yada · know

What it means

yada (יָדַע) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “know”.

Not only having a fact: it is knowing by experience and closely; also recognize, care for, make known. So Hebrew also uses it for the intimate union of a man and his wife ("he knew his wife").

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. To know something, realize.
2. To know someone.
3. To acknowledge YHWH: admit that he is God.
4. To be intimate with a woman.
5. To make someone aware, teach.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

Know. BDB: to know; it is used for perceiving, recognizing, caring for, and in the causative form for teaching or making known. It is not only having a fact: it is knowing by experience and closely. From this verb comes דַּעַת, “knowledge” (H1847). The same word in Aramaic, יְדַע, has its own note (H3046).

• To know something Genesis 22:12Genesis 3:5
• To know someone: to have dealings with him or acknowledge him Exodus 1:8Jeremiah 31:34
• To recognize who YHWH is: “you will know that I am YHWH” Exodus 6:7
• Sexual union: “knew Eve his wife” Genesis 4:1

How we translate it

“Know” 629 times, “known” 144, “knows” 61, “knew” 59. English “know”, like the Hebrew verb, covers both knowing a fact and knowing a person, so one word serves throughout; the frequent phrase in Ezekiel, “you will know that I am YHWH”, keeps it. For sexual relations this edition's glossary sets “knew”, as the Hebrew says, explained in a note (Genesis 4:1).

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• know ×629
• known ×144
• knows ×61
• knew ×59
• knowing ×7
• acquaintances ×4
• certain ×3
• find out ×3
• learned ×3
• consider ×2
• others ×29

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Genesis×57
• Exodus×45
• Leviticus×9
• Numbers×17
• Deuteronomy×46
• Joshua×17
• Judges×22
• Ruth×7
• 1 Samuel×57
• 2 Samuel×30
• 1 Kings×35
• 2 Kings×19
• 1 Chronicles×9
• 2 Chronicles×20
• Nehemiah×9
• Esther×8
• Job×70
• Psalms×93
• Proverbs×35
• Ecclesiastes×36
• Song of Songs×2
• Isaiah×74
• Jeremiah×74
• Ezekiel×99
• Daniel×7
• Hosea×16
• Joel×3
• Amos×4
• Jonah×6
• Micah×3
• Nahum×2
• Habakkuk×2
• Zephaniah×1
• Zechariah×9
• Malachi×1

• Genesis 3:5

  for Elohim knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like Elohim, knowing good and evil.”

• Genesis 3:7

  And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed together fig leaves and made themselves loincloths.

• Genesis 3:22

  And YHWH Elohim said, “Look, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, so that he does not reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat and live forever—”

• Genesis 4:1

  Now the man knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have acquired a man with YHWH.”

• Genesis 4:9

  And YHWH said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”

• Genesis 4:17

  And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. And he was building a city, and he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.

• Genesis 4:25

  And Adam knew his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and called his name Seth, “for Elohim has granted me another offspring in place of Abel, because Cain killed him.”

• Genesis 8:11

  And the dove came to him at evening time, and look, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had decreased from the earth.

• Genesis 9:24

  And Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him.

• Genesis 12:11

  When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “Look, I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance.

• Genesis 15:8

  But he said, “Adonai YHWH, how will I know that I will possess it?”

• Genesis 15:13

  Then he said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will be resident aliens in a land that is not theirs, and they will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.

• Genesis 18:19

  For I have known him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of YHWH by doing righteousness and justice, so that YHWH may bring upon Abraham what he has spoken about him.”

• Genesis 18:21

  Let me go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to its outcry that has come to me; and if not, I will know.”

• Genesis 19:5

  They called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, so that we may know them.”

• Genesis 19:8

  Look, I have two daughters who have not known a man; let me bring them out to you, and do to them as is good in your eyes; only to these men do not do anything, for that is why they have come under the shadow of my roof.”

• Genesis 19:33

  So they made their father drink wine that night; and the older went in and lay with her father, and he did not know when she lay down or when she rose.

• Genesis 19:35

  So they made their father drink wine that night also, and the younger got up and lay with him, and he did not know when she lay down or when she rose.

• Genesis 20:6

  Then Elohim said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this; and I also kept back you from sinning against me; that is why I did not let you touch her.

• Genesis 20:7

  Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not return her, know that you will surely die, you and all who are yours.”

• Genesis 21:26

  Abimelech said, “I do not know who has done this thing; and you also did not tell me, and I too did not hear of it until today.”

• Genesis 22:12

  He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the boy, and do not do anything to him, for now I know that you fear Elohim, since you have not withheld your son, your only one, from me.”

• Genesis 24:14

  Let it be that the girl to whom I say, ‘Please lower your jar so that I may drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels,’ she is the one you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown loyal love to my lord.”

• Genesis 24:16

  The girl was very beautiful in appearance, a virgin, and no man had known her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up.

• Genesis 24:21

  The man was gazing at her, keeping silent, to know whether YHWH had made successful his journey or not.

• Genesis 25:27

  The boys grew up, and Esau became a man skilled in hunting, a man of the field, while Jacob was a man of integrity, living in tents.

• Genesis 27:2

  He said, “Look, I am old; I do not know the day of my death.

• Genesis 28:16

  Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely YHWH is in this place, and I did not know it.”

• Genesis 29:5

  He said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” They said, “We know him.”

• Genesis 30:26

  Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served you, and let me go, for you know my service with which I have served you.”

• Genesis 30:29

  He said to him, “You know how I have served you and how your livestock has fared with me.

• Genesis 31:6

  You know that with all my strength I have served your father.

• Genesis 31:32

  Anyone with whom you find your gods shall not live. In the presence of our brothers, recognize for yourself what of yours is with me and take it for yourself.” Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

• Genesis 33:13

  He said to him, “My lord knows that the children are tender, and the flocks and the cattle that are nursing their young are in my care; if they are driven hard one day, all the flock will die.

• Genesis 38:9

  But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so whenever he went in to his brother’s wife, he wasted it on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother.

• Genesis 38:16

  He turned to her by the road and said, “Come, please, let me go in to you”; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me that you may go in to me?”

• Genesis 38:26

  Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son.” And he did not again know her.

• Genesis 39:6

  He left all that he had in the hand of Joseph, and with him there he did not concern himself with anything except the bread that he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome.

• Genesis 39:8

  But he refused and said to his lord’s wife, “Look, with me here my lord does not concern himself with what is in the house, and all that he has he has put in my hand.

• Genesis 41:21

  They went into their bellies, but it could not be known that they had gone into their bellies, and their appearance was ugly just as at the beginning. Then I woke up.

And 904 more times.