Counsel
עֵצָהStrong’s H6098etsah (e-tsah)
Appears in 85 verses of the Old Testament
In short
Etsah is the Hebrew word usually translated “counsel”, “counsel of” and “plan of”. It appears in 85 verses of the Old Testament.
“Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”
Meaning
- Counsel, advice, purpose
How it's translated
- counsel 16
- counsel of 13
- plan of 7
- a plan 6
- and counsel of 5
- and counsel 3
- counsel his 3
- according to counsel of 3
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- Isaiah 18
- Psalms 11
- Proverbs 10
- Job 9
- Jeremiah 8
- 2 Samuel 7
18 books in all.
Explore in Scripture
- Deuteronomy 32:28For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.
- Judges 20:7Behold, ye are all children of Israel; give here your advice and counsel.
- 2 Samuel 15:31And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom. And David said, O LORD, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.
- 2 Samuel 15:34But if thou return to the city, and say unto Absalom, I will be thy servant, O king; as I have been thy father’s servant hitherto, so will I now also be thy servant: then mayest thou for me defeat the counsel of Ahithophel.
- 2 Samuel 16:20Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give counsel among you what we shall do.
- 2 Samuel 16:23And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counselled in those days, was as if a man had enquired at the oracle of God: so was all the counsel of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom.
All 85 verses, by book
Hebrew dictionary
עֵצָה etsah · counsel
counsel, advice, purpose
From STEPBible’s Hebrew lexicon (based on Brown-Driver-Briggs).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “counsel” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
COUNSEL, noun
[Latin, to consult; to ask, to assail.]
- Advice; opinion, or instruction, given upon request or otherwise, for directing the judgment or conduct of another; opinion given upon deliberation or consultation.“Every purpose is established by counsel” Proverbs 20:18“Thou hast not hearkened to my counsel” 2 Chronicles 25:16
- Consultation; interchange of opinions.“We took sweet counsel together” Psalms 55:14
- Deliberation; examination of consequences.
- Prudence; deliberate opinion or judgment, or the faculty or habit of judging with caution.“The law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients” Ezekiel 7:26
All definitions and other forms of “counsel”
- In a bad sense, evil advice or designs; art; machination.“The counsel of the froward is carried headlong” Job 5:13
- Secresy; the secrets entrusted in consultation; secret opinions or purposes.
- In a scriptural sense, purpose; design; will; decree.“What thy counsel determined before to be done” Acts 4:28
- Directions of Gods word.“Thou shalt guide me by thy counsel” Psalms 73:24
- The will of God or his truth and doctrines concerning the way of salvation.“I have not shunned to declare to you all the counsel of God” Acts 20:27
- Those who give counsel in law; any counselor or advocate, or any number of counselors, barristers or sergeants; as the plaintiffs counsel or the defendants counsel The attorney-general and solicitor-general are the kings counsel In this sense, the word has no plural; but in the singular number, is applicable to one or more persons.
COUNSEL, verb transitive
[Latin]
- To give advice or deliberate opinion to another for the government of his conduct; to advise.
- To exhort, warn, admonish, or instruct.
- To advise or recommend; as, to counsel a crime. [Not much used.]
Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.
Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Hebrew, not from any one translation.