What Does The Word 'Forget' Mean In Hebrew and Greek?

The word forgot is used many times in the bible. It’s a word we still use today and I’m sure everyone knows what it means. Although that may be the case, I’d still like to look at what does the word forget mean in Hebrew and Greek.

All scriptures are taken from NKJV unless otherwise marked.

“Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you.”

– Deuteronomy 4:23

What Does The Word ‘Forget’ Mean In Hebrew?

nashah- to forget; to neglect.

shakah- to be oblivious of, forget.

“All your lovers have forgotten you;
They do not seek you;
For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy,
With the chastisement of a cruel one,
For the multitude of your iniquities,
Because your sins have increased.”

– Jeremiah 30:14

God does not forget His people.

“Can a woman forget her nursing child,
And not have compassion on the son of her womb?
Surely they may forget,
Yet I will not forget you.“

– Isaiah 49:15

Although this is true, it didn’t stop Israel from complaining against God in Lamentations 5:20:

“Why do You forget us forever,
And forsake us for so long a time?“

shakeach- oblivious, forgetting.

What Does The Word ‘Forget’ Mean In Greek?

epilanthanomai- to lose out of mind.

This word is used in the following ways:

God indicating His remembrance of sparrows (Luke 12:6)
of the disciples regarding taking bread (Matthew 16:5)
of Paul regarding the things which are behind (Philippians 3:13)
as to believers entertaining strangers (Hebrews 13:2)
as to believers doing good and communicating (Hebrews 13:16)
of a man who after looking at himself in a mirror, forgets what kind of person he is (James 1:24)

Conclusion

Not only does the word forget mean what we still use it for today, but it also can mean to be obvious to or neglecting. That’s what the word forget means in Hebrew and Greek.

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