To ask
שָׁאַלStrong’s H7592shaal (sha-al)
Appears in 157 verses of the Old Testament
In short
Shaal is the Hebrew word usually translated “ask”, “asked” and “enquired”. It appears in 157 verses of the Old Testament.
“Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.”
Meaning
- To ask, enquire, borrow, beg(Qal) · (Niphal) to ask for oneself, ask leave of absence · (Piel) · (Hiphil)
How it's translated
- ask 18
- and he asked 12
- and he enquired 10
- asking 7
- to ask 7
- and they asked 6
- he asked 5
- you asked 5
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- 1 Samuel 28
- Judges 14
- Genesis 11
- Jeremiah 11
- 2 Samuel 10
- Psalms 10
27 books in all.
Explore in Scripture
- Genesis 24:47And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.
- Genesis 24:57And they said, We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth.
- Genesis 26:7And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.
- Genesis 32:17And he commanded the foremost, saying, When Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying, Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose are these before thee?
- Genesis 32:29And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there.
- Genesis 37:15And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
All 157 verses, by book
Hebrew dictionary
שָׁאַל shaal · to ask
1) to ask, enquire, borrow, beg 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to ask, ask for 1a2) to ask (as a favour), borrow 1a3) to enquire, enquire of 1a4) to enquire of, consult (of deity, oracle) 1a5) to seek 1b) (Niphal) to ask for oneself, ask leave of absence 1c) (Piel) 1c1) to enquire, enquire carefully 1c2) to beg, practise beggary 1d) (Hiphil) 1d1) to be given on request 1d2) to grant, make over to, let (one) ask (successfully) or give or lend on request (then) grant or make over to Aramaic equivalent: she.el (שְׁאֵל "to ask" H7593)
From STEPBible’s Hebrew lexicon (based on Brown-Driver-Briggs).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “ask” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
'ASK, verb transitive
[Gr. In former times, the English word was pronounced ax, as in the royal style of assenting to bills in Parliament. 'Be it as it is axed.']
- To request; to seek to obtain by words; to petition; with of before the person to whom the request is made.
- To require, expect or claim.“To whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more” Luke 12:48
- To interrogate, or inquire; to put a question, with a view to an answer.“He is of age, ask him” John 9:21
- To require, or make claim.“Ask me never so much dowry” Genesis 34:12
All definitions and other forms of “ask”
- To claim, require or demand, as the price or value of a commodity; to set a price; as, what price do you ask?
- To require, as physically necessary.
- To invite; as, to ask guests to a wedding or entertainment; ask my friend to step into the house.
'ASK, verb intransitive
- To request or petition, followed by for; as, ask for bread; or without for.“Ask and it shall be given you” Matthew 7:7
- to inquire, or seek by request; sometimes followed by after.“Wherefore dost thou ask after my name?” Genesis 32:29
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.