Word study
Small
5 Hebrew and 5 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “small”. 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 “small” 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)
- קָטָן qâṭânsmall, young, unimportanttranslated this way 30 times of its 99 uses · Strong’s H6996Adjective · Translated: small 28, younger 14, youngest 13, least 13Full study and all 98 verses →
Numbers 22:18 But Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything small or great to go beyond the command of the LORD my God.
Deuteronomy 1:17 Show no partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. And bring to me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.”
- מָגֵן mâgênshieldtranslated this way 4 times of its 62 uses · Strong’s H4043Noun · Translated: shield 36, shields 17, small shields 3, bucklers 2Full study and all 58 verses →
1 Kings 10:17 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
2 Chronicles 9:16 He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three hundred shekels of gold went into each shield. And the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
- צַר tsarnarrow, tighttranslated this way 3 times of its 110 uses · Strong’s H6862Noun · Translated: enemies 22, foes 22, distress 18, enemy 10Full study and all 106 verses →
2 Kings 6:1 Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Please take note that the place where we meet with you is too small for us.
Proverbs 24:10 If you faint in the day of distress, how small is your strength!
- מִצְעָר mitsâra small thingtranslated this way 2 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s H4705Noun · Translated: small place 2, few 1, modest 1, short 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Genesis 19:20 Look, there is a town nearby where I can flee, and it is a small place. Please let me flee there — is it not a small place? Then my life will be saved.”
- קָטֹן qâṭônbe small, insignificanttranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s H6994Verb · Translated: small thing 2, unworthy 1, reduce 1Full study and all 4 verses →
2 Samuel 7:19 And as if this was a small thing in Your eyes, O Lord GOD, You have also spoken about the future of the house of Your servant. Is this Your custom with man, O Lord GOD?
1 Chronicles 17:17 And as if this was a small thing in Your eyes, O God, You have spoken about the future of the house of Your servant and have regarded me as a man of great distinction, O LORD God.
Greek words (New Testament)
- μικρός mikróslittle, smalltranslated this way 8 times of its 45 uses · Strong’s G3398Adjective · Translated: little 27, small 8, least 5, smallest 2Full study and all 42 verses →
Luke 19:3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but could not see over the crowd because he was small in stature.
Acts 26:22 But I have had God’s help to this day, and I stand here to testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen:
- ἐλάχιστος eláchistosleast, smallest, very littletranslated this way 3 times of its 12 uses · Strong’s G1646Adjective · Translated: least 6, little 2, small thing 1, small matter 1Full study and all 10 verses →
Luke 12:26 So if you cannot do such a small thing, why do you worry about the rest?
James 3:4 Consider ships as well. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot is inclined.
- βιβλιαρίδιον bibliarídiona little papyrus rolltranslated this way 3 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G974Noun · Translated: small scroll 3Full study and all 3 verses →
Revelation 10:2 He held in his hand a small scroll, which lay open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land.
Revelation 10:9 And I went to the angel and said, “Give me the small scroll.” “Take it and eat it,” he said. “It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.”
- ἰχθύδιον ichthýdiona little fishtranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s G2485Noun · Translated: small fish 2Full study and all 2 verses →
Matthew 15:34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”
Mark 8:7 They also had a few small fish, and Jesus blessed them and ordered that these be set before them as well.
- λεπτόν leptóna small piece of moneytranslated this way 2 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G3016Noun · Translated: small copper coins 2, penny 1Full study and all 3 verses →
Mark 12:42 Then one poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amounted to a small fraction of a denarius.
Luke 21:2 and He saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.
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.