Word study
Rule
11 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: rule, ruled, rules, ruling. 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 “rule” 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)
- מָשַׁל mâshalrule, have dominion, reigntranslated this way 42 times of its 79 uses · Strong’s H4910Verb · Translated: rule 27, ruler 16, ruled 6, rules 6Full study and all 74 verses →
Genesis 3:16 To the woman He said: “I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth; in pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
Deuteronomy 15:6 When the LORD your God blesses you as He has promised, you will lend to many nations but borrow from none; you will rule over many nations but be ruled by none.
- רָדָה râdâhhave dominion, rule, dominatetranslated this way 14 times of its 26 uses · Strong’s H7287Verb · Translated: rule 12, dominion 2, supervisors 2Full study and all 25 verses →
Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.”
Leviticus 25:43 You are not to rule over them harshly, but you shall fear your God.
- מָלַךְ mâlakbe or become king, or queen, reigntranslated this way 8 times of its 340 uses · Strong’s H4427Verb · Translated: reigned 132, became king 68, reign 36, king 32Full study and all 283 verses →
1 Samuel 12:12 But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we must have a king to rule over us’— even though the LORD your God was your king.
2 Samuel 3:21 Then Abner said to David, “Let me go at once, and I will gather all Israel to my lord the king, that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may rule over all that your heart desires.” So David dismissed Abner, and he went in peace.
- שַׁלִּיט shallîṭhaving mastery, rulingtranslated this way 5 times of its 9 uses · Strong’s H7990Adjective · Translated: rules 5, exercised authority 1, authority 1, powerful 1Full study and all 9 verses →
Daniel 4:17 This decision is the decree of the watchers, the verdict declared by the holy ones, so that the living will know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes, setting over it the lowliest of men.’
Daniel 4:25 You will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will feed on grass like an ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes.
- מֶמְשָׁלָה memshâlâhrule, dominion, realmtranslated this way 4 times of its 17 uses · Strong’s H4475Noun · Translated: dominion 8, rule 4, authority 2, forces 1Full study and all 16 verses →
Genesis 1:16 God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. And He made the stars as well.
Psalm 136:8 the sun to rule the day, His loving devotion endures forever.
- מֶלֶךְ melekkingtranslated this way 3 times of its 2,416 uses · Strong’s H4428Noun · Translated: king 1,810, kings 267, king's 134, royal 58Full study and all 1,901 verses →
Judges 11:19 And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and said to him, ‘Please let us pass through your land into our own place.’
- מִשְׁפָּט mishpâṭjudgmenttranslated this way 2 times of its 406 uses · Strong’s H4941Noun · Translated: justice 111, ordinances 73, judgments 40, judgment 40Full study and all 394 verses →
Exodus 21:31 If the ox gores a son or a daughter, it shall be done to him according to the same rule.
Judges 13:12 Then Manoah asked, “When your words come to pass, what will be the boy’s rule of life and mission?”
- שָׂרַר sârarbe, or act as, prince, ruletranslated this way 2 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s H8323Verb · Translated: rule 2, appoint yourself as ruler 1, master 1, deliver 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Proverbs 8:16 By me princes rule, and all nobles who govern justly.
Isaiah 32:1 Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice.
- שָׁפַט shâphaṭjudge, governtranslated this way 2 times of its 199 uses · Strong’s H8199Verb · Translated: judge 81, judges 35, judged 15, vindicate 7Full study and all 181 verses →
Ruth 1:1 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. And a certain man from Bethlehem in Judah, with his wife and two sons, went to reside in the land of Moab.
Obadiah 1:21 The deliverers will ascend Mount Zion to rule over the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will belong to the LORD.
- בָּעַל bâalmarry, rule overtranslated this way 2 times of its 15 uses · Strong’s H1166Verb · Translated: husband 4, marries 3, ruled 2Full study and all 13 verses →
1 Chronicles 4:22 Jokim, the men of Cozeba, and Joash and Saraph, who ruled in Moab and Jashubi-lehem. (These names are from ancient records.)
Isaiah 26:13 O LORD our God, other lords besides You have ruled over us, but Your name alone do we confess.
- יָשַׁב yâshabsit, remain, dwelltranslated this way 2 times of its 1,049 uses · Strong’s H3427Verb · Translated: lived 103, dwell 89, live 84, sit 70Full study and all 960 verses →
Greek words (New Testament)
- ποιμαίνω poimaínōI shepherd, tendtranslated this way 3 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s G4165Verb · Translated: rule 3, shepherd 3, shepherding 2, shepherds 2Full study and all 11 verses →
Revelation 2:27 He will rule them with an iron scepter and shatter them like pottery — just as I have received authority from My Father.
Revelation 12:5 And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was caught up to God and to His throne.
- βασιλεύω basileúōI rule, reign, reign overtranslated this way 2 times of its 21 uses · Strong’s G936Verb · Translated: reign 8, reigned 4, rule 2Full study and all 18 verses →
Luke 19:14 But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’
Luke 19:27 And these enemies of mine who were unwilling for me to rule over them, bring them here and slay them in front of me.’”
- ἀρχή archḗruler, beginningtranslated this way 2 times of its 55 uses · Strong’s G746Noun · Translated: beginning 31, rulers 5, first 3, rule 2Full study and all 55 verses →
Luke 20:20 So they watched Him closely and sent spies who pretended to be sincere. They were hoping to catch Him in His words in order to hand Him over to the rule and authority of the governor.
Ephesians 1:21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
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.