Hebrew and Greek Root Word Study
Search and browse every Hebrew and Greek root word in the Bible. See ancient pictographic letter meanings, Strong's concordance data, gematria values, volume distribution across all scripture, and every verse where each root appears.
What Is Original Language Study?
Original language study is the practice of going behind the English translation to examine the actual Hebrew or Greek words the biblical authors used. Every English Bible -- including the King James Version -- is a translation, and translation inevitably involves interpretive choices. A single Hebrew word may carry a range of meanings that no single English word can capture. By studying the original language, you recover shades of meaning that the English alone cannot convey.
Hebrew, the language of the Old Testament, is a pictographic and root-based language. Most Hebrew words derive from three-letter roots, and each letter in the ancient Hebrew alphabet carried a pictographic meaning -- an ox, a house, a hand. When you examine the letters that compose a root, the pictographic meanings often illuminate the word's deeper significance. For example, the root 'aleph-bet' (the first two letters of the Hebrew alphabet) combines the pictographs for 'ox' (strength, leader) and 'house' (household, dwelling), suggesting 'strength of the house' -- the father or patriarch.
Greek, the language of the New Testament, brings its own richness. Koine Greek was the common language of the Roman Empire and had a precision that allowed the apostles to express theological concepts with remarkable clarity. Greek root parts -- prefixes, stems, and suffixes -- combine to create compound words whose meaning is built from their components. Understanding these parts helps you grasp why Paul chose one Greek word over another when teaching about faith, grace, or redemption.
Gospel Daily's Original Language tool lets you browse Hebrew roots with their ancient pictographic letter meanings and gematria values, Greek roots with their component parts broken down, and a cross-volume tab that shows how the same root word appears across the Old and New Testaments. Every root includes Strong's concordance data, pronunciation, part of speech, KJV translation history, and a list of derived words you can explore further.
How It Works
Choose Hebrew, Greek, or cross-volume
Select the Hebrew tab to browse Old Testament roots, the Greek tab for New Testament roots, or the cross-volume tab to see roots that span both testaments.
Search or browse roots
Type a word in English, Hebrew, or Greek to search, or scroll through the full list of roots sorted by transliteration. Each card shows the root word, meaning, and derived words.
Explore root details
Tap any root to see its pictographic breakdown (Hebrew), component parts (Greek), Strong's data, pronunciation, definition, KJV translations, and every derived word.
Key Features
Hebrew Pictographic Analysis
Every Hebrew root displays its ancient pictographic letter forms with the meaning each letter carried in the earliest Hebrew script.
Greek Root Part Breakdown
Greek roots are decomposed into their component parts -- prefixes, stems, and suffixes -- with the meaning of each part clearly labeled.
Strong's Concordance Data
Every root links to its Strong's number with full definition, pronunciation, part of speech, KJV translation list, and derivation notes.
Cross-Volume Distribution
See how each root word's occurrences distribute across the Old Testament, New Testament.
Explore the Hebrew root אָהַב (ahav, to love) with its ancient pictographic letter meanings:
Root Word
אָהַב (ahav) - H157 Meaning: To love, have affection for Pronunciation: aw-HAV Gematria: 8
Pictographic Breakdown
Aleph (א): 🐂 Ox head — strength, leader, first He (ה): 🙋 Man with arms raised — behold, look, reveal Bet (ב): 🏠 House, tent — household, family, dwelling The three letters combine to show: strength revealing itself in the household — the powerful presence of affection within the family.
Strong's Definition
To love, like, be fond of, have affection for. Used for human love (romantic, familial, friendship) and divine love. God's love for Israel and command to love God and neighbor.
KJV Translations
love, lover, friend, beloved, like
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to know Hebrew or Greek to use this tool?
No. Every Hebrew and Greek root includes a transliteration (showing the word in English letters), a pronunciation guide, and a full English definition. The tool is designed to make original-language study accessible to anyone, regardless of language background. You can search in English and the tool will find the corresponding Hebrew or Greek roots.
What are Hebrew pictographic letters?
Ancient Hebrew was written with a pictographic alphabet where each letter represented a concrete object -- an ox head (aleph), a house (bet), a camel (gimel), a door (dalet), and so on. These pictographic meanings often illuminate the deeper significance of Hebrew root words. For example, the three letters of a root word combine their pictographic meanings to tell a visual story about the word's concept.
What is the difference between a root word and a derived word?
A root word is the base form from which other words are built. In Hebrew, most roots are three consonants that carry a core meaning. Derived words add vowel patterns, prefixes, or suffixes to create specific nouns, verbs, and adjectives. For example, the Hebrew root sh-l-m (wholeness, peace) gives rise to 'shalom' (peace), 'shalem' (complete), and 'Yerushalayim' (Jerusalem, city of peace).
How does original language study help with scripture?
Original language study helps you see what the English translation cannot show -- the range of meaning a word carries, the connections between words that share a root, and the specific nuance the author intended. For Christians, it also reveals connections between biblical Hebrew and Greek concepts and their echoes across both testaments.
What are Strong's concordance numbers?
Strong's numbers are a reference system created by James Strong in 1890 that assigns a unique number to every Hebrew and Greek root word in the Bible. They allow you to look up the original meaning of any word without knowing the original language, and to find every place that same root appears across scripture. Gospel Daily uses Strong's numbers to link root words to their full lexical entries and cross-references.
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