Word study
Test
2 Hebrew and 6 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: test, tested, testing, tests. 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 “test” 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)
- נָסָה nâsâhtest, trytranslated this way 30 times of its 36 uses · Strong’s H5254Verb · Translated: test 16, tested 13, accustomed 2Full study and all 34 verses →
Genesis 22:1 Some time later God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered.
Exodus 15:25 And Moses cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a log. And when he cast it into the waters, they were sweetened. There the LORD made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He tested them,
- בָּחַן bâchanexamine, trytranslated this way 18 times of its 28 uses · Strong’s H974Verb · Translated: test 10, tested 5, tried 3, tests 2Full study and all 28 verses →
Genesis 42:15 And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.
1 Chronicles 29:17 I know, my God, that You test the heart and delight in uprightness. All these things I have given willingly and with an upright heart, and now I have seen Your people who are present here giving joyfully and willingly to You.
Greek words (New Testament)
- πειράζω peirázōI try, tempt, testtranslated this way 17 times of its 37 uses · Strong’s G3985Verb · Translated: tempted 11, tested 7, test 7, testing 3Full study and all 33 verses →
Matthew 16:1 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came and tested Jesus by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven.
Mark 8:11 Then the Pharisees came and began to argue with Jesus, testing Him by demanding from Him a sign from heaven.
- δοκιμάζω dokimázōI put to the test, prove, examinetranslated this way 9 times of its 22 uses · Strong’s G1381Verb · Translated: test 4, interpret 2Full study and all 20 verses →
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.
2 Corinthians 8:8 I am not giving a command, but I am testing the sincerity of your love through the earnestness of others.
- πειρασμός peirasmóstrial, testing, temptationtranslated this way 3 times of its 21 uses · Strong’s G3986Noun · Translated: temptation 9, trials 5, testing 3, trial 3Full study and all 20 verses →
Luke 8:13 The seeds on rocky ground are those who hear the word and receive it with joy, but they have no root. They believe for a season, but in the time of testing, they fall away.
Hebrews 3:8 do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness,
- ἐκπειράζω ekpeirázōI put to the test, make trial of, tempttranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G1598Verb · Translated: put 2, test 2Full study and all 4 verses →
Luke 10:25 One day an expert in the law stood up to test Him. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
1 Corinthians 10:9 We should not test Christ, as some of them did, and were killed by snakes.
- ἀδόκιμος adókimosfailing to pass the testtranslated this way 2 times of its 8 uses · Strong’s G96Adjective · Translated: disqualified 2Full study and all 8 verses →
2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you — unless you fail the test?
2 Corinthians 13:6 And I hope you will realize that we have not failed the test.
- δόκιμος dókimosapproved, acceptabletranslated this way 2 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s G1384Adjective · Translated: approved 5, stood the test 2Full study and all 7 verses →
2 Corinthians 13:7 Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong — not that we will appear to have stood the test, but that you will do what is right, even if we appear to have failed.
James 1:12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.
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.