Word study

Slow

4 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word

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

  • אָרֵךְ ârêklongtranslated this way 11 times of its 15 uses · Strong’s H750Adjective  ·  Translated: slow 11, patient 2, patience 1, long 1

    Exodus 34:6 Then the LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: “The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and faithfulness,

    Numbers 14:18 ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion, forgiving iniquity and transgression. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon their children to the third and fourth generation.’

    Full study and all 15 verses →
  • כָּבֵד kâbêdheavytranslated this way 1 time of its 40 uses · Strong’s H3515Adjective  ·  Translated: heavy 7, severe 6, large 4, great 4

    Exodus 4:10 “Please, Lord,” Moses replied, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.”

    Full study and all 39 verses →
  • אָחַר âcharto remain behind, delay, tarrytranslated this way 1 time of its 17 uses · Strong’s H309Verb  ·  Translated: delay 6, hesitate 2, delayed 2, linger 2

    Deuteronomy 23:21 If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to keep it, because He will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin.

    Full study and all 17 verses →
  • עָצָר âtsârrestrain, retaintranslated this way 1 time of its 44 uses · Strong’s H6113Verb  ·  Translated: halted 6, slave 5, shut 4, confined 3

    2 Kings 4:24 Then she saddled the donkey and told her servant, “Drive onward; do not slow the pace for me unless I tell you.”

    Full study and all 44 verses →

Greek words (New Testament)

  • βραδύς bradýsslowtranslated this way 3 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G1021Adjective  ·  Translated: slow 3

    Luke 24:25 Then Jesus said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!

    James 1:19 My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,

    Full study and all 2 verses →
  • βραδύνω bradýnōI am slow, I delaytranslated this way 1 time of its 2 uses · Strong’s G1019Verb  ·  Translated: delayed 1, slow 1

    2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.

    Full study and all 2 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.

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.