Word study
Sincere
3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “sincere”. 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 “sincere” or one of its forms.
Compare the Greek words side by side
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἀνυπόκριτος anypókritosunfeigned, without hypocrisytranslated this way 5 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s G505Adjective · Translated: sincere 5Full study and all 5 verses →
Romans 12:9 Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.
2 Corinthians 6:6 in purity, knowledge, patience, and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love;
- δίκαιος díkaiosjust, righteous, impartialtranslated this way 1 time of its 79 uses · Strong’s G1342Adjective · Translated: righteous 55, right 9, just 6, of 2Full study and all 74 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.
- ἀληθινός alēthinóstrue, real, genuinetranslated this way 1 time of its 28 uses · Strong’s G228Adjective · Translated: true 27, sincere 1Full study and all 26 verses →
Hebrews 10:22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
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. Short definition: Dodson Greek Lexicon (2010, public domain). Full entry: G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922, public domain). Strong’s Greek Dictionary (1890) in the edition by Ulrik Sandborg-Petersen (CC0). 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.