Word study
Struggle
5 Hebrew and 5 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: struggle, struggled, struggles, struggling. 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 “struggle” 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)
- רָצַץ râtsatscrushtranslated this way 1 time of its 19 uses · Strong’s H7533Verb · Translated: oppressed 6, crushed 4, splintered 3Full study and all 18 verses →
Genesis 25:22 But the children inside her struggled with each other, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So Rebekah went to inquire of the LORD,
- שָׂרָה sârâhpersist, exert oneself, perseveretranslated this way 1 time of its 2 uses · Strong’s H8280Verb · Translated: struggled 1, wrestled 1Full study and all 2 verses →
Genesis 32:28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.”
- שׂוּר sûrvanquish, ruletranslated this way 1 time of its 4 uses · Strong’s H7786Verb · Translated: reigned 1, make princes 1, Yes 1, struggled 1Full study and all 3 verses →
Hosea 12:4 Yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor; he found Him at Bethel and spoke with Him there —
- נַפְתּוּל naphtûlwrestled, struggletranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s H5319Noun · Translated: great struggles 1Full study and its 1 verse →
Genesis 30:8 Then Rachel said, “In my great struggles, I have wrestled with my sister and won.” So she named him Naphtali.
- חַרְצֻבָּה chartsubbâhbond, fetter, pangtranslated this way 1 time of its 2 uses · Strong’s H2784Noun · Translated: struggle 1, chains 1Full study and all 2 verses →
Psalm 73:4 They have no struggle in their death; their bodies are well-fed.
Greek words (New Testament)
- συναγωνίζομαι synagōnízomaiI struggle in company withtranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s G4865Verb · Translated: join me in my struggle 1Full study and its 1 verse →
Romans 15:30 Now I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.
- πάλη pálēa wrestling, struggletranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s G3823Noun · Translated: struggle 1Full study and its 1 verse →
Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
- ἀγών agṓna contesttranslated this way 1 time of its 5 uses · Strong’s G73Noun · Translated: fight 2, struggle 1, opposition 1, race 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Philippians 1:30 since you are encountering the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
- ἀνταγωνίζομαι antagōnízomaiI resist, strive againsttranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s G464Verb · Translated: struggle 1Full study and its 1 verse →
Hebrews 12:4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
- ἔχω échōI have, hold, possesstranslated this way 1 time of its 624 uses · Strong’s G2192Verb · Translated: has 63, have 52, with 35, you have 29Full study and all 560 verses →
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.