Skip to content
X-Dreamers

A one-page handout for this lab, ready to print (A4 or Letter). Free to print and project for teaching →

Open the lab
X-Dreamers · Lab sheet

Hebrew Word Explorer

A word study without knowing Hebrew: tap a word in a verse, see its dictionary form and meaning, then follow it through every place it is used.

Scan to open the lab
Genesis 37:3 in Hebrew, word by word with English glosses
Genesis 37:3 in Hebrew, word by word with English glosses
A Hebrew word and every place it occurs
A Hebrew word and every place it occurs

Key facts

  • Each word shows its dictionary form, its Strong's number, its parsing and any prefixes and suffixes attached to it.
  • The occurrence list shows the same word across the Old Testament, each verse with its English and Chinese beside it.
  • Hesed (חֶסֶד), steadfast love, occurs 245 times by the lab's count; the Chinese Union Version mostly renders it cí’ài, “kind love”.
  • Rûaḥ (רוּחַ) means wind, breath or spirit; the translators had to choose one English or Chinese word each time.
  • Featured words explain their roots where it helps, for example that “faithfulness” (ʾĕmûnâ) shares a root with “amen”.
  • In class: pick one word, read three verses where it appears, and ask what the word adds that the translation hides.

Key verses

O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psalm 136:1 · King James Version
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:2 · King James Version
Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
Habakkuk 2:4 · King James Version

Talk about it

  1. Rûaḥ can be wind, breath or spirit. How does Genesis 1:2 read differently with each one?
  2. Psalm 136 repeats “his steadfast love endures forever” every verse. Why repeat it so often?
  3. Which word in your own faith would you like to understand better, and where would you start?

How sure can we be?

The Bible says
  • The Hebrew text is the Westminster Leningrad Codex, as tagged by the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible.
  • Every occurrence links to its verse, so any claim can be checked in context.
Our reconstruction
  • Counts follow that tagging and can differ slightly in other concordances.
  • Root notes and pictures behind a word are explanations, each marked with how sure we can be.
Still debated
  • A word's root does not always decide its meaning in a given verse; how the word is used counts for more.
  • Some rare words, such as passim in Genesis 37:3, have uncertain meanings.
© X-Dreamers · xdreamers.com · Free to print and project for teachingxdreamers.com/labs/hebrew-word-explorer