Tempt, Test, Try & Prove

Under construction

In Brief:

There are four English words commonly used in translations to represent two Hebrew words (Old Testament) and two Greek words (New Testament. The English words are tempt, test, try and prove. Note that I researched this 44 years ago and recent translations might have since used other words as well.

The Hebrew (Old Testament) words and their usage are:

bachan - to test or evaluate something, like trying out a new food or drink, or taking a car for a test drive.

nacah (the c is pronounced as an s) - to prove or put to the test, to tempt (KJV).


Instead, God was actually providing a situation for Abraham to demonstrate or prove to himself what was in his heart, because he had already failed three previous challenges to his faith in God's promises when he passed his wife off as his sister and sent her into a ruler's harem because he was (needlessly) afraid for his own life. (See Genesis 12 and 20.) He also readily agreed to Sarah's suggestion that he have sex with her Eqyptian maid to produce the promised son and heir. He passed the test on the fourth occasion.


For the sake of definition, tempting/temptation (Greek verb peirazo, Greek noun peirasmos) can be described as the manipulation of our thoughts in such a way that the temptation, the suggestion or inclination to do something wrong, seems like a logical or reasonable thought or idea coming from our own intellect or wisdom, although it is actually being applied from an external source Paul called "the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly realm" in Ephesians 6:12.

Incorporate this below:

There's a Bible verse, two, actually, that is under-translated. Before I share them I want to define two matching, but quite different words that should be included in every translation of these passages.


TEMPT/TEMPTATION: a thought with evil intent that is applied to our mind/thoughts from an external source in such a way as to make it seem like a logical, natural thought that originated in our own consciousness or wisdom. God is not the source, the enemy are, where the word 'enemy' applies to the devil and the fallen angels with him, described in Ephesians 6 as "the spirit forces of wickedness in the Heavenly realm." See also James 1:13-14. Ephesians 6:14 also points out that 'the enemy' are not human in form or substance. 


TEST/TRIAL: the manipulation of negative circumstances around us and affecting us in such a way that they seem out of or beyond our control. To be fair, they are generally a result of things we have done that we should not have done, or things done to us to which we can respond differently to the way we have responded so far. Tests and trials can also refer to negative circumstances which affected us as children (even in the womb) or while we were not in a position to adequately or effectively protect ourselves against them. These circumstances can include things like sickness, pain, accidents, loss, destruction (and often seen as trauma) and death, often occurring to us, but sometimes to someone else. These circumstances are not as random as they might seem, nor are they sent by God. The same verses given as explanation in the definition above also apply here.