Word study

Unseen

4 Greek words behind this English word

The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “unseen”. 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 “unseen” or one of its forms.

Compare the Greek words side by side

Greek words (New Testament)

  • κρυπτός kryptóshidden, secrettranslated this way 2 times of its 19 uses · Strong’s G2927Adjective  ·  Translated: secret 8, hidden 5, unseen 2, secrets 2

    Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

    Matthew 6:18 so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

    Full study and all 16 verses →
  • βλέπω blépōI look, seetranslated this way 2 times of its 128 uses · Strong’s G991Verb  ·  Translated: see 53, seeing 10, saw 8, sees 6

    2 Corinthians 4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

    Full study and all 117 verses →
  • οἷος hoîosof what kind, such astranslated this way 1 time of its 10 uses · Strong’s G3634Personal / Relative Pronoun  ·  Translated: as 4, what 2, unseen 1, as though 1

    Matthew 24:21 For at that time there will be great tribulation, unseen from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again.

    Full study and all 7 verses →
  • τοιοῦτος toioûtosof such a kind, suchtranslated this way 1 time of its 49 uses · Strong’s G5108Demonstrative Pronoun  ·  Translated: such 18, things 6, man 4, so 3

    Mark 13:19 For those will be days of tribulation unseen from the beginning of God’s creation until now, and never to be seen again.

    Full study and all 48 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. Short definition: Dodson Greek Lexicon (2010, public domain). Full entry: G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922, public domain). Strong’s Greek Dictionary (1890) in the edition by Ulrik Sandborg-Petersen (CC0). 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.