Word study
Wonder
6 Hebrew and 3 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: wonders, wonder, wondering, wondered. 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 “wonder” 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)
- פָּלָא pâlâbe surpassing, extraordinarytranslated this way 33 times of its 70 uses · Strong’s H6381Verb · Translated: wonders 31, difficult 5, wonderful 3, fulfill 2Full study and all 68 verses →
Exodus 3:20 So I will stretch out My hand and strike the Egyptians with all the wonders I will perform among them. And after that, he will release you.
Joshua 3:5 Then Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”
- מוֹפֵת môphêthwonder, sign, portenttranslated this way 21 times of its 36 uses · Strong’s H4159Noun · Translated: wonders 17, sign 8, wonder 4, marvels 2Full study and all 35 verses →
Exodus 4:21 The LORD instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.
Deuteronomy 4:34 Or has any god tried to take as his own a nation out of another nation — by trials, signs, wonders, and war, by a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors — as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt, before your eyes?
- פֶּלֶא pelewondertranslated this way 10 times of its 13 uses · Strong’s H6382Noun · Translated: wonders 9, Wonderful 2, wonder 1, astounding 1Full study and all 13 verses →
Exodus 15:11 Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You — majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?
Psalm 77:11 I will remember the works of the LORD; yes, I will remember Your wonders of old.
- יָרֵא yârêfeartranslated this way 3 times of its 312 uses · Strong’s H3372Verb · Translated: afraid 109, fear 98, feared 23, awesome 21Full study and all 303 verses →
Deuteronomy 10:21 He is your praise and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome wonders that your eyes have seen.
2 Samuel 7:23 And who is like Your people Israel — the one nation on earth whom God went out to redeem as a people for Himself and to make a name for Himself? You performed great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before Your people, whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt.
- תְּמַהּ temahhwondertranslated this way 3 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s H8540Noun · Translated: wonders 3Full study and all 3 verses →
Daniel 4:2 I am pleased to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.
Daniel 4:3 How great are His signs, how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; His dominion endures from generation to generation.
- עַל alheighttranslated this way 2 times of its 4,859 uses · Strong’s H5921Preposition · Translated: on 777, over 297, in 218, against 216Full study and all 3,996 verses →
Greek words (New Testament)
- τέρας térasa wonder, portenttranslated this way 16 times of its 16 uses · Strong’s G5059Noun · Translated: wonders 15, wonder 1Full study and all 16 verses →
Matthew 24:24 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.
Mark 13:22 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.
- θαυμάζω thaumázōI wonder, admiretranslated this way 4 times of its 44 uses · Strong’s G2296Verb · Translated: amazed 19, marveled 8, surprised 5, amazement 4Full study and all 44 verses →
Luke 1:21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he took so long in the temple.
Acts 13:41 ‘Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish! For I am doing a work in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.’”
- διαλογίζομαι dialogízomaiI reason, debate, considertranslated this way 2 times of its 16 uses · Strong’s G1260Verb · Translated: thinking 5, discussed 2, debating 2, deliberated 2Full study and all 15 verses →
Luke 1:29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
Luke 3:15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John could be the Christ.
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.