Word study

Turn

28 Hebrew and 10 Greek words behind this English word

The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: turn, turned, turns, turning. 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 “turn” 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)

  • שׁוּב shûbturn back, returntranslated this way 157 times of its 1,007 uses · Strong’s H7725Verb  ·  Translated: return 218, returned 105, restore 62, turn 56

    Genesis 14:7 Then they turned back to invade En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar.

    Exodus 14:2 “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp before Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. You are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal-zephon.

    Full study and all 920 verses →
  • סוּר sûrturn asidetranslated this way 75 times of its 294 uses · Strong’s H5493Verb  ·  Translated: removed 46, remove 38, turn away 23, turn aside 16

    Genesis 19:2 and said, “My lords, please turn aside into the house of your servant; wash your feet and spend the night. Then you can rise early and go on your way.” “No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.”

    Exodus 32:8 How quickly they have turned aside from the way that I commanded them! They have made for themselves a molten calf and have bowed down to it. They have sacrificed to it and said, ‘These, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’”

    Full study and all 277 verses →
  • פָּנָה pânâhturntranslated this way 69 times of its 128 uses · Strong’s H6437Verb  ·  Translated: turned 27, turn 21, facing 11, turn back 4

    Genesis 18:22 And the two men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.

    Exodus 7:23 Instead, Pharaoh turned around, went into his palace, and did not take any of this to heart.

    Full study and all 122 verses →
  • הָפַךְ hâphakturn, overturntranslated this way 46 times of its 93 uses · Strong’s H2015Verb  ·  Translated: turned 27, turn 7, changed 4, overthrew 3

    Exodus 7:17 This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD. Behold, with the staff in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will turn to blood.

    Leviticus 13:3 The priest is to examine the infection on his skin, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the sore appears to be deeper than the skin, it is a skin disease. After the priest examines him, he must pronounce him unclean.

    Full study and all 91 verses →
  • סָבַב sâbabturn about, go around, surroundtranslated this way 34 times of its 153 uses · Strong’s H5437Verb  ·  Translated: turned 16, surrounded 13, surround 10, turn 8

    Genesis 42:24 And he turned away from them and wept. When he turned back and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and had him bound before their eyes.

    Numbers 34:5 where it will turn from Azmon, join the Brook of Egypt, and end at the Sea.

    Full study and all 144 verses →
  • נָטָה nâṭâhstretch out, spread out, extend, incline, bendtranslated this way 22 times of its 215 uses · Strong’s H5186Verb  ·  Translated: incline 24, stretch 23, stretched 21, outstretched 19

    Numbers 20:17 Please let us pass through your land. We will not go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will stay on the King’s Highway; we will not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.”

    1 Samuel 8:3 But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside toward dishonest gain, accepting bribes and perverting justice.

    Full study and all 207 verses →
  • שׂוּם sûmput, place, settranslated this way 13 times of its 560 uses · Strong’s H7760Verb  ·  Translated: put 84, set 71, make 45, made 39

    Exodus 14:21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided,

    Job 17:12 They have turned night into day, making light seem near in the face of darkness.

    Full study and all 533 verses →
  • נָתַן nâthangive, put, settranslated this way 13 times of its 1,957 uses · Strong’s H5414Verb  ·  Translated: give 326, gave 206, given 187, put 135

    Exodus 23:27 I will send My terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn and run.

    Deuteronomy 28:24 The LORD will turn the rain of your land into dust and powder; it will descend on you from the sky until you are destroyed.

    Full study and all 1,785 verses →
  • סוּג sûgmove away, backslidetranslated this way 8 times of its 14 uses · Strong’s H5472Verb  ·  Translated: turned 3, repelled 2, turned back 2

    Psalm 44:18 Our hearts have not turned back; our steps have not strayed from Your path.

    Isaiah 42:17 But those who trust in idols and say to molten images, ‘You are our gods!’ will be turned back in utter shame.

    Full study and all 14 verses →
  • הָלַךְ hâlakgo, come, walktranslated this way 6 times of its 1,461 uses · Strong’s H1980Verb  ·  Translated: go 338, went 173, walk 116, Come 84Full study and all 1,299 verses →
  • הָיָה hâyâhfall out, come to pass, become, betranslated this way 5 times of its 2,848 uses · Strong’s H1961Verb  ·  Translated: will be 206, become 178, came 169, was 151

    Exodus 4:4 “Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail,” the LORD said to Moses, who reached out his hand and caught the snake, and it turned back into a staff in his hand.

    Exodus 8:16 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may turn into swarms of gnats throughout the land of Egypt.’”

    Full study and all 2,573 verses →
  • פָּנִים pânîmface, beforetranslated this way 5 times of its 1,836 uses · Strong’s H6440Noun  ·  Translated: before 448, face 222, presence 147, before you 123Full study and all 1,671 verses →
  • עַל alheighttranslated this way 4 times of its 4,859 uses · Strong’s H5921Preposition  ·  Translated: on 777, over 297, in 218, against 216Full study and all 3,996 verses →
  • אֵל êlmotion totranslated this way 3 times of its 4,199 uses · Strong’s H413Preposition  ·  Translated: to 1,941, to me 285, to you 149, to him 137

    Genesis 42:28 “My silver has been returned!” he said to his brothers. “It is here in my sack.” Their hearts sank, and trembling, they turned to one another and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”

    Full study and all 3,455 verses →
  • שִׁית shîthput, settranslated this way 3 times of its 80 uses · Strong’s H7896Verb  ·  Translated: set 13, make 7, put 6, placed 5

    Numbers 24:1 And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not seek omens as on previous occasions, but he turned his face toward the wilderness.

