Word study

Wisdom

4 Hebrew and 1 Greek words behind this English word

In brief

The Hebrew hokmah is skill for living: the ability to choose well, rooted, as Proverbs says, in the fear of the LORD. It can also mean a craftsman's skill. The Greek sophia translates it in the New Testament, where Paul sets God's wisdom, shown in Christ, against the wisdom of the world.

Written and reviewed by our editorial team.

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

Compare the Hebrew words side by side

Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)

  • חׇכְמָה chokmâhwisdomtranslated this way 136 times of its 150 uses · Strong’s H2451Noun  ·  Translated: wisdom 130, skill 10

    Exodus 28:3 You are to instruct all the skilled craftsmen, whom I have filled with a spirit of wisdom, to make garments for Aaron’s consecration, so that he may serve Me as priest.

    Deuteronomy 4:6 Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the peoples, who will hear of all these statutes and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”

    Full study and all 142 verses →
  • חׇכְמָה chokmâhwisdomtranslated this way 7 times of its 8 uses · Strong’s H2452Noun  ·  Translated: wisdom 5, according to the wisdom 1, more wisdom 1, like 1

    Ezra 7:25 And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God, which you possess, are to appoint magistrates and judges to judge all the people west of the Euphrates — all who know the laws of your God. And you are to teach these laws to anyone who does not know them.

    Daniel 2:20 and declared: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him.

    Full study and all 7 verses →
  • תּוּשִׁיָּה tûshîâhsound, efficient wisdom, abiding successtranslated this way 5 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s H8454Noun  ·  Translated: sound judgment 3, success 2, sound wisdom 2, true wisdom 2

    Job 11:6 and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom, for true wisdom has two sides. Know then that God exacts from you less than your iniquity deserves.

    Proverbs 2:7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk with integrity,

    Full study and all 11 verses →
  • שֶׂכֶל sekelprudence, insighttranslated this way 2 times of its 15 uses · Strong’s H7922Noun  ·  Translated: insight 5, understanding 4, wisdom 2

    Proverbs 12:8 A man is praised according to his wisdom, but a twisted mind is despised.

    Proverbs 23:9 Do not speak to a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.

    Full study and all 15 verses →

Greek words (New Testament)

  • σοφία sophíawisdomtranslated this way 49 times of its 51 uses · Strong’s G4678Noun  ·  Translated: wisdom 48, wisely 1, comes from wisdom 1

    Matthew 11:19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at this glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is vindicated by her actions.”

    Mark 6:2 When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were astonished. “Where did this man get these ideas?” they asked. “What is this wisdom He has been given? And how can He perform such miracles?

    Full study and all 49 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.

What the Bible says about wisdom: 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.