Word study

Superior

1 Hebrew and 4 Greek words behind this English word

The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: superior, superiors. 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 “superior” or one of its forms.

Compare the Greek words side by side

Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)

  • גָּבֹהַּ gâbôahhhigh, exaltedtranslated this way 1 time of its 40 uses · Strong’s H1364Adjective  ·  Translated: high 20, proud 3, haughty 2, longer 2

    Ecclesiastes 5:8 If you see the oppression of the poor and the denial of justice and righteousness in the province, do not be astonished at the matter; for one official is watched by a superior, and others higher still are over them.

    Full study and all 36 verses →

Greek words (New Testament)

  • μέγας mégaslarge, greattranslated this way 2 times of its 218 uses · Strong’s G3173Adjective  ·  Translated: great 108, greater 29, loud 23, greatest 14

    Matthew 20:25 But Jesus called them aside and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them.

    Mark 10:42 So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them.

    Full study and all 206 verses →
  • διαφέρω diaphérōI carry through, differ, surpass, exceltranslated this way 1 time of its 13 uses · Strong’s G1308Verb  ·  Translated: more valuable 2, worth more 2

    Romans 2:18 if you know His will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law;

    Full study and all 13 verses →
  • διακρίνω diakrínōI distinguish, discern, doubt, hesitatetranslated this way 1 time of its 19 uses · Strong’s G1252Verb  ·  Translated: doubt 3, hesitation 2, doubts 2

    1 Corinthians 4:7 For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

    Full study and all 18 verses →
  • κρείττων kreíttōnstronger, more excellenttranslated this way 1 time of its 15 uses · Strong’s G2909Adjective  ·  Translated: better 12, superior 1, greater 1, better word 1

    Hebrews 1:4 So He became as far superior to the angels as the name He has inherited is excellent beyond theirs.

    Full study and all 14 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.