Word study
Wealth
11 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “wealth”. 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 “wealth” 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)
- חַיִל chayilstrength, efficiency, wealth, armytranslated this way 27 times of its 233 uses · Strong’s H2428Noun · Translated: army 73, valor 49, wealth 26, strength 9Full study and all 219 verses →
Deuteronomy 8:17 You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.”
Job 5:5 The hungry consume his harvest, taking it even from the thorns, and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
- הוֹן hônwealth, sufficiencytranslated this way 18 times of its 26 uses · Strong’s H1952Noun · Translated: wealth 15, Enough 2, wealth of goods 2, riches 2Full study and all 26 verses →
Psalm 112:3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.
Proverbs 3:9 Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your crops;
- עֹשֶׁר ôsherbe or become richtranslated this way 12 times of its 37 uses · Strong’s H6239Noun · Translated: riches 23, wealth 12, fortune 1, who will be 1Full study and all 36 verses →
Genesis 31:16 Surely all the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So do whatever God has told you.”
1 Kings 3:11 So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this instead of requesting long life or wealth for yourself or death for your enemies — but you have asked for discernment to administer justice —
- נֶכֶס nekesriches, treasurestranslated this way 5 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s H5233Noun · Translated: wealth 5Full study and all 5 verses →
Joshua 22:8 saying, “Return to your homes with your great wealth, with immense herds of livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron, and very many clothes. Divide with your brothers the spoil of your enemies.”
2 Chronicles 1:11 God said to Solomon, “Since this was in your heart instead of requesting riches or wealth or honor for yourself or death for your enemies — and since you have not even requested long life but have asked for wisdom and knowledge to govern My people over whom I have made you king —
- כָּבוֹד kâbôdabundance, honour, glorytranslated this way 3 times of its 198 uses · Strong’s H3519Noun · Translated: glory 124, honor 30, glorious 14, splendor 5Full study and all 188 verses →
Genesis 31:1 Now Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken away all that belonged to our father and built all this wealth at our father’s expense.”
Isaiah 10:3 What will you do on the day of reckoning when devastation comes from afar? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your wealth?
- רְכוּשׁ rekûshproperty, goodstranslated this way 3 times of its 28 uses · Strong’s H7399Noun · Translated: possessions 13, goods 6, property 3, wealth 3Full study and all 27 verses →
2 Chronicles 32:29 He made cities for himself, and he acquired herds of sheep and cattle in abundance, for God gave him very great wealth.
Daniel 11:24 In a time of peace, he will invade the richest provinces and do what his fathers and forefathers never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers, and he will plot against the strongholds — but only for a time.
- הָמוֹן hâmônsound, murmur, roar, crowd, abundancetranslated this way 3 times of its 81 uses · Strong’s H1995Noun · Translated: multitude 12, army 10, multitudes 8, many 6Full study and all 77 verses →
Ecclesiastes 5:10 He who loves money is never satisfied by money, and he who loves wealth is never satisfied by income. This too is futile.
Ezekiel 29:19 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will carry off its wealth, seize its spoil, and remove its plunder. This will be the wages for his army.
- עָשַׁר âsharbe or become richtranslated this way 2 times of its 17 uses · Strong’s H6238Verb · Translated: rich 5Full study and all 17 verses →
1 Samuel 2:7 The LORD sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts.
Proverbs 10:4 Idle hands make one poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.
- כֹּחַ kôachstrength, powertranslated this way 2 times of its 118 uses · Strong’s H3581Noun · Translated: strength 54, power 35, produce 2, powerless 2Full study and all 114 verses →
Job 6:22 Have I ever said, ‘Give me something; offer me a bribe from your wealth;
Proverbs 5:10 lest strangers feast on your wealth, and your labors enrich the house of a foreigner.
- אוֹן ônvigour, wealthtranslated this way 2 times of its 12 uses · Strong’s H202Noun · Translated: strength 3, wealth 2, power 2, vigor 2Full study and all 12 verses →
Job 20:10 His sons will seek the favor of the poor, for his own hands must return his wealth.
Hosea 12:8 And Ephraim boasts: “How rich I have become! I have found wealth for myself. In all my labors, they can find in me no iniquity that is sinful.”
- יִתְרָה yithrâhabundance, richestranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s H3502Noun · Translated: wealth 2Full study and all 2 verses →
Isaiah 15:7 So they carry their wealth and belongings over the Brook of the Willows.
Jeremiah 48:36 Therefore My heart laments like a flute for Moab; it laments like a flute for the men of Kir-heres, because the wealth they acquired has perished.
Greek words (New Testament)
- πλοῦτος ploûtosriches, wealthtranslated this way 4 times of its 21 uses · Strong’s G4149Noun · Translated: riches 14, wealth 4, of 1, rich 1Full study and all 20 verses →
Matthew 13:22 The seed sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
Mark 4:19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
- κτῆμα ktēmaa field, propertytranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G2933Noun · Translated: wealth 2, possessions 1, piece of property 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Matthew 19:22 When the young man heard this, he went away in sorrow, because he had great wealth.
Mark 10:22 But the man was saddened by these words and went away in sorrow, because he had great wealth.
- μαμμωνᾶς mammōnâsriches, money, possessionstranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G3126Noun · Translated: money 2, wealth 2Full study and all 4 verses →
Luke 16:9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to make friends for yourselves so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings.
Luke 16:11 So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will entrust you with true riches?
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.
What the Bible says about wealth: passages by topic →
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.