Word study
Wish
4 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: wish, wishes, wished, wishing. 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 “wish” 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)
- צְבָא tsebâpleasetranslated this way 8 times of its 10 uses · Strong’s H6634Verb · Translated: wishes 4, wished 4, pleases 1, wanted 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Daniel 4:17 This decision is the decree of the watchers, the verdict declared by the holy ones, so that the living will know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes, setting over it the lowliest of men.’
Daniel 4:25 You will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will feed on grass like an ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes.
- חָפֵץ châphêtsdelighting in, having pleasure intranslated this way 3 times of its 12 uses · Strong’s H2655Adjective · Translated: delights 4, wish 3, delight 2, anyone who desired 1Full study and all 11 verses →
1 Kings 21:6 Ahab answered, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and told him, ‘Give me your vineyard for silver, or if you wish, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ And he replied, ‘I will not give you my vineyard!’”
Psalm 40:14 May those who seek my life be ashamed and confounded; may those who wish me harm be repelled and humiliated.
- נֶפֶשׁ nepheshsoul, living being, life, self, person, desire, appetite, emotion, and passiontranslated this way 2 times of its 666 uses · Strong’s H5315Noun · Translated: soul 178, life 119, lives 30, person 22Full study and all 622 verses →
Deuteronomy 21:14 And if you are not pleased with her, you are to let her go wherever she wishes. But you must not sell her for money or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.
2 Kings 9:15 but King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he had suffered at the hands of the Arameans in the battle against Hazael their king.) So Jehu said, “If you commanders wish to make me king, then do not let anyone escape from the city to go and tell it in Jezreel.”
- שָׁאַל shâalask, inquiretranslated this way 2 times of its 165 uses · Strong’s H7592Verb · Translated: ask 31, asked 28, inquired 16, requested 7Full study and all 156 verses →
Deuteronomy 14:26 Then you may spend the money on anything you desire: cattle, sheep, wine, strong drink, or anything you wish. You are to feast there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice with your household.
Jonah 4:8 As the sun was rising, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint and wished to die, saying, “It is better for me to die than to live.”
Greek words (New Testament)
- θέλω thélōI will, wish, desiretranslated this way 24 times of its 207 uses · Strong’s G2309Verb · Translated: want 65, wants 21, willing 16, wanted 15Full study and all 198 verses →
Matthew 17:4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If You wish, I will put up three shelters— one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
Mark 6:22 When the daughter of Herodias came and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests, and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.”
- ὄφελον óphelonO that! I wish! Would that!translated this way 3 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G3785Interjection · Translated: wish 3, hope 1Full study and all 4 verses →
1 Corinthians 4:8 Already you have all you want. Already you have become rich. Without us, you have become kings. How I wish you really were kings, so that we might be kings with you!
Galatians 5:12 As for those who are agitating you, I wish they would proceed to emasculate themselves!
- εὔχομαι eúchomaiI pray, wishtranslated this way 2 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s G2172Verb · Translated: pray 3, wish 2, prayed 1, prayer 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Acts 26:29 “Short time or long,” Paul replied, “I wish to God that not only you but all who hear me this day may become what I am, except for these chains.”
Romans 9:3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my own flesh and blood,
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.