Word study
Shaken
6 Hebrew and 1 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “shaken”. 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 “shaken” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- מוֹט môṭtotter, shake, sliptranslated this way 12 times of its 36 uses · Strong’s H4131Verb · Translated: shaken 11, moved 7, fall 2, toppled 2Full study and all 35 verses →
Psalm 15:5 who lends his money without interest and refuses a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.
Proverbs 10:30 The righteous will never be shaken, but the wicked will not inhabit the land.
- רָעַשׁ râashquake, shaketranslated this way 3 times of its 30 uses · Strong’s H7493Verb · Translated: quake 6, shake 6, tremble 4, quaked 3Full study and all 30 verses →
Psalm 60:2 You have shaken the land and torn it open. Heal its fractures, for it is quaking.
Isaiah 13:13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken from its place at the wrath of the LORD of Hosts on the day of His burning anger.
- רָגַז râgazbe agitated, quiver, quake, be excited, perturbedtranslated this way 2 times of its 41 uses · Strong’s H7264Verb · Translated: tremble 10, trembled 5, disturbed 3, shaken 2Full study and all 40 verses →
2 Samuel 18:33 The king was shaken and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he walked, he cried out, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
Psalm 77:16 The waters saw You, O God; the waters saw You and swirled; even the depths were shaken.
- גָּעַשׁ gâashshake, quaketranslated this way 2 times of its 9 uses · Strong’s H1607Verb · Translated: shook 2, shaken 2, churn 2, convulse 1Full study and all 7 verses →
2 Samuel 22:8 Then the earth shook and quaked; the foundations of the heavens trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.
Psalm 18:7 Then the earth shook and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains trembled; they were shaken because He burned with anger.
- נָעַר nâarshake, shake out or offtranslated this way 2 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s H5287Verb · Translated: shake 3, swept 2, shaken 2Full study and all 9 verses →
Nehemiah 5:13 I also shook out the folds of my robe and said, “May God likewise shake out of his house and possessions every man who does not keep this promise. May such a man be shaken out and have nothing!” The whole assembly said, “Amen,” and they praised the LORD. And the people did as they had promised.
Psalm 109:23 I am fading away like a lengthening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust.
- נוּעַ nûaquiver, wave, waver, tremble, tottertranslated this way 2 times of its 38 uses · Strong’s H5128Verb · Translated: shake 5, sway 3, shakes 3, fugitive 2Full study and all 36 verses →
Isaiah 7:2 When it was reported to the house of David that Aram was in league with Ephraim, the hearts of Ahaz and his people trembled like trees in the forest shaken by the wind.
Nahum 3:12 All your fortresses are fig trees with the first ripe figs; when shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater!
Greek words (New Testament)
- σαλεύω saleúōI shake, excitetranslated this way 7 times of its 15 uses · Strong’s G4531Verb · Translated: shaken 6, swaying 2, shook 2Full study and all 14 verses →
Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’
Mark 13:25 the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’
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.