Word study
Valuable
3 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: valuable, valuables. 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 “valuable” 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)
- חֶמְדָּה chemdâhid.translated this way 2 times of its 23 uses · Strong’s H2532Noun · Translated: pleasant 3, precious 3, highly precious 2, riches 2Full study and all 23 verses →
2 Chronicles 20:25 Then Jehoshaphat and his people went to carry off the plunder, and they found on the bodies an abundance of goods and valuables — more than they could carry away. They were gathering the plunder for three days because there was so much.
2 Chronicles 32:27 Hezekiah had very great riches and honor, and he made treasuries for his silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and all kinds of valuable articles.
- מִגְדָּנָה migdânâhchoice of excellent thingtranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s H4030Noun · Translated: precious gifts 1, precious things 1, valuable gifts 1, valuables 1Full study and all 4 verses →
2 Chronicles 32:23 Many brought offerings to Jerusalem for the LORD and valuable gifts for Hezekiah king of Judah, and from then on he was exalted in the eyes of all nations.
Ezra 1:6 And all their neighbors supported them with articles of silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with valuables, in addition to all their freewill offerings.
- יְקָר yeqârpreciousness, price, honourtranslated this way 1 time of its 15 uses · Strong’s H3366Noun · Translated: honor 7Full study and all 14 verses →
Jeremiah 20:5 I will give away all the wealth of this city — all its products and valuables, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah — to their enemies. They will plunder them, seize them, and carry them off to Babylon.
Greek words (New Testament)
- διαφέρω diaphérōI carry through, differ, surpass, exceltranslated this way 3 times of its 13 uses · Strong’s G1308Verb · Translated: more valuable 2, worth more 2Full study and all 13 verses →
Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Luke 12:24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storehouse or barn; yet God feeds them. How much more valuable you are than the birds!
- ὠφέλιμος ōphélimosprofitable, beneficial, usefultranslated this way 1 time of its 4 uses · Strong’s G5624Adjective · Translated: value 1, valuable 1, useful 1, profitable 1Full study and all 3 verses →
1 Timothy 4:8 For physical exercise is of limited value, but godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for the present life and for the one to come.
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.