Word study

Salvation

4 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word

In brief

The Hebrew yeshuah, yesha and teshuah all come from the verb yasha, to deliver or rescue, the root of the names Joshua and Jesus. In the Old Testament salvation is often rescue from enemies or danger. The Greek sōtēria, from sōzō, "save," has the same range, from physical rescue and healing to deliverance from sin and judgment.

Written and reviewed by our editorial team.

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

  • יְשׁוּעָה yeshûâhsalvationtranslated this way 68 times of its 78 uses · Strong’s H3444Noun  ·  Translated: salvation 67, Savior 2

    Genesis 49:18 I await Your salvation, O LORD.

    Exodus 14:13 But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again.

    Full study and all 77 verses →
  • יֶשַׁע yeshadeliverance, rescue, salvationtranslated this way 30 times of its 36 uses · Strong’s H3468Noun  ·  Translated: salvation 30, safety 3, saving 1, Savior 1

    2 Samuel 22:3 My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation. My stronghold, my refuge, and my Savior, You save me from violence.

    1 Chronicles 16:35 Then cry out: ‘Save us, O God of our salvation; gather and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to Your holy name, that we may glory in Your praise.’

    Full study and all 35 verses →
  • תְּשׁוּעָה teshûâhdeliverance, salvationtranslated this way 16 times of its 34 uses · Strong’s H8668Noun  ·  Translated: salvation 16, victory 10, deliverance 3, help 2

    1 Samuel 11:13 But Saul ordered, “No one shall be put to death this day, for today the LORD has worked salvation in Israel.”

    2 Chronicles 6:41 Now therefore, arise, O LORD God, and enter Your resting place, You and the ark of Your might. May Your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and may Your godly ones rejoice in goodness.

    Full study and all 32 verses →
  • יָשַׁע yâshadelivertranslated this way 2 times of its 203 uses · Strong’s H3467Verb  ·  Translated: save 98, saved 40, saves 13, Savior 12

    Isaiah 59:16 He saw that there was no man; He was amazed that there was no one to intercede. So His own arm brought salvation, and His own righteousness sustained Him.

    Isaiah 63:5 I looked, but there was no one to help; I was appalled that no one assisted. So My arm brought Me salvation, and My own wrath upheld Me.

    Full study and all 198 verses →

Greek words (New Testament)

  • σωτηρία sōtēríadeliverance, salvationtranslated this way 39 times of its 45 uses · Strong’s G4991Noun  ·  Translated: salvation 39, saved 2, deliver 1, preservation 1

    Luke 1:69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David,

    John 4:22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.

    Full study and all 44 verses →
  • σωτήριον sōtḗrionsaving, bringing salvation, salvationtranslated this way 5 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s G4992Adjective  ·  Translated: salvation 4, bringing salvation 1

    Luke 2:30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation,

    Acts 28:28 Be advised, therefore, that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”

    Full study and all 5 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 salvation: 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.