Word study
Special
6 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “special”. 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 “special” 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)
- פָּלָא pâlâbe surpassing, extraordinarytranslated this way 3 times of its 70 uses · Strong’s H6381Verb · Translated: wonders 31, difficult 5, wonderful 3, fulfill 2Full study and all 68 verses →
Leviticus 27:2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘When someone makes a special vow to the LORD involving the value of persons,
Numbers 6:2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD,
- תְּרוּמָה terûmâhcontribution, offeringtranslated this way 3 times of its 73 uses · Strong’s H8641Noun · Translated: offering 24, contribution 13, portion 8, contributions 7Full study and all 63 verses →
Deuteronomy 12:11 then the LORD your God will choose a dwelling for His Name. And there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice offerings you vow to the LORD.
Ezekiel 48:9 The special portion you set apart to the LORD shall be 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide.
- תֹּם tômcompleteness, integritytranslated this way 2 times of its 22 uses · Strong’s H8537Noun · Translated: integrity 14, without taking special aim 2Full study and all 22 verses →
1 Kings 22:34 However, a certain man drew his bow without taking special aim, and he struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So the king said to his charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded!”
2 Chronicles 18:33 However, a certain man drew his bow without taking special aim, and he struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So the king said to his charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded!”
- פָּלָה pâlâhbe separated, distincttranslated this way 1 time of its 7 uses · Strong’s H6395Verb · Translated: give special treatment 1, make a distinction 1, makes a distinction 1, distinguished 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Exodus 8:22 But on that day I will give special treatment to the land of Goshen, where My people live; no swarms of flies will be found there. In this way you will know that I, the LORD, am in the land.
- מָנָה mânâhpart, portiontranslated this way 1 time of its 13 uses · Strong’s H4490Noun · Translated: portion 6, portions 3, gifts 2, special diet 1Full study and all 13 verses →
Esther 2:9 And the young woman pleased him and obtained his favor, so he quickly provided her with beauty treatments and the special diet. He assigned to her seven select maidservants from the palace and transferred her with them to the best place in the harem.
- תְּרוּמִיָּה terûmîâhwhat belongs to a contribution, attendant or secondary contribution, subdivisiontranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s H8642Noun · Translated: special portion 1Full study and its 1 verse →
Ezekiel 48:12 It will be a special portion for them set apart from the land, a most holy portion adjacent to the territory of the Levites.
Greek words (New Testament)
- τιμή timḗa price, honortranslated this way 1 time of its 41 uses · Strong’s G5092Noun · Translated: honor 26, price 3, proceeds 3, value 2Full study and all 40 verses →
Romans 9:21 Does not the potter have the right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special occasions and another for common use?
- περισσός perissósabundant, greater, vehemently, advantagetranslated this way 1 time of its 21 uses · Strong’s G4053Adjective · Translated: more 5, greater 4Full study and all 20 verses →
1 Corinthians 12:23 and the parts we consider less honorable, we treat with greater honor. And our unpresentable parts are treated with special modesty,
- διάφορος diáphorosdiffering, different, excellenttranslated this way 1 time of its 4 uses · Strong’s G1313Adjective · Translated: different 1, excellent 1, more excellent 1, special 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Hebrews 9:10 They consist only in food and drink and special washings — external regulations imposed until the time of reform.
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.