Word Studies¶
Covenant Terms¶
berith (H1285) -- "covenant"¶
Original: בְּרִית Transliteration: b'riyth Pronunciation: ber-eeth Part of Speech: feminine noun Occurrences: 317 total (284 BLB count)
Definition: From H1254 (in the sense of cutting [like H1262]); a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh): -- confederacy, (con-)feder(-ate), covenant, league.
Translation Distribution: - "of the covenant" -- 60 (18.9%) - "my covenant" -- 45 (14.2%) - "covenant" -- 40 (12.6%) - "a covenant" -- 40 (12.6%) - "the covenant" -- 27 (8.5%) - "his covenant" -- 14 (4.4%) - "a league" -- 11 (3.5%)
Key Observations: - Used for both the Sinai covenant (Exo 19:5; 24:7-8; 34:28; Deu 4:13; 5:2-3; 9:9,11,15) - Used for the new covenant (Jer 31:31,32,33) - Used for Abrahamic covenant (Gen 15:18; 17:2ff) - Used for covenant of peace (Num 25:12; Eze 34:25; 37:26) - Etymology: "cutting" -- related to the idiom "to cut a covenant" (karath berith)
karath (H3772) -- "to cut"¶
Original: כָּרַת Transliteration: karath Pronunciation: kaw-rath Part of Speech: verb Occurrences: 358 total (288 BLB count)
Definition: A primitive root; to cut (off, down or asunder); by implication, to destroy or consume; specifically, to covenant (i.e. make an alliance or bargain, originally by cutting flesh and passing between the pieces): -- be chewed, be con-(feder-)ate, covenant, cut (down, off), destroy, fail, feller, be freed, hew (down), make a league (covenant), lose, perish, utterly, want.
Key Translation Data: - "shall be cut off" -- 30 (8.4%) - "made" [a covenant] -- 18 (5.0%) - "cut off" -- 8-12 (various forms) - "he made" [a covenant] -- 8 (2.2%)
Key Covenant Usage: - Jer 31:31: "I will make (karath) a new covenant" -- lit. "I will cut a new covenant" - Jer 31:32: "the covenant that I made (karath) with their fathers" - Jer 31:33: "the covenant that I will make (karath) with the house of Israel" - Exo 24:8: "the covenant, which the LORD hath made (karath) with you" - Exo 34:27: "I have made (karath) a covenant with thee and with Israel"
diatheke (G1242) -- "covenant/testament"¶
Original: διαθήκη Transliteration: diatheke Pronunciation: dee-ath-ay-kay Part of Speech: feminine noun Occurrences: 33 total (33 BLB count)
Definition: From G1303; properly, a disposition, i.e. (specially) a contract (especially a devisory will): -- covenant, testament.
Translation Distribution: - "covenant" -- 15 (45.5%) - "testament" -- 11 (33.3%) - "covenants" -- 3 (9.1%) - "the covenant" -- 2 (6.1%) - "a testament" -- 2 (6.1%)
Key Verses (from lexicon outline): - Hebrews: 7:22; 8:6,8,8,9,9,10; 9:4,15,15,15,16,16,18,18,20; 10:16,29; 12:24; 13:20 - Other NT: Mat 26:28; Mrk 14:24; Luk 1:72; 22:20; Acts 3:25; 7:8; Rom 9:4; 11:27; 1Cor 11:25; 2Cor 3:6,14; Gal 3:15,17; 4:24; Eph 2:12; Rev 11:19
Key Observations: - In Heb 9:15-18, diatheke shifts between "covenant" and "testament/will" meanings - In Heb 8:6-13, used for both old and new covenants -- same Greek word for both - The NT translators use both "covenant" and "testament" for the same word
mesites (G3316) -- "mediator"¶
Original: μεσίτης Transliteration: mesites Pronunciation: mes-ee-tace Part of Speech: masculine noun Occurrences: 6 total (6 BLB count)
Definition: From G3319; a go-between, i.e. (simply) an internunciator, or (by implication) a reconciler (intercessor): -- mediator.
