Word study
Supply
6 Hebrew and 1 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: supply, supplies, supplied, supplying. 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 “supply” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- מַטֶּה maṭṭehstaff, rod, shafttranslated this way 5 times of its 219 uses · Strong’s H4294Noun · Translated: tribe 123, staff 41, tribes 21, staffs 5Full study and all 200 verses →
Leviticus 26:26 When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will bake your bread in a single oven and dole out your bread by weight, so that you will eat but not be satisfied.
Psalm 105:16 He called down famine on the land and cut off all their supplies of food.
- כְּלִי kelîarticle, utensil, vesseltranslated this way 4 times of its 282 uses · Strong’s H3627Noun · Translated: articles 59, utensils 32, weapons 20, furnishings 15Full study and all 255 verses →
1 Samuel 17:22 Then David left his supplies in the care of the quartermaster and ran to the battle line. When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were doing.
1 Samuel 25:13 And David said to his men, “Strap on your swords!” So David and all his men strapped on their swords, and about four hundred men followed David, while two hundred stayed with the supplies.
- נָתַן nâthangive, put, settranslated this way 2 times of its 1,957 uses · Strong’s H5414Verb · Translated: give 326, gave 206, given 187, put 135Full study and all 1,785 verses →
Genesis 47:22 However, he did not acquire the priests’ portion of the land, for it had been given to them by Pharaoh. They ate the rations that Pharaoh supplied; so they did not sell their land.
Exodus 5:7 “You shall no longer supply the people with straw for making bricks. They must go and gather their own straw.
- כּוּן kûnbe firmtranslated this way 2 times of its 213 uses · Strong’s H3559Verb · Translated: established 43, prepared 23, prepare 16, establish 15Full study and all 204 verses →
2 Chronicles 26:14 Uzziah supplied the entire army with shields, spears, helmets, armor, bows, and slingstones.
Psalm 78:20 When He struck the rock, water gushed out and torrents raged. But can He also give bread or supply His people with meat?”
- מִשְׁעֵן mishênsupport, stafftranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s H4937Noun · Translated: support 2, supply 2Full study and all 3 verses →
Isaiah 3:1 For behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts is about to remove from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support: the whole supply of food and water,
- אוֹצָר ôtsârtreasure, store, treasury, storehousetranslated this way 2 times of its 71 uses · Strong’s H214Noun · Translated: treasuries 20, treasures 17, storehouses 11, treasury 8Full study and all 68 verses →
2 Chronicles 11:11 He strengthened their fortifications and put officers in them, with supplies of food, oil, and wine.
Nehemiah 12:44 And on that same day men were appointed over the rooms that housed the supplies, contributions, firstfruits, and tithes. The portions specified by the Law for the priests and Levites were gathered into these storerooms from the fields of the villages, because Judah rejoiced over the priests and Levites who were serving.
Greek words (New Testament)
- προσαναπληρόω prosanaplēróōI supplytranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s G4322Verb · Translated: supplying 1, supplied 1Full study and all 2 verses →
2 Corinthians 9:12 For this ministry of service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanksgiving to God.
2 Corinthians 11:9 And when I was with you and in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my needs. I have refrained from being a burden to you in any way, and I will continue to do so.
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.