Word study
Wise
4 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “wise”. 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 “wise” 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)
- חָכָם châkâmwisetranslated this way 109 times of its 136 uses · Strong’s H2450Adjective · Translated: wise 86, wise men 8, wise man 6, skilled 5Full study and all 133 verses →
Genesis 41:8 In the morning his spirit was troubled, so he summoned all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.
Exodus 7:11 But Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers and magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same things by their magic arts.
- חָכַם châkambe wisetranslated this way 16 times of its 27 uses · Strong’s H2449Verb · Translated: wise 13, wiser 2, skillfully 2, become wise 2Full study and all 26 verses →
Deuteronomy 32:29 If only they were wise, they would understand it; they would comprehend their fate.
Job 32:9 It is not only the old who are wise, or the elderly who understand justice.
- חַכִּים chakkîmwise mantranslated this way 14 times of its 14 uses · Strong’s H2445Noun · Translated: wise men 11, wise 2, wise man 1Full study and all 13 verses →
Daniel 2:12 This response made the king so angry and furious that he gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
Daniel 2:13 So the decree went out that the wise men were to be executed, and men went to look for Daniel and his friends to execute them.
- שָׂכַל sâkalbe prudenttranslated this way 13 times of its 61 uses · Strong’s H7919Verb · Translated: wise 11, prosper 5, understand 5, prospered 3Full study and all 61 verses →
Job 22:2 “Can a man be of use to God? Can even a wise man benefit Him?
Psalm 2:10 Therefore be wise, O kings; be admonished, O judges of the earth.
Greek words (New Testament)
- σοφός sophóswisetranslated this way 17 times of its 20 uses · Strong’s G4680Adjective · Translated: wise 17, to 1, wiser 1, expert 1Full study and all 19 verses →
Matthew 11:25 At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
Luke 10:21 At that time Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.
- φρόνιμος phrónimosintelligent, prudenttranslated this way 9 times of its 14 uses · Strong’s G5429Adjective · Translated: wise 9, conceited 2, shrewd 1, more shrewd 1Full study and all 14 verses →
Matthew 7:24 Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Luke 12:42 And the Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their portion at the proper time?
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.