Translation Distribution: - "the mediator" -- 3 (50.0%) - "of a mediator" -- 1 - "a mediator" -- 1 - "mediator" -- 1
All Occurrences: - Gal 3:19 -- law "ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator" - Gal 3:20 -- "Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one" - 1Ti 2:5 -- "one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" - Heb 8:6 -- Jesus "the mediator of a better covenant" - Heb 9:15 -- "he is the mediator of the new testament" - Heb 12:24 -- "Jesus the mediator of the new covenant"
OT Background (from lexicon): Deu 5:5 (Moses as go-between); Job 9:33 (daysman/mediator)
engyos (G1450) -- "surety/guarantee"¶
Original: ἔγγυος Transliteration: engyos Pronunciation: eng-goo-os Part of Speech: adjective Occurrences: 1 total
Definition: From G1722 and guion (a limb); pledged (as if articulated by a member), i.e. a bondsman: -- surety.
Only Occurrence: - Heb 7:22 -- "By so much was Jesus made a surety (engyos) of a better testament"
Covenant Transition Terms¶
palaioo (G3822) -- "to make old/obsolete"¶
Original: παλαιόω Transliteration: palaioo Pronunciation: pal-ah-yo-o Part of Speech: verb Occurrences: 6 total (4 BLB count)
Definition: From G3820; to make (passively, become) worn out, or declare obsolete: -- decay, make (wax) old.
Translation Distribution: - "old" -- 2 - "which wax" -- 1 - "shall wax old" -- 1 - "he hath made" -- 1 - "that which decayeth" -- 1
Key Usage: - Heb 8:13 -- "he hath made the first old (pepalaioken -- Perfect Active Indicative)" and "that which decayeth (palaioumenon -- Present Passive Participle) and waxeth old" - Heb 1:11 -- "they all shall wax old as doth a garment" - Luk 12:33 -- "bags which wax not old"
Greek Grammar (from Heb 8:13 parsing): - πεπαλαίωκεν (pepalaioken) = Perfect Active Indicative 3rd Singular -- "he has made old" (completed action with ongoing result) - παλαιούμενον (palaioumenon) = Present Passive Participle Nominative Neuter -- "the thing being made old" (ongoing process)
aphanismos (G854) -- "vanishing/disappearance"¶
Original: ἀφανισμός Transliteration: aphanismos Pronunciation: af-an-is-mos Part of Speech: masculine noun Occurrences: 1 total
Definition: From G853; disappearance, i.e. (figuratively) abrogation: -- vanish away.
Only Occurrence: - Heb 8:13 -- "ready to vanish away (aphanismou)"
kataluo (G2647) -- "to destroy/dissolve"¶
Original: καταλύω Transliteration: kataluo Pronunciation: kat-al-oo-o Part of Speech: verb Occurrences: 20 total (17 BLB count)
Definition: From G2596 and G3089; to loosen down (disintegrate), i.e. (by implication) to demolish (literally or figuratively); specially to halt for the night: -- destroy, dissolve, be guest, lodge, come to nought, overthrow, throw down.
Key Translation Data: - "to destroy" -- 3 - "be thrown down" -- 3 - "destroyest" -- 2
Key Usage: - Mat 5:17 -- "Think not that I am come to destroy (katalusai) the law" - Gal 2:18 -- "if I build again the things which I destroyed (katelusa)" - Rom 14:20 -- "For meat destroy (katalue) not the work of God"
histemi (G2476) -- "to establish/stand"¶
Original: ἵστημι Transliteration: histemi Pronunciation: his-tay-mee Part of Speech: verb Occurrences: 138 total (158 BLB count)
Definition: A prolonged form of a primary stao; to stand (transitively or intransitively), used in various applications: -- abide, appoint, bring, continue, covenant, establish, hold up, lay, present, set (up), stanch, stand (by, forth, still, up).
