How to Look Up Definitions of Hebrew or Aramaic Words

Sefaria hosts several reference tools learners can use to support and enrich their learning experience. These include:

• Jastrow’s Dictionary: Compiled by Rabbi Marcus Jastrow, this expansive dictionary of the Targumim, the Babylonian Talmud, the Jerusalem Talmud, and the midrashic literature includes over 30,000 fully vocalized entries.
• The Klein Dictionary: Composed by Rabbi Ernest Klein, this 20th-century scholarly English dictionary contains both etymologies and derivatives of modern Hebrew words.
• The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (BDB): This early 20th-century reference tool translates every word of the Bible into English and provides information about its usage throughout the text.

There are two ways to look up a definition for a Hebrew or Aramaic word in the Sefaria Library:

• By double-clicking on a word
• By opening a dictionary in the Resource Panel

To look up a definition by double-clicking on a word:

1. Click on any passage of text to open the Resource Panel
2. Double-click on the word that you would like to define to open a number of definitions.
3. Scroll through the available definitions to locate the definition that best suits your needs.

To look up a word by opening a dictionary:

1. Click on any passage of text to open the Resource Panel
2. Scroll down to locate the Dictionaries subheading, found under TOOLS.
3. Click on Dictionaries to open a panel with a search bar. 
4. Type the word you want defined into the search bar and press either return (on a Mac) or enter (on a PC).
5. Scroll through the available definitions to locate the definition that best suits your needs. 

Please note: The name of the dictionary each entry originates from can be found underneath each group of entries.