Word study
Wear
10 Hebrew and 4 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: wear, wearing, wears. 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 “wear” 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)
- לָבַשׁ lâbashput on (a garment), wear, clothe, be clothedtranslated this way 14 times of its 109 uses · Strong’s H3847Verb · Translated: clothed 28, put 22, wear 13, clothe 12Full study and all 102 verses →
Genesis 28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and watch over me on this journey, and if He will provide me with food to eat and clothes to wear,
Exodus 29:30 The son who succeeds him as priest and enters the Tent of Meeting to minister in the Holy Place must wear them for seven days.
- עַל alheighttranslated this way 8 times of its 4,859 uses · Strong’s H5921Preposition · Translated: on 777, over 297, in 218, against 216Full study and all 3,996 verses →
Genesis 37:23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe — the robe of many colors he was wearing —
Exodus 28:35 Aaron must wear the robe whenever he ministers, and its sound will be heard when he enters or exits the sanctuary before the LORD, so that he will not die.
- בָּלָה bâlâhbecome old and worn outtranslated this way 6 times of its 15 uses · Strong’s H1086Verb · Translated: wear 6, worn 2Full study and all 15 verses →
Deuteronomy 8:4 Your clothing did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.
Nehemiah 9:21 For forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell.
- חָגַר châgargird, gird on, gird oneselftranslated this way 5 times of its 42 uses · Strong’s H2296Verb · Translated: put 8, around 3, strapped 3, armed 3Full study and all 40 verses →
1 Samuel 2:18 Now Samuel was ministering before the LORD — a boy wearing a linen ephod.
2 Samuel 6:14 And David, wearing a linen ephod, danced with all his might before the LORD,
- כָּסָה kâsâhcovertranslated this way 3 times of its 150 uses · Strong’s H3680Verb · Translated: covered 51, cover 36, covers 16, covering 9Full study and all 148 verses →
Deuteronomy 22:12 You are to make tassels on the four corners of the cloak you wear.
2 Kings 19:2 And he sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz
- הָיָה hâyâhfall out, come to pass, become, betranslated this way 2 times of its 2,848 uses · Strong’s H1961Verb · Translated: will be 206, become 178, came 169, was 151Full study and all 2,573 verses →
Exodus 28:43 Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die. This is to be a permanent statute for Aaron and his descendants.’’
Deuteronomy 22:5 A woman must not wear men’s clothing, and a man must not wear women’s clothing, for whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD your God.
- יָגַע yâgatoil, grow or be wearytranslated this way 2 times of its 26 uses · Strong’s H3021Verb · Translated: wearied 6, weary 5, labor 4, wear 2Full study and all 25 verses →
Joshua 7:3 On returning to Joshua, they reported, “There is no need to send all the people; two or three thousand men are enough to go up and attack Ai. Since the people of Ai are so few, you need not wear out all our people there.”
Proverbs 23:4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.
- נָשָׂא nâsâlift, take, carrytranslated this way 2 times of its 642 uses · Strong’s H5375Verb · Translated: bear 49, lift 45, lifted 41, carried 38Full study and all 601 verses →
1 Samuel 2:28 And out of all the tribes of Israel I selected your father to be My priest, to offer sacrifices on My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod in My presence. I also gave to the house of your father all the food offerings of the Israelites.
1 Samuel 14:3 including Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod. He was the son of Ichabod’s brother Ahitub son of Phinehas, the son of Eli the priest of the LORD in Shiloh. But the troops did not know that Jonathan had left.
- עָטָה âṭâhwrap oneself, enwrap envelop oneselftranslated this way 2 times of its 17 uses · Strong’s H5844Verb · Translated: cover 4, covered 2, wraps 2, wrapped 2Full study and all 15 verses →
1 Samuel 28:14 “What does he look like?” asked Saul. “An old man is coming up,” she replied. “And he is wearing a robe.” So Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed facedown in reverence.
Psalm 109:29 May my accusers be clothed with disgrace; may they wear their shame like a robe.
- עָלָה âlâhgo up, ascend, climbtranslated this way 2 times of its 873 uses · Strong’s H5927Verb · Translated: go 118, went 107, brought 56, come 42Full study and all 807 verses →
Greek words (New Testament)
- περιβάλλω peribállōI cast around, clothetranslated this way 3 times of its 23 uses · Strong’s G4016Verb · Translated: dressed 6, clothed 5, adorned 2, clothe 2Full study and all 23 verses →
Matthew 6:31 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
Mark 14:51 One young man who had been following Jesus was wearing a linen cloth around his body. They caught hold of him,
- ἐνδύω endýōI put on, clothetranslated this way 2 times of its 25 uses · Strong’s G1746Verb · Translated: put 7, clothed 6, dressed 3, wear 2Full study and all 25 verses →
Matthew 6:25 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
Luke 12:22 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.
- φορέω phoréōI carry, weartranslated this way 2 times of its 6 uses · Strong’s G5409Verb · Translated: wear 1, wearing 1, carry 1, borne 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Matthew 11:8 Otherwise, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Look, those who wear fine clothing are found in kings’ palaces.
John 19:5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”
- παλαιόω palaióōI make old, declare obsoletetranslated this way 2 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G3822Verb · Translated: wear 2, made 1, obsolete 1Full study and all 3 verses →
Luke 12:33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
Hebrews 1:11 They will perish, but You remain; they will all wear out like a garment.
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.