Worship With Us Sunday School10 AM Sunday Morning11 AM Sunday Evening4 PM Thursday Night7 PM
1377 S 20th St, Louisville, KY 40210 Contact
True Words Baptist Church — Revelation 21:5
My TWBC Plan Your Visit Give
DEEP KJV WORD STUDY

Rather

Begin with the exact English word as it appears in the King James Bible. Follow its whole-Bible usage, book distribution, related indexed forms, Webster 1828, every occurrence, and the occurrence-specific Hebrew/Aramaic/Greek mappings behind it.

62exact KJV occurrences 14Old Testament 48New Testament 22books containing the word 8mapped Strong's IDs 44occurrence-specific Strong's links
FIRST OCCURRENCE

Joshua 22:24

And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying, What have ye to do with the LORD God of Israel?

Read in context →
LAST OCCURRENCE

2 Peter 1:10

Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

Read in context →
KJV DISTRIBUTION

Where rather appears.

This is exact English-word usage from the canonical KJV token index, not a Strong's estimate.

Joshua 11 verses 2 Samuel 11 verses 2 Kings 11 verses Job 33 verses Psalms 22 verses Proverbs 54 verses Jeremiah 11 verses Matthew 66 verses Mark 22 verses Luke 77 verses John 11 verses Acts 11 verses Romans 55 verses 1 Corinthians 87 verses 2 Corinthians 44 verses Galatians 11 verses Ephesians 33 verses Philippians 11 verses 1 Timothy 33 verses Philemon 11 verses Hebrews 44 verses 2 Peter 11 verses
ORIGINAL-LANGUAGE MAP

Which Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek words stand behind this KJV word?

These relationships come from exact verse + token-position mappings. We do not assume that one English spelling always equals one Strong's number. A single English token can also carry more than one source tag, so the Strong's-link total can exceed the number of English occurrences.

GreekG2309
θέλω

thélō · thel'-o

1 times translated as this KJV form217 total Strong's occurrences

to determine (as an active option from subjective impulse; whereas G1014 properly denotes rather a passive acquiescence in objective considerations), i.e. choose or prefer (literally or figuratively); by implication, to wish, i.e. be inclined to (sometimes adverbially, gladly); impersonally for the future tense, to be about to; by Hebraism, to delight in

Strong's KJV usage: :--desire, be disposed (forward), intend, list, love, mean, please, have rather, (be) will (have, -ling, - ling(-ly)).

Other KJV renderings

Strong's first: 1 Corinthians 14:19Strong's last: 1 Corinthians 14:19

Open full G2309 profile →

Strong's data is a concordance/lexical reference layer. Scripture context controls interpretation. Lexical source data is shown separately from future TWBC editorial teaching.

EVERY OCCURRENCE

Read the word in context.

6 occurrences match the current filters. Each row keeps its exact KJV token position so Original Word and TSK remain occurrence-specific.

Clear
Matthew 10:6
G3123

But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Matthew 10:28
G3123

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Matthew 18:8
G2228

Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.

Matthew 18:9
G2228

And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

Matthew 25:9
G3123

But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

Matthew 27:24
G3123

When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.

WEBSTER’S 1828

English meaning and historical usage.

Dictionary data is kept visibly separate from Scripture and from lexical Strong's data.

rather

RATH'ER, adverb [I would rather go, or sooner go. The use is taken from pushing or moving forward.] [Latin ante, before.] But he said, yea rather happy are they that hear the word of God and keep it. Luke 11:28]

1. More readily or willingly; with better liking; with preference or choice.

My soul chooseth strangling and death rather than life. Job 7:15.

Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John 3:19. Psalms 84:10.

2. In preference; preferably; with better reason. Good is rather to be chosen than evil. See Acts 5:29.

3. In a greater degree than otherwise.

He sought throughout the world, but sought in vain, and no where finding, rather fear'd her slain.

4. More properly; more correctly speaking.

This is an art which does mend nature, change it rather; but the art itself is nature.

5. Noting some degree of contrariety in fact.

She was nothing better, but rather grew worse. Mark 5:26.

Matthew 27:24.

The rather especially; for better reason; for particular cause.

You are come to me in a happy time, the rather for I have some sport in hand.

Had rather is supposed to be a corruption of would rather

I had rather speak five words with my understanding - 1 Corinthians 14:19. This phrase may have been originally, 'I'd rather ' for I would rather and the contraction afterwards mistaken for had. Correct speakers and writers generally use would in all such phrases; I would rather I prefer; I desire in preference.

Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). A conservative base-form lookup may be used when the exact inflected KJV form is not a Webster headword.

SOURCE & METHOD

Know what each layer is—and what it is not.

KJV English usageExact token counts, verse counts, first/last occurrence, and book distribution come from the canonical TWBC PCE KJV index.
Webster 1828Historical English dictionary material is reproduced as dictionary data, not as inspired Scripture or TWBC commentary.
Original Word / Strong'sHebrew, Aramaic, and Greek links attach by exact verse + KJV token position. No global “English word always equals Strong's ID” rule is used.

Curated TWBC teaching will remain a separate editorial layer. Raw source data is never silently rewritten to force a doctrinal conclusion.