Key Usage: - Rom 3:31 -- "we establish (histanomen -- Present Active Indicative) the law" - Heb 10:9 -- "He taketh away the first, that he may establish (stese -- Aorist Active Subjunctive) the second"
Heart/Internalization Terms¶
leb (H3820) -- "heart"¶
Original: לֵב Transliteration: leb Pronunciation: labe Part of Speech: masculine noun Occurrences: 649 total (593 BLB count)
Definition: A form of H3824; the heart; also used (figuratively) very widely for the feelings, the will and even the intellect; likewise for the centre of anything.
Key Covenant Usage: - Jer 31:33 -- "write it in their hearts (libbam)" -- uses leb with 3mp suffix - Eze 11:19 -- "I will take the stony heart (leb) out of their flesh" - Eze 36:26 -- "A new heart (leb) also will I give you ... I will take away the stony heart (leb) out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart (leb) of flesh"
lebab (H3824) -- "heart/inner man"¶
Original: לֵבָב Transliteration: lebab Pronunciation: lay-bawb Part of Speech: masculine noun Occurrences: 267 total (252 BLB count)
Definition: From H3823; used also like H3820 the heart (as the most interior organ): -- bethink themselves, breast, comfortably, courage, (faint), (tender-)heart(-ed), midst, mind, unawares, understanding.
Key Usage: - Deu 4:29 -- "seek him with all thy heart (lebab)" - Deu 6:5 -- "love the LORD thy God with all thine heart (lebab)" - Deu 30:6 -- "circumcise thine heart (lebab), and the heart (lebab) of thy seed" - 1Ki 8:47-48 -- "bethink themselves ... return unto thee with all their heart (lebab)"
kardia (G2588) -- "heart"¶
Original: καρδία Transliteration: kardia Pronunciation: kar-dee-ah Part of Speech: feminine noun Occurrences: 142 total (160 BLB count)
Definition: Prolonged from a primary kar (Latin cor, "heart"); the heart, i.e. (figuratively) the thoughts or feelings (mind).
Translation Distribution: - "heart" -- 69 (48.6%) - "hearts" -- 49 (34.5%)
Key Covenant Usage: - Heb 8:10 -- "write them in their hearts (kardias -- Accusative Plural)" - Heb 10:16 -- "I will put my laws into their hearts (kardias)" - Heb 10:22 -- "having our hearts (kardias) sprinkled from an evil conscience" - 2Cor 3:2 -- "written in our hearts (kardiais -- Dative Plural)" - 2Cor 3:3 -- "in fleshy tables of the heart (kardias)" - 2Cor 3:15 -- "the vail is upon their heart (kardian)" - Rom 2:15 -- "the work of the law written in their hearts (kardiais)" - Rom 2:29 -- "circumcision of the heart (kardias), in the spirit"
qereb (H7130) -- "inward parts"¶
Original: קֶרֶב Transliteration: qereb Pronunciation: keh-reb Part of Speech: masculine noun Occurrences: 232 total (227 BLB count)
Definition: From H7126; properly, the nearest part, i.e. the center, whether literal, figurative or adverbial: -- among, before, bowels, unto charge, eat (up), heart, him, in, inward(-ly, part, -s, thought), midst, out of, purtenance, therein, through, within self.
Key Covenant Usage: - Jer 31:33 -- "I will put my law in their inward parts (b'qirbam)" -- qereb with 3mp suffix + preposition b' - Eze 11:19 -- "I will put a new spirit within you (b'qirbam)" - Eze 36:26-27 -- "a new spirit will I put within you (b'qirbkem)"
engrapho (G1449) -- "to write in/inscribe"¶
Original: ἐγγράφω Transliteration: engrapho Pronunciation: eng-graf-o Part of Speech: verb Occurrences: 2 total
Definition: From G1722 and G1125; to "engrave", i.e. inscribe: -- write (in).
All Occurrences: - Luk 10:20 -- "your names are written in heaven" - 2Cor 3:2 -- "our epistle written (engegrammenē) in our hearts" - 2Cor 3:3 -- (related context: "written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God")
Blood/Ratification Terms¶
nazah (H5137) -- "to sprinkle"¶
Original: נָזָה Transliteration: nazah Pronunciation: naw-zaw Part of Speech: verb Occurrences: 28 total (24 BLB count)
Definition: A primitive root; to spirt, i.e. besprinkle (especially in expiation): -- sprinkle.
