Word study
Ridicule
6 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: ridicule, ridiculed. 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 “ridicule” 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)
- שְׁנִינָה shenînâhsharp (cutting) word, taunttranslated this way 4 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s H8148Noun · Translated: ridicule 4Full study and all 4 verses →
Deuteronomy 28:37 You will become an object of horror, scorn, and ridicule among all the nations to which the LORD will drive you.
1 Kings 9:7 then I will cut off Israel from the land that I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. Then Israel will become an object of scorn and ridicule among all peoples.
- שְׂחוֹק sechôqlaughter, derision, sporttranslated this way 2 times of its 15 uses · Strong’s H7814Noun · Translated: laughter 7, laughingstock 5, object of ridicule 2, delights 1Full study and all 14 verses →
Jeremiah 48:27 Was not Israel your object of ridicule? Was he ever found among thieves? For whenever you speak of him you shake your head.
Jeremiah 48:39 “How shattered it is! How they wail! How Moab has turned his back in shame! Moab has become an object of ridicule and horror to all those around him.”
- הָלַל hâlalshinetranslated this way 1 time of its 165 uses · Strong’s H1984Verb · Translated: praise 65, Hallelujah 24, praised 14, boast 9Full study and all 140 verses →
Psalm 102:8 All day long my enemies taunt me; they ridicule me and curse me.
- מָאַס mâasrejecttranslated this way 1 time of its 75 uses · Strong’s H3988Verb · Translated: rejected 36, reject 15, despise 5, despises 3Full study and all 69 verses →
Judges 9:38 “Where is your gloating now?” Zebul replied. “You said, ‘Who is Abimelech that we should serve him?’ Are these not the people you ridiculed? Go out now and fight them!”
- לָעַג lâagmock, deridetranslated this way 1 time of its 18 uses · Strong’s H3932Verb · Translated: mocks 6, mock 3, mocked 2, scoff 2Full study and all 18 verses →
Nehemiah 4:1 Now when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he was furious and filled with indignation. He ridiculed the Jews
- לַעַג laagmocking, derisiontranslated this way 1 time of its 7 uses · Strong’s H3933Noun · Translated: derision 2, mockery 2, scorn 2, ridiculed 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Hosea 7:16 They turn, but not to the Most High; they are like a faulty bow. Their leaders will fall by the sword for the cursing of their tongue; for this they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἐμπαίζω empaízōI mocktranslated this way 1 time of its 13 uses · Strong’s G1702Verb · Translated: mocked 9, outwitted 1, mock 1, ridicule 1Full study and all 13 verses →
Luke 14:29 Otherwise, if he lays the foundation and is unable to finish the work, everyone who sees it will ridicule him,
- ὀνειδισμός oneidismósreproach, revilingtranslated this way 1 time of its 5 uses · Strong’s G3680Noun · Translated: disgrace 3, insults 1, ridicule 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Hebrews 10:33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to ridicule and persecution; at other times you were partners with those who were so treated.
- ἐξουθενέω exouthenéōI ignore, despisetranslated this way 1 time of its 11 uses · Strong’s G1848Verb · Translated: belittle 2Full study and all 11 verses →
Luke 23:11 And even Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked Him. Dressing Him in a fine robe, they sent Him back to Pilate.
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.