How to do a Word Study
Do you ever stumble over words in the Bible? Maybe it’s a word like cherubim you’ve never heard before or a word like holy that seems to hold deep theological significance, yet you can't quite figure out what it means.
I know I’ve been there—many times. And while it’s tempting to skim over these words, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of God, not only the familiar or easy-to-understand words. When the enemy told Jesus to turn stones into bread (Matthew 4:4), Christ knew better than to give into temptation. He knew that his true sustenance was not on temporary food but on the eternal Word of his Father. Every word from God, however obscure it may seem, is meant for our eternal sustenance too. They carry us through eternity, anchoring us in God’s true and faithful promises.
In this blog post, I’ll walk you through my process of studying a word by looking at its Greek or Hebrew term, noting its semantic range, and analyzing it within its context. The Bible is an inexhaustible treasure, so get ready for some treasure hunting!
1. Select your Word
While every word in the Bible is valuable, not all of them merit an in-depth study. For example, prepositions such as by, from, and with are good connectors but don’t offer much insight into the meaning of Bible passages. There’s not a hard-and-fast rule on how to choose a word to study, but here are some guidelines to get you started:
Look for repeated words; repetition usually signals a theme in the passage.
Look for a word that is translated differently throughout various translations. This means there’s some nuance in its meaning, and it’s worth looking into.
Look for a word with theological weight and that is central to the meaning of the verse. Ask yourself: Would the passage make sense if I were to remove this word? Would I know about this word if I wasn’t familiar with Christianity? If this answer is no, you got your word!
I’ve used the third criterion to pick the word test in this verse:
“Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” (Exodus 20:20, ESV)
2. See different translations
Is the word translated differently in perhaps the NIV or the NASB? Look at various English translations, note any differences, and add them to your word study arsenal. I like to use Biblehub.com for this step!
The word test remains the same across English translations. But consider the word accomplish in John 4:34 (ESV). The NASB likewise uses accomplish, but the NIV and NKJV use finish. Keep these differences in mind; they will prove helpful when you are putting your definition together in the last step.
3. Original Hebrew or Greek
Our English translations use different words (as you saw in the step above) to translate a single Greek or Hebrew word. Translators do their best to find a word that matches the original meaning, but there’s no one-to-one equivalent between English and the original language. So it’s imperative to find out for ourselves what the biblical author originally meant.
There are several tools you can use to determine the original Hebrew or Greek term of the word. Bible concordances, software, and dictionaries are good tools; STEP Bible is my go-to resource for this step since it is free, online, and intuitive! Bible Study Tools is also a free online resource for your word study.
If you hover over the word test in STEP Bible, this is what shows up on the right column:
נָסָה (na.sah)
This will be the Hebrew word for the word test in Exodus 20:20.
4. Semantic Range
Now that you’ve determined the original, it’s time to lay out different possibilities for what it might mean. The semantic range, or the range of the word’s meaning across the Bible, is found under the subtitle Meaning in the right column of STEP Bible. Here is what it looks like for na.sah:
1) to test, try, prove, tempt, assay, put to the proof or test
1a) (Piel)
1a1) to test, try
1a2) to attempt, assay, try
1a3) to test, try, prove, tempt
5. Parallel Passages
Next, you will find passages that use the same word and that might shed light on the selected passage. Underneath the original Greek or Hebrew word in STEP Bible, you will see the number of occurrences. Click on the number and jot around 10 relevant passages from the same book, the same author, and other passages in the Old or New Testament (in that order). The closer they are to the selected passage, the more accurate the insights.
6. Best Parallels
What passages carry similar themes to the selected passage? Do they share certain wordings or topics? The passages I chose mention God’s provision as a preface to the testing and his commandments as a means of testing. Notice, too, that they all come from either the same book or the same author. The closer you get, the more similarities you will find.
What did you learn from these passages that shed light on your selected word?
Choose the five best parallels and write down the references along with your observations. Here are the parallels I chose:
Exo 16:4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not.
Exo 15:25 And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them,
Deu 8:2 And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.
Deu 13:3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
Deu 8:16 who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end.
7. Read the definition from a Bible dictionary
You are almost there! The second to last step before writing your definition is consulting a Bible dictionary. Reading a scholarly definition of the original word will assure you that you are on the right track. I recommend Bible Study Tools Encyclopedias as an online resource and Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words for a physical dictionary.
“na.sa denotes the testing of a person’s loyalty or obedience and may be translated ‘test, prove’” (Mounce, 718)
This definition was helpful to confirm my findings and provide further insight into its meaning.
8. Write your definition
Lastly, you will write your definition of what you think the word means in the selected passage. Here is what I came up for na.sah:
In the context of Exodus 20:20, to test means to prove the Israelites’ faithfulness to the Lord in light of his provision and according to their obedience to the commandments. This testing was meant to produce pure, reverent hearts.
Now it’s your turn! I’m excited to see what words you choose and the many gems you will find along the way.