Word study
Seek
10 Hebrew and 4 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: seek, sought, seeking, seeks. 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 “seek” 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)
- בָּקַשׁ bâqashseektranslated this way 126 times of its 222 uses · Strong’s H1245Verb · Translated: seek 78, sought 21, seeking 13, search 13Full study and all 212 verses →
Exodus 2:15 When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, where he sat down beside a well.
Leviticus 19:31 You must not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out, or you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.
- דָּרַשׁ dârashresort to, seektranslated this way 71 times of its 160 uses · Strong’s H1875Verb · Translated: seek 47, inquire 29, sought 14, search 6Full study and all 151 verses →
Deuteronomy 4:29 But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
1 Chronicles 16:11 Seek out the LORD and His strength; seek His face always.
- חָלָה châlâhbe weak, sicktranslated this way 9 times of its 75 uses · Strong’s H2470Verb · Translated: ill 8, sick 8, grievous 5, sought 4Full study and all 73 verses →
Exodus 32:11 But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God, saying, “O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people, whom You brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand?
1 Samuel 13:12 I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will descend upon me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the LORD.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
- שָׁחַר shâcharlook early, diligently fortranslated this way 7 times of its 12 uses · Strong’s H7836Verb · Translated: earnestly seek 2Full study and all 12 verses →
Job 7:21 Why do You not pardon my transgression and take away my iniquity? For soon I will lie down in the dust; You will seek me, but I will be no more.”
Psalm 63:1 A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah. O God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You. My body yearns for You in a dry and weary land without water.
- שָׁאַל shâalask, inquiretranslated this way 4 times of its 165 uses · Strong’s H7592Verb · Translated: ask 31, asked 28, inquired 16, requested 7Full study and all 156 verses →
Numbers 27:21 He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who will seek counsel for him before the LORD by the judgment of the Urim. At his command, he and all the Israelites with him— the entire congregation— will go out and come in.”
Joshua 9:14 Then the men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not seek the counsel of the LORD.
- תּוּר tûrseek out, spy out, exploretranslated this way 3 times of its 21 uses · Strong’s H8446Verb · Translated: spy 5, spied 4, seek 2, explore 2Full study and all 21 verses →
Numbers 10:33 So they set out on a three-day journey from the mountain of the LORD, with the ark of the covenant of the LORD traveling ahead of them for those three days to seek a resting place for them.
Deuteronomy 1:33 who went before you on the journey, in the fire by night and in the cloud by day, to seek out a place for you to camp and to show you the road to travel.
- בָּקַר bâqarinquire, seektranslated this way 3 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s H1239Verb · Translated: look 2, seek 2, inspect 1, seek guidance 1Full study and all 7 verses →
2 Kings 16:15 Then King Ahaz commanded Uriah the priest, “Offer on the great altar the morning burnt offering, the evening grain offering, and the king’s burnt offering and grain offering, as well as the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings of all the people of the land. Splatter on the altar all the blood of the burnt offerings and sacrifices. But I will use the bronze altar to seek guidance.”
Psalm 27:4 One thing I have asked of the LORD; this is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and seek Him in His temple.
- חָסָה châsâhseek refugetranslated this way 3 times of its 37 uses · Strong’s H2620Verb · Translated: take refuge 21, find refuge 3, refuge 2, seek refuge 2Full study and all 36 verses →
Psalm 17:7 Show the wonders of Your loving devotion, You who save by Your right hand those who seek refuge from their foes.
Isaiah 57:13 When you cry out, let your companies of idols deliver you! Yet the wind will carry off all of them, a breath will take them away. But he who seeks refuge in Me will inherit the land and possess My holy mountain.”
- הָלַךְ hâlakgo, come, walktranslated this way 2 times of its 1,461 uses · Strong’s H1980Verb · Translated: go 338, went 173, walk 116, Come 84Full study and all 1,299 verses →
Numbers 24:1 And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not seek omens as on previous occasions, but he turned his face toward the wilderness.
- עוּז ûztake or seek refugetranslated this way 2 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s H5756Verb · Translated: shelter 1, take refuge 1, seek shelter 1, Seek refuge 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Isaiah 30:2 They set out to go down to Egypt without asking My advice, to seek shelter under Pharaoh’s protection and take refuge in Egypt’s shade.
Jeremiah 4:6 Raise a signal flag toward Zion. Seek refuge! Do not delay! For I am bringing disaster from the north, and terrible destruction.
Greek words (New Testament)
- ζητέω zētéōI seek, search for, desiretranslated this way 40 times of its 117 uses · Strong’s G2212Verb · Translated: seek 17, seeking 14, looking 11, trying 9Full study and all 114 verses →
Matthew 2:20 “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those seeking the Child’s life are now dead.”
Mark 12:12 At this, the leaders sought to arrest Jesus, for they knew that He had spoken this parable against them. But fearing the crowd, they left Him and went away.
- ἐκζητέω ekzētéōI seek out, requiretranslated this way 4 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s G1567Verb · Translated: charged 2, seek 1, seeks 1, earnestly seek 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Acts 15:17 so that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the Lord who does these things
Romans 3:11 There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.
- ἐπιζητέω epizētéōI seek after, desire, search fortranslated this way 4 times of its 13 uses · Strong’s G1934Verb · Translated: seeking 4, looking 3, strive 2, demands 2Full study and all 12 verses →
Acts 19:39 But if you are seeking anything beyond this, it must be settled in a legal assembly.
Romans 11:7 What then? What Israel was seeking, it failed to obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened,
- μέλω mélōit is a care, it concernstranslated this way 2 times of its 10 uses · Strong’s G3199Verb · Translated: seek favor 2, concern 2Full study and all 10 verses →
Matthew 22:16 They sent their disciples to Him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and that You teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You seek favor from no one, because You pay no attention to external appearance.
Mark 12:14 “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are honest and seek favor from no one. Indeed, You are impartial and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or not?”
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.