Word study
Safe
10 Hebrew and 1 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “safe”. 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 “safe” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- שָׁלוֹם shâlômcompleteness, soundness, welfare, peacetranslated this way 3 times of its 223 uses · Strong’s H7965Noun · Translated: peace 135, safely 10, prosperity 8, well 5Full study and all 200 verses →
1 Samuel 20:7 If he says, ‘Good,’ then your servant is safe, but if he is enraged, you will know he has evil intentions.
Job 21:9 Their homes are safe from fear; no rod of punishment from God is upon them.
- מִשְׁמֶרֶת mishmerethguard, watchtranslated this way 1 time of its 73 uses · Strong’s H4931Noun · Translated: charge 20, duties 18, responsible 3, service 3Full study and all 66 verses →
1 Samuel 22:23 Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks your life is seeking mine as well. You will be safe with me.”
- יָשָׁר yâshârstraight, righttranslated this way 1 time of its 119 uses · Strong’s H3477Adjective · Translated: upright 54, right 41, seems right 4, Jashar 2Full study and all 119 verses →
Ezra 8:21 And there by the Ahava Canal I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions.
- עָבַר âbarpass over, through, by, pass ontranslated this way 1 time of its 542 uses · Strong’s H5674Verb · Translated: pass 62, crossed 57, cross 52, passed 35Full study and all 487 verses →
Nehemiah 2:7 I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may letters be given to me for the governors west of the Euphrates, so that they will grant me safe passage until I reach Judah.
- שָׁלָה shâlâhbe quiet, at easetranslated this way 1 time of its 5 uses · Strong’s H7951Verb · Translated: ease 2, safe 1, prosper 1, live at ease 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Job 12:6 The tents of robbers are safe, and those who provoke God are secure — those who carry their god in their hands.
- נָצַר nâtsarwatch, guard, keeptranslated this way 1 time of its 59 uses · Strong’s H5341Verb · Translated: keep 10, guard 9, obey 7, preserve 5Full study and all 58 verses →
Psalm 140:4 Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked. Keep me safe from men of violence who scheme to make me stumble.
- שָׂגַב sâgabbetranslated this way 1 time of its 20 uses · Strong’s H7682Verb · Translated: exalted 6, protect 4, high 2, lofty 2Full study and all 20 verses →
Proverbs 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
- יָשַׁע yâshadelivertranslated this way 1 time of its 203 uses · Strong’s H3467Verb · Translated: save 98, saved 40, saves 13, Savior 12Full study and all 198 verses →
Proverbs 28:18 He who walks with integrity will be kept safe, but whoever is perverse in his ways will suddenly fall.
- מָלַט mâlaṭslip awaytranslated this way 1 time of its 93 uses · Strong’s H4422Verb · Translated: escaped 22, escape 20, deliver 6, delivered 5Full study and all 85 verses →
Proverbs 28:26 He who trusts in himself is a fool, but one who walks in wisdom will be safe.
- מִבְטָח mibṭâchconfidencetranslated this way 1 time of its 15 uses · Strong’s H4009Noun · Translated: trust 4, confidence 4, security 2Full study and all 15 verses →
Isaiah 32:18 Then my people will dwell in a peaceful place, in safe and secure places of rest.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ὑγιαίνω hygiaínōI am welltranslated this way 1 time of its 12 uses · Strong’s G5198Verb · Translated: sound 8, healthy 1, good health 1, safe and sound 1Full study and all 12 verses →
Luke 15:27 ‘Your brother has returned,’ he said, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has him back safe and sound.’
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.