Word study
Strengthen
3 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: strengthen, strengthened, strengthening, strengthens. 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 “strengthen” 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)
- חָזַק châzaqbe or grow firm, strong, strengthentranslated this way 33 times of its 290 uses · Strong’s H2388Verb · Translated: strong 37, made repairs 22, strengthened 16, repaired 15Full study and all 264 verses →
Judges 7:11 and listen to what they are saying. Then your hands will be strengthened to attack the camp.” So he went with Purah his servant to the outposts where armed men were guarding the camp.
1 Samuel 23:16 And Saul’s son Jonathan came to David in Horesh and strengthened his hand in God,
- אָמַץ âmatsbe alerttranslated this way 3 times of its 41 uses · Strong’s H553Verb · Translated: courageous 13, strengthen 3, mighty 2, haste 2Full study and all 41 verses →
Deuteronomy 3:28 But commission Joshua, encourage him, and strengthen him, for he will cross over ahead of the people and enable them to inherit the land that you will see.”
Psalm 89:21 My hand will sustain him; surely My arm will strengthen him.
- גָּבַר gâbarbe strong, mightytranslated this way 2 times of its 25 uses · Strong’s H1396Verb · Translated: prevailed 6, prevail 4, great 2, strengthen 2Full study and all 24 verses →
Zechariah 10:6 I will strengthen the house of Judah and save the house of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them, and they will be as though I had not rejected them. For I am the LORD their God, and I will answer them.
Zechariah 10:12 I will strengthen them in the LORD, and in His name they will walk,” declares the LORD.
Greek words (New Testament)
- στηρίζω stērízōI fix firmly, strengthentranslated this way 8 times of its 13 uses · Strong’s G4741Verb · Translated: strengthen 8, resolutely set 1, fixed 1, establish 1Full study and all 13 verses →
Luke 22:32 But I have prayed for you, Simon , that your faith will not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
Romans 1:11 For I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you,
- ἐπιστηρίζω epistērízōI prop up, uphold, confirmtranslated this way 4 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G1991Verb · Translated: strengthening 3, strengthen 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Acts 14:22 strengthening the souls of the disciples and encouraging them to continue in the faith. “We must endure many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
Acts 15:32 Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers.
- ἐνδυναμόω endynamóōI fill with power, strengthentranslated this way 3 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s G1743Verb · Translated: strengthened 3, strong 2, empowered 1, gives me strength 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Romans 4:20 Yet he did not waver through disbelief in the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,
1 Timothy 1:12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, that He considered me faithful and appointed me to service.
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.