3, asking 3Full study and all 61 verses →
John 12:21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and requested of him, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”
Acts 16:39 They came to appease them and led them out, requesting that they leave the city.
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.