Word study
Worth
5 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “worth”. 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 “worth” 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)
- מִשְׁנֶה mishnehdouble, copy, secondtranslated this way 1 time of its 34 uses · Strong’s H4932Noun · Translated: second 11, double 4, Second District 4, twice 2Full study and all 33 verses →
Deuteronomy 15:18 Do not regard it as a hardship to set your servant free, because his six years of service were worth twice the wages of a hired hand. And the LORD your God will bless you in all you do.
- כְּמוֹ kemôlike, as, whentranslated this way 1 time of its 127 uses · Strong’s H3644Preposition · Translated: like 77, as 11, as you 4, equal 3Full study and all 119 verses →
2 Samuel 18:3 But the people pleaded, “You must not go out! For if we have to flee, they will not care about us. Even if half of us die, they will not care. But you are worth ten thousand of us. It is better now if you support us from the city.”
- מְעַט meaṭa little, fewness, a fewtranslated this way 1 time of its 92 uses · Strong’s H4592Adjective · Translated: little 35, few 18, enough 10, soon 3Full study and all 85 verses →
Proverbs 10:20 The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked has little worth.
- אֶלֶף elephthousandtranslated this way 1 time of its 233 uses · Strong’s H505Number · Translated: thousand 116, thousands 33, two thousand 10, clans 8Full study and all 201 verses →
Isaiah 7:23 And on that day, in every place that had a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels of silver, only briers and thorns will be found.
- סָלָא sâlâweightranslated this way 1 time of its 1 use · Strong’s H5537Verb · Translated: once worth their weight 1Full study and its 1 verse →
Lamentations 4:2 How the precious sons of Zion, once worth their weight in pure gold, are now esteemed as jars of clay, the work of a potter’s hands!
Greek words (New Testament)
- διαφέρω diaphérōI carry through, differ, surpass, exceltranslated this way 2 times of its 13 uses · Strong’s G1308Verb · Translated: more valuable 2, worth more 2Full study and all 13 verses →
Matthew 10:31 So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Luke 12:7 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
- δοκιμή dokimḗa trial, proof; tried, approved charactertranslated this way 1 time of its 8 uses · Strong’s G1382Noun · Translated: character 2, proof 2, stand the test 1, ordeal 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Philippians 2:22 But you know Timothy’s proven worth, that as a child with his father he has served with me to advance the gospel.
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.