Key Usage: - Exo 24:6 -- Moses "sprinkled" half the blood on the altar (covenant ratification) - Exo 24:8 -- Moses "sprinkled" the blood on the people (not nazah; different verb zaraq) - Lev 4:6,17 -- priest sprinkles blood in tabernacle service - Lev 16:14-19 -- Day of Atonement sprinkling - Isa 52:15 -- "so shall he sprinkle many nations" (Messianic)
rhantismos (G4473) -- "sprinkling"¶
Original: ῥαντισμός Transliteration: rhantismos Pronunciation: hran-tis-mos Part of Speech: masculine noun Occurrences: 2 total
Definition: From G4472; aspersion (ceremonially or figuratively): -- sprinkling.
All Occurrences: - Heb 12:24 -- "the blood of sprinkling (rhantismou), that speaketh better things than [that of] Abel" - 1Pe 1:2 -- "unto obedience and sprinkling (rhantismon) of the blood of Jesus Christ"
haima (G129) -- "blood"¶
Original: αἷμα Transliteration: haima Pronunciation: hah-ee-mah Part of Speech: neuter noun Occurrences: 89 total (99 BLB count)
Definition: Of uncertain derivation; blood, literally (of men or animals), figuratively (the juice of grapes) or specially (the atoning blood of Christ).
Translation Distribution: - "blood" -- 69 (77.5%) - "of blood" -- 8 (9.0%) - "the blood" -- 5 (5.6%)
Key Covenant Usage: - Mat 26:28; Mrk 14:24 -- "my blood of the new testament" - Luk 22:20; 1Cor 11:25 -- "the new testament in my blood" - Heb 9:12 -- "by his own blood he entered in once" - Heb 9:14 -- "the blood of Christ ... purge your conscience" - Heb 9:18-20 -- "neither the first testament was dedicated without blood" - Heb 10:19 -- "boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus" - Heb 10:29 -- "counted the blood of the covenant ... an unholy thing" - Heb 12:24 -- "the blood of sprinkling" - Heb 13:20 -- "through the blood of the everlasting covenant"
Promise/Better Terms¶
epangelia (G1860) -- "promise"¶
Original: ἐπαγγελία Transliteration: epangelia Pronunciation: ep-ang-el-ee-ah Part of Speech: feminine noun Occurrences: 51 total (53 BLB count)
Definition: From G1861; an announcement (for information, assent or pledge; especially a divine assurance of good): -- message, promise.
Translation Distribution: - "promise" -- 26 (51.0%) - "promises" -- 11 (21.6%) - "of promise" -- 6 (11.8%)
Key Covenant Usage: - Heb 8:6 -- "established upon better promises (epangeliais)" - Heb 9:15 -- "might receive the promise (epangelian) of eternal inheritance" - Gal 3:14-29 -- the promise to Abraham (used 8 times) - Heb 6:12,15,17 -- inheriting through faith and patience
kreitton (G2909) -- "better"¶
Original: κρείττων Transliteration: kreitton Pronunciation: krite-tohn Part of Speech: adjective (comparative) Occurrences: 17 total (18 BLB count)
Definition: Comparative of a derivative of G2904; stronger, i.e. (figuratively) better: -- best, better.
Translation Distribution: - "better" -- 6 (35.3%) - "of a better" -- 3 - "a better" -- 3
Key Covenant Usage: - Heb 7:7 -- "the less is blessed of the better" - Heb 7:19 -- "bringing in of a better hope" - Heb 7:22 -- "a surety of a better (kreittonos) testament" - Heb 8:6 -- "mediator of a better (kreittonos) covenant ... better (kreittousin) promises" - Heb 9:23 -- "better sacrifices than these" - Heb 10:34 -- "a better and an enduring substance" - Heb 11:16 -- "a better country" - Heb 11:35 -- "a better resurrection" - Heb 11:40 -- "some better thing for us" - Heb 12:24 -- "speaketh better things than that of Abel"