    Jeremiah 22:6 For this is what the LORD says concerning the house of the king of Judah: “You are like Gilead to Me, like the summit of Lebanon; but I will surely turn you into a desert, like cities that are uninhabited.

    Full study and all 78 verses →
  • זָנָה zânâhcommit fornication, be a harlottranslated this way 3 times of its 89 uses · Strong’s H2181Verb  ·  Translated: prostitute 29, prostituted 16, prostitutes 7, harlot 5

    Hosea 4:13 They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is pleasant. And so your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery.

    Hosea 4:18 When their liquor is gone, they turn to prostitution; their rulers dearly love disgrace.

    Full study and all 81 verses →
  • לָפַת lâphathtwist, turn, grasp with a twisting motiontranslated this way 2 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s H3943Verb  ·  Translated: reached 1, turned 1, turn aside 1

    Ruth 3:8 At midnight, Boaz was startled, turned over, and there lying at his feet was a woman!

    Job 6:18 Caravans turn aside from their routes; they go into the wasteland and perish.

    Full study and all 3 verses →
  • נָסַג nâsagretreattranslated this way 2 times of its 9 uses · Strong’s H5253Verb  ·  Translated: move 4, moves 1, turning away 1, turned away 1

    Isaiah 59:13 rebelling and denying the LORD, turning away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering lies from the heart.

    Isaiah 59:14 So justice is turned away, and righteousness stands at a distance. For truth has stumbled in the public square, and honesty cannot enter.

    Full study and all 9 verses →
  • נָקַע nâqabe [severed, figurative] alienated, estrangedtranslated this way 2 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s H5361Verb  ·  Translated: turned away 1, turned away in disgust 1, disgust 1

    Ezekiel 23:18 When Oholibah openly prostituted herself and exposed her nakedness, I turned away from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister.

    Ezekiel 23:22 Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘I will incite your lovers against you, those from whom you turned away in disgust. And I will bring them against you from every side —

    Full study and all 3 verses →
  • נָדַח nâdachimpel, thrust, banishtranslated this way 2 times of its 54 uses · Strong’s H5080Verb  ·  Translated: banished 13, exiles 5, driven 4, banish 4

    Deuteronomy 13:5 Such a prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has advocated rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way in which the LORD your God has commanded you to walk. So you must purge the evil from among you.

    Deuteronomy 13:10 Stone him to death for trying to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

    Full study and all 53 verses →
  • תּוֹר tôrplait, turntranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s H8447Noun  ·  Translated: turn 2, ornaments 2

    Esther 2:12 In the twelve months before her turn to go to King Xerxes, the harem regulation required each young woman to receive beauty treatments with oil of myrrh for six months, and then with perfumes and cosmetics for another six months.

    Esther 2:15 Now Esther was the daughter of Abihail, the uncle from whom Mordecai had adopted her as his own daughter. And when it was her turn to go to the king, she did not ask for anything except what Hegai, the king’s trusted official in charge of the harem, had advised. And Esther found favor in the eyes of everyone who saw her.

    Full study and all 4 verses →
  • שָׁעָה shââhgazetranslated this way 2 times of its 15 uses · Strong’s H8159Verb  ·  Translated: look 3, regard 2, look away 2

    Psalm 39:13 Turn Your gaze away from me, that I may again be cheered before I depart and am no more.”

    Isaiah 22:4 Therefore I said, “Turn away from me, let me weep bitterly! Do not try to console me over the destruction of the daughter of my people.”

    Full study and all 15 verses →
  • עָבַר âbarpass over, through, by, pass ontranslated this way 2 times of its 542 uses · Strong’s H5674Verb  ·  Translated: pass 62, crossed 57, cross 52, passed 35

    Psalm 119:37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things; revive me with Your word.

    Psalm 119:39 Turn away the disgrace I dread, for Your judgments are good.

    Full study and all 487 verses →
  • גַּם gamalso, moreover, yeatranslated this way 2 times of its 625 uses · Strong’s H1571Conjunction  ·  Translated: even 107, and 100, also 64, too 43

    Proverbs 1:26 in turn I will mock your calamity; I will sneer when terror strikes you,

    Full study and all 565 verses →
  • שָׂטָה sâṭâhturn asidetranslated this way 2 times of its 6 uses · Strong’s H7847Verb  ·  Translated: goes astray 2, gone astray 2, Turn 1, turn aside 1

    Proverbs 4:15 Avoid it; do not travel on it. Turn from it and pass on by.

    Proverbs 7:25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths.

    Full study and all 6 verses →
  • עַיִן ayineyetranslated this way 2 times of its 764 uses · Strong’s H5869Noun  ·  Translated: eyes 383, sight 186, eye 38, presence 13Full study and all 731 verses →
  • מְשׁוּבָה meshûbâhturning back, apostasytranslated this way 2 times of its 12 uses · Strong’s H4878Noun  ·  Translated: faithless 4

    Jeremiah 8:5 Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return.

    Hosea 11:7 My people are bent on turning from Me. Though they call to the Most High, He will by no means exalt them.

    Full study and all 12 verses →
  • 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 →

Greek words (New Testament